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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading small business management expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

There is a tradition in advertising that needs to be changed. The tradition is that a business spends a sizable amount of money to advertise their product or service in the media - television, radio, newspaper, direct mail, etc. As they advertise, the promote an item, or items, at a special price for a limited amount of time in an effort to get customers to come to their business.

If businesses were to calculate the savings that customers received from the marked down prices and compared it to the cost of advertising, they would likely find that they spent many times more in advertising than what they gave in markdowns. Now, think about it. Do you think a customer is going to tell their friends about the sale at a business when the savings were marginal but the business spent a lot of money with the media? Or, would the customer be more likely to spread the word about a business if they had saved a lot of money?

Now, what is the difference in the business spending $1,000 in advertising with $200 in markdowns and the business that spends $200 in advertising and with $1000 in markdowns? The total cost to either business is $1,200. But surely, the business with more markdowns than advertising expenditure is going to get much more favorable reaction from customers.

That is what the promotion planning calculator does to help. Your first decision in using this calculator is to determine for each dollar you spend in advertising, how much do you want your customers to receive in savings. As you make this decision, the amount of customer savings should be your best estimate of actual savings received - not the total amount of markdowns.

Promotion planning calculator from Profits Plus  
           
Our discount to advertising ratio goal:
         
           
For every $1 spent on advertising, our customers should save:
       
           
Date printed:
       
Name of Promotion:
Gross Sales Total Discount  
Dates of Promotion:
     
       
Number of individual sales:
     
      Item original price Discount  
Advertising Costs:    
 
   
 
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
Food, entertainment
   
   
Total Advertising Cost:    
       
Analysis:    
Cost per response:
   
Average Sale:
   
Advertising cost as a percentage of sales:
   
Markdowns as a percentage of sales:
   
       
For every dollar spent on advertising:
     
Amount of savings to the customer:
   
       
For every dollar spent on advertising:
     
Our customers savings goal is:
   
   
     
The difference in our goal and actual customer savings was:
   
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
           

      

MARCH 2024
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Small Business

Conversations

We are taking a break with the Small Business Conversations programs. However, we have the many years of the program cataloged by date on the website.

Small Business

AdvisorieS

The March Small Business Advisory remembers a line from many a western movie; "They went that a-way" and expressions similar to that distract from a business giving great customer service.

Small Business

News

Top Story

The big news item on November 30, 2022 was the advent of ChatGPT; Artificial Intelligence applications which many believe are used exclusively by big businesses.

This does not have to be true as there are many applications we share that have usage in a small business.


Article of the Month

"No plan B"; the subtitle to Van Morrison's Born to Sing album. The idea of no plan B also applies to a small business when you think (or is it when you don't think) about when the time, or opportunity, comes that you can sell your business. Generally speaking, a small business owner gets less money when they decide to close their business.


Book of the Month

"Escape from Cubicle Nation" is the March book of the month. While directed towards those working a corporate job and wanting to become an entrepreneur, we remind readers about utilizing their gut feeling to make decisions in their business.

After all, you did use your gut feeling when you decided to open or purchase your business.

BOOK US

With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

Small Business

Conversations

We are taking a break with the Small Business Conversations programs. However, we have the many years of the program cataloged by date on the website.

Small Business

Advisories

The March Small Business Advisory remembers a line from many a western movie; "They went that a-way" and expressions similar to that distract from a business giving great customer service.

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

The big news item on November 30, 2022 was the advent of ChatGPT; Artificial Intelligence applications which many believe are used exclusively by big businesses.

This does not have to be true as there are many applications we share that have usage in a small business.


Article of the Month

"No plan B"; the subtitle to Van Morrison's Born to Sing album. The idea of no plan B also applies to a small business when you think (or is it when you don't think) about when the time, or opportunity, comes that you can sell your business. Generally speaking, a small business owner gets less money when they decide to close their business.


Book of the Month

"Escape from Cubicle Nation" is the March book of the month. While directed towards those working a corporate job and wanting to become an entrepreneur, we remind readers about utilizing their gut feeling to make decisions in their business.

After all, you did use your gut feeling when you decided to open or purchase your business.