Free cheese only in a mousetrap!

We are constantly confronted with advertising in different forms, some advertising we like, some annoying, some may even seem to be a freebie!
Under the cut some types of advertising campaigns are considered. The purpose of the review is to show why free cheese is seasoned, so that consumers better understand what large companies are doing and why.

Some species are considered very briefly because they are obvious.

So, the axiom: A store (any commercial organization) will not sell itself at a loss - any advertising increases the organization’s profit and this increase exceeds the marketing expenses .

Hurray, Aunt Asya has arrived

Classic advertising (TV commercials, billboards, banners) is used to position a product, promote a brand, become familiar.
What role does brand recognition play? On a shelf in a supermarket, Burenka milk will cost 35 rubles, while Penthouse in the Capital milk will cost 50 rubles and they will buy it. It turns out that the buyer pays the manufacturer for advertising, and even pays on top (see axiom).
If you evaluate the cost of one display of advertising to one consumer, television is cheaper than advertising on the Internet

We insure helmets, we unwind sites

Invites to the Habr
Write in the sandbox and get an invite
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Contextual advertising is an advertising that is offered to a consumer who is most likely to need it. Here, in addition to Yandex-direct, I also include advertisements for the increase in various organs on thematic sites.
The main advantage of this advertisement is that it can be really useful to the consumer. Advertising is also convenient for the service provider - it is easy to adjust the cost and number of customers.
Мой опыт показывает, что отношение количества показов к количеству кликов в яндексе составляет десятые доли процентов, а в социальных сетях - сотые. Конверсия кликов в клиенты ~ 10% Эти показатели зависят от правильности таргетирования, от стоимости клика, от правильно составленных объявлений, ну и от самой услуги, конечно.

Hot Santa Claus will increase your corporate body by SMS

Spam is hateful spam. A highly discredited method of promoting services, often used by scammers or hackers. Everything is clear about him.
With all its drawbacks, spam is the cheapest and most effective advertising method. And alas, it is applicable for companies that need one-time customers. I hope that with the growth of computer literacy the situation will change

Tasty like a door handle orbits

Viral marketing - advertising, launched with a minimum budget and designed to ensure that its further distribution will engage consumers. About him Habré already wrote a lot , I will not repeat.
Sometimes an ad becomes viral in nature, as it happened with an Orbita ad - the phrase “tastes good like Orbit” was unexpected for advertisers (and maybe not completely unexpected ;-)

You want to receive information!

Many reputable companies organize permanent work with loyal customers - send advertising letters, glossy catalogs, special offers. At the same time, the consumer can refuse such mailing, and can subscribe voluntarily.
Supporting such clients can be expensive for the company (the cost of preparing and printing glossy catalogs and mailing lists), but a loyal customer can become a gold mine - he will come several times and make friends, they will pay the cost of printing catalogs for everyone, who did not come a second time.
I can’t say anything interesting about this ad.

Want to lose weight - ask me how

Direct sales, they are network marketing, they are also MLM.
These firms generate huge profits, while their products are not advertised on television and are not sold in supermarkets. How is this done?
Firms educate super-loyal customers to whom they sell their products. These people are called "independent entrepreneurs" and they are forced to buy products monthly in large volumes, otherwise their own profit will begin to fall sharply. Products are delivered to end consumers through acquaintances, while “independent entrepreneurs” have 30% of the income from each unit of goods. In addition, a classic pyramid is being built and each participant receives a share from those who came for him.
In this way, dietary supplements, dishes, cosmetics, household chemicals are distributed. Products are usually not cheap, but are of good quality.
With all the prevailing attitude to herbalife and other things, this business has proved itself well from all sides:
Owners get enchanting profits, “independent entrepreneurs” get the opportunity to earn money (and this is especially true outside the capitals), and consumers get high-quality goods.
“Independent entrepreneurs” also receive good personal growth: sociability, sociability, the ability to convince, always a good mood and a sense of happiness from being part of a new family.
Direct selling companies actively patronize those who generate big income. For example, they rent a five-star hotel in Turkey in the summer for a month and arrange a free seminar there.

One dollar discount when buying a Mercedes

When something fails to sell, sellers announce discounts. Nothing particularly interesting can be said about discounts, except that with any discount the seller still makes a profit from each unit of goods sold. Discount sizes up to 70% allow you to only slightly better evaluate the standard margins of this store.
It is useful to know that discounts can be made in many stores in large shopping centers - managers simply do not offer them unnecessarily. Feel free to ask for discounts - the store will not sell at a loss anyway. To assess the size of margins: a German suit for 300 euros in Moscow is sold for 50,000 rubles.

You have our card!

