Silly marketing

Status
Not open for further replies.
jaylectricity

jaylectricity

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
Occupation
licensed journeyman electrician
So Northeast ProRewards has been sending me these "quizzes". I was ignoring them until I saw I could get more points. I have a lot of points based on how much money I spend on electrical supplies (all paid for by my customers).

So I took a gander at them. It's hilarious. The quiz is almost always about asking if you noticed the brand name. Not what the product does, or any kind of installation process.

They had a chance with the installation process video where they could have said, "Does this switch require a neutral?" Nope...they go with, "Which vendor is featured in this video?" and "What is the name of this product?"

I get it, they're trying to instill brand names in your head. It's marketing.

So yeah, I'll take the points, but to frame it as some instructional quiz is funny. And get this, they give you two chances to get it right.
 
James L said:
I've never heard of that outfit. Who are they? What do the points get you?
Click to expand...
Northeast Electrical is where I get most of my supplies. There's a few other outfits like Electric Supply Center, Granite City Electric, Concord Electric Supply around here.

So they introduce the ProRewards thing and I signed up maybe or maybe I was automatically signed up having an account at Northeast.

So I ignored it for a long time then looked into it and saw I had a lot of points. There's a huge list of things you can buy with the points. Obviously, you can spend $10,000 and maybe the points are 10,000. (I haven't actually looked into how much the dollar to points ratio is). And 10,000 points can get you something that's worth $10.

But I used some points to get Hulu for free. They have tools or whatever.

I don't go crazy spending the points. I think if I just let them accumulate some day I can use them for something awesome. In the meantime, I just do what I do, spend what I spend and maybe I'll get something free out of it.

But no, I'm not spending just to get points. I just buy what I need and charge the customer appropriately. Let the points build up.
 
jaylectricity said:
I get it, they're trying to instill brand names in your head. It's marketing.
Click to expand...
Of course you think it's "silly"; you're a practical-minded guy accustomed to seeing tangible results every day, and probably haven't really accepted the fact that almost every message being propagated is a lie.

Marketing is deadly serious, influencing millions of lives and billions of dollars. It's probably responsible for more profit margin than any other item, especially in mature industries.

My "representative" in Congress sends an even "sillier" example, a push poll. He lists ten obvious important issues and asks you which three are the most important. He doesn't care (and doesn't ask) what you want him to actually DO about them; he just wants you to remember his name and reinforce the illusion that he might be On Your Side.


James L said:
PayPal gives me 1% back (credited each month) for whatever I buy with my debit card. This month it was $76.00
Click to expand...
That's a nice racket they have going: Charge the seller three, four or five percentage points, and kick back one of them to you while offering no tangible product, just moneychanging.
 
drcampbell said:
That's a nice racket they have going: Charge the seller three, four or five percentage points, and kick back one of them to you while offering no tangible product, just moneychanging.
Click to expand...
It's 2.9% but they offer something I haven't seen from anyone else - instant availability of funds.

Credit card processing typically takes about 3 business days, which can be almost a week in certain instances.

Some guys could get really hurt waiting a week. Occasionally I'll get stretched out with $30-40k out in invoices. When I'm waiting, and my funds get lower than what I'm comfortable with, it's nice to know I have a couple of contractors who pay that way.
 
ptonsparky said:
Hmm. VISA paid me cash at the of the year. (Never carried a balance.) Chance you can pay by CC, get your points and cash back? You may end up with an extra night out at the Fast Food of your choice.
Click to expand...
That's actually what I do. I pay for the supplies on my card, then just pay off the balance a few times a month.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top