[Re: Loose Cannon: Foreboding Comes in a Little White Envelope, Direct Newsline, Jan. 18, 2005]:
Maybe it’s not all doom and gloom. What about the time value of money and breakage? Some of those cards, or some of their stored value, goes unredeemed. AmEx knows this very well; that is what “floated” their Travelers Cheques boat, after all.
Lawrence D. Dutra
President
Adams Wine Group LLC
Westlake Village, CA
* * * * *
As an anxious buyer of family presents, I love certificates. They get used with far more joy than my thoughtless array of ill-fitting, wrong music, not my cosmetics, I never read HIM... choices.
As a direct marketing professional, I promote this as a means to grab attention and drive some activity, which, I pray, is incremental and new traffic. But even as I do this I find myself wondering if it truly is a plus. Sure, it does cause visits that may be from totally new customers. And yes, many are consumed on sale merchandise (just as I would if given the opportunity!).
Oh sure, Richard. Do you have to bring this to everyone's attention?!
Next you'll dampen the "pay nothing until 2007" sales promotion. Oh, right. That client will be driven out of business for... here we go again... for a reason not terribly distant from to my small white envelope which is much loved by my family!
John Galavan
Sales Manager
SOS Data Services
Woodinville, WA