Discount and discount cards are issued by stores in order to create loyal customers. If you have two cafes in front of you - Shokolodka and Coffee MD, and in your pocket you have a Shokolodka card - you will definitely go there. And the cafe will receive instead of 300 rubles with a probability of 50% - 270 rubles, but guaranteed. And if money also lies on this card, then the consumer’s decision is almost predetermined. If everything is so cool, then why doesn't anyone offer cards for free?
This is protection from freeloaders. If you get free cards, there will be no difference where to go. And if money is paid for the card, then you will not only choose certain places, but getting to competitors you will not pay for their discounts. So a discount card is just a way to tie a customer to a certain place.
I have rarely seen such promotions, but they are brilliant - sometimes stores offer discounts on competitors' cards, provided that the card is replaced. Thus, consumers simply outbid, for the store it is a big success

Buy three refrigerators - get ice cubes as a gift

Promotions common in retail chains: purchase bonuses, buy 4 for the price of 3, tastings.
Here is a freebie - so a freebie: they give it for free!
Let’s calculate how such freebies work: The
cost of a two-liter bottle of sugared soda ... well, 5-10 rubles, not more, the cost of a glass cup is about 10 rubles. And water is sold at 60r.
The income from one bottle of water is 50 rubles.
Income from two bottles and a glass: 2 * 60 - 2 * 10 - 10 = 90 rub.
All things being equal, most still usually buy one bottle, but when they offer to buy only two and get a glass for it, many consumers will go for it, and the store’s income will increase.
Specifically, this and other tricks from retail chains are described in the book by Alex Levitas “More money from your business” - I recommend it for acquaintance to all customers, it opens eyes to many things.

Do our work for us and get candy

And finally, the most interesting thing is the “competitions”. Let me

give you a couple of examples. Buy three bottles of hop-hop beer, write an ode and get an airship.
How it works:
1. Choosing between two identical beers - Khmelnik and Three Fools - the consumer will choose the one that the airship promises
2. He will buy not one bottle, as usual, but three
3. While he will write an ode, he will believe that Khmelnik beer is better, even Three fools
Increase in sales during the action will exceed the cost of the airship tens (or even hundreds) times - many drink beer.
Эти оды на самом деле никому не нужны и их даже не будут читать, не то что использовать в рекламах

Invite 30 friends to the social network Vsekte and get the player yaPots Shuhher
How it works:
1. a pyramid is being built - already at the fourth level of the pyramid the visitor will no longer have friends on the player, because everyone else will be invited - the number of people who invited 29 exceeds the number of winners
2. In the pursuit of the player, visitors will ask friends to register and distribute themselves information
3. Hundreds of thousands of people start to discuss yaPots player and want it. And when they cannot get it, some of them will go and buy it. After all, I want to!
Successful motivation of visitors allows you to conduct a super-efficient advertising campaign with minimal cost.

Slow down, I'm recording

Why did I write all this?

I will give a few more facts:
1. Suppose that some product sells for $ 100. This means that the cost (costs of production, delivery, rental of premises, customer service during the sale, all taxes) is $ 5- $ 15. All the rest is the total net profit of all the companies that take part in this process - manufacturer’s margins, extra charges for transport campaigns, printing houses, advertising costs, shop profits.
2. Consumers bring huge profits in total, so there is competition for the consumer and sellers are forced to spend money on advertising.
3. Any visible freebie is a slight decrease in this total margin. Such shares are designed to compensate for the loss of profit from one unit of goods due to a multiple increase in the number of sales.

And the paradox is that the consumer pays for him to advertise and sell the goods!

For buyers, it remains only to choose to whom exactly we will allow us to make a profit at our expense. This does not mean that you don’t have to buy - you can’t get anywhere from it, you just have to weigh everything before going for free.

I will explain my words with the last two examples:
1. I drink tea, but for me there is no difference between Belomorkanal and Terki tea, both of them cost 50 rubles. Usually I alternate between these two types and buy a pack of tea once a month. And then I come to the store and they offer me to buy 4 packs of Terok and get a free mug.
From the point of view of the manufacturer: The
cost of a pack of tea is 15 rubles, the cost of a cup is 30 rubles, profit from one pack of 35 rubles, and from four packs with a cup: 110 rubles.
There are two alternatives - I will buy for 4 months 2 packs of their tea for 50 rubles, or 4 at once, but with a mug. The profit of the company will be 70 rubles or 110 rubles.
And for my part - I will drink tea anyway, and then I also get a mug. I have enough dishes, but I’ll take a mug anyway, because I don’t pay anything extra for it.

2. I eat salt. And I don’t care what kind of salt is: Suck-salt, or Elk.
Sosi-salt offers a suction: buy 10 packs of salt in two months and get a plush mouse in a green hat. Cool mouse - it's cool and knows how to squeak, I want it.
But too much salt is harmful, 10 kg of salt is not necessary for me at home. Therefore, I will hammer on the mouse, which I do not need and buy as much salt as usual.



UPD: Still, there are situations when a store does sell something below cost:
* when a store closes and transporting goods somewhere else is unprofitable.
* when no one buys a product and the remainder needs to be sold
* when a buyer is attracted due to the low price of one product in the expectation that he will buy another thread
But! This does not mean that these actions are beneficial for the store - the company still pursues its goals and they do not coincide with the goals of customers ;-)

Such situations are rare (relative to the total number of stores), but they do. Again - you need to think through and consider what is beneficial for you when buying and what is not. If you do not need a broom - then you do not need to buy it even if it costs 1 ruble)