Help! September is killing me! 52teas Sale
I don’t see Frank as whining or anything. He’s being creative and offering an incentive to boost sales during a slow period. It would be one thing if he just came here and told us we should all buy his tea because we should feel sorry for him but this is totally different.
I agree Frolic, it’s not like Frank is being pushy or anything either.
I do think this may be an opportunity to create some new marketing strategies… but that depends on so many factors that we may not be aware of. Time and investment capital being the biggest!
Frank: have you considered an outright sale? (Ex 15% off certain blends)
I might be interested in that if I can scrounge up some change! :)
I also agree with Frolic. Had Frank just said, “Please buy my tea, but I have no incentives to offer” then I agree that it would have poor strategy. But, he said, “Business is slow, here’s something to entice you.” Businesses do this all the time, they usually just don’t say WHY (but it’s usually because business is slow).
Also, Frank didn’t say business in general was bad, just the month of September. If he DID, I would have said something like the survey you mentioned in an earlier comment would have been more beneficial.
You know, I never noticed that in the discussion guidelines. I’ve been active in this community for years now, and I’ve always posted notices about sales and new products, but always in the “Tea Companies and Promotions” category. I assumed that was what it was for.
Anyway, I apologize if my post offended you. I HAVE been actively engaged in this online community for several years now, and sometimes I do come across maybe a bit too casual, probably because I think of my customers as my friends. Maybe my colloquial marketing style seems unprofessional to you. I appreciate you letting me know; who knows how many other people were offended by my message but didn’t have the courage to say so? I appreciate the feedback.
I agree that a PM would have been better in this case, especially if you didn’t want to start a discussion. I think many of us saw that and felt the need to defend Frank. It was not meant as an attack against you, we just wanted to explain his side since he’s a very busy guy :)
And yes, several companies do post threads when they are having new sales or promotions, but I do not feel that anyone abuses it. Even Frank has only one thread that he keeps updating for his weekly blends. I do not think it is an issue at the moment.
1) Frank almost always uses the same thread for his teas, but occasionally he does something different enough that I think a new thread is fairly justifiable. It would be different if he was creating a new thread weekly.
2) I have not bought teas from him recently because I am in a “tea overload” state, and nothing lately has grabbed me super-hard (what on earth is a gooey butter cake?) but this promo DID catch my eye in and of itself because I love those SBT bags and I wouldn’t want to miss a deal on them. In other words, Frank offered me something as a customer that I want.
3) I think you’re severely underestimating the customer base Frank has already built.
I second the sentiment about nasty pills. And now rather than owning it and taking some heat, you’re saying you should have PMed him. Smacks of cowardice to me.
LOL @ Daniel. I’m glad I’m not the only one who had never heard of a gooey butter cake. I admit, though, it does sound good although very bad for you ;)
For those who have not tried Gooey Butter Cake … I recommend visiting Wal-Mart (I hate that place, but trust me here) go to the bakery section of the grocery store section… and look for Paula Deen’s brand baked goods. This is where I discovered Gooey butter cake. I tried the lemon and it is amazing… but my local Wal-Marts no longer carry this flavor … the original Gooey Butter Cake is also very good.
It may not sound good for you. But it tastes… wow. Yeah. Um… you must try it to understand it. :)
people tend to get passionate about what or who they like. It’s natural to defend your friends if you think they are threatened. If I hadn’t spent my tea budget money already this month I would be ordering from 52teas right now to show support :D
Someone took a nasty pill – geez. PeaceNL – I think you’re a misnomer! :)
We should give PeaceNL the benefit of assuming the comment was meant well. What one person intends as straightforward can read as rude or pushy. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion but I think this thread should not morph into this defensive stance of back and forth.
Frank – can’t wait to see what plans you have in Fall/Christmas line up.
Nope, I think he was just being nasty for nasty’s sake. And that’s all the mindshare I’m giving him on this.
Frank – don’t worry. Not everyone thinks you’re an evildoer!
Hmm looks like PeaceNL has their own tea company…I do have to wonder if this was prompted by more than just concern for our well-being.
Apologies, I must have accidently clicked on someone else’s profile when I came up with this site (http://www.teatimechaps.com/).
Frank has been a long-time member of this community, and I am glad to consider him not just a purveyor of some of my favorite teas but also a friend. I see nothing wrong with him stating that this particular month his sales are down. It’s not uncommon for some of his fantastic tea blends to sell out within 24 hours, so I would say that overall, he’s doing well and does not need to revamp or change anything about his business.
September is a slow month … people are going back to school, buying books and supplies, paying dance class tuition, buying new dance shoes, etc, etc. It’s a tight month for me, and I know as someone who used to sell teas, September was a difficult month for me back then too. Lots of other things going on … new fashions hitting the stores… the holiday season is approaching … people just aren’t as focused on purchasing tea.
So I see nothing wrong with running a September promotion. And that is what this is. It is a promotion, a special offer to drum up sales. No different from some of the other big companies like Harney offering free shipping or a special discount.
This is a tea community, and guess what, we like tea … and maybe the only thing better than drinking tea is getting a great deal on tea. I don’t mind seeing the occasional promotion here in the forums, and 52Teas is certainly not the only company that does this.
Looks like PeaceNL really did delete their account. I wish Steepster would keep their discussion posts intact because it makes the thread harder to follow.
I agree. I hate it when I go to a thread and see all these posts that no longer make sense because someone came along and deleted all their posts. I can understand being able to delete the post if it posts double or if you’ve had a chance to rethink your position on something… but I think that there ought to be a time limit on it… Say an hour. After an hour, the post becomes permanent unless deleted by Steepster.
I don’t think they specifically deleted any posts. I think by deleting their account, Steepster automatically removes everything.
I wish there was at least as “post deleted” message, otherwise you feel like you are missing something.
Oh good lord, seriously? How do they ever get through life without bumping their hip on table corners?
I know. How dramatic. Normally I wouldn’t even bring it up, but with his posts gone it would make it hard for a new person to follow.
I missed what was going on and now those posts have been deleted. I keep my all my posts posted even when there is a misunderstanding so everyone can see. I do not hide from mistakes because they make me human (sometimes not very likable but human)
If I may add my 10c…
There is nothing wrong with asking for a little support. Just like tea customers, many of us struggle in the economy as well. I think it’s better to ask for help once in while, than give up or be forced to.
Even thought Frank is my competition, I feel it would be a sad day for tea community to loose him. He does offer very unique product that you won’t find elsewhere.
I’d like to show my support and offer special 40% off coupon for any flavored matcha(except the on sale) for first 10 people that place an order with 52 Teas. I know that many of you were going to try some new Matcha flavors anyway, so save some money at my store and use it to support 52 Teas. (contact me at info@redleaftea to get coupon when you place your order there)
Let’s show some support.
ack! and I just placed my order with you yesterday! if I had known, I could have afforded a 52 purchase :s
Same here, but I absolutely love that Red Leaf Tea is doing this! How generous of you to offer your support to another company.
That is hugely awesome of you. I love it when companies feel they can support one another this way.
That is totally awesome, and it already worked for me. It inspired me to visit 52teas for the first time in a while and find some teas that looked really good to me! Can’t wait!
seeing Red Leaf’s post just makes me like them all the more :D I already put in an order though (with Red Leaf) I want to wait until the October bills come in and then I’ll spend some money at 52teas (hopefully by then Butterbeer will be back)
Yaaaaaay! I placed my order at 52Teas last Wednesday, so I’m not sure where that would put me, but I’ve been wanting to try your matcha so much <3
Thank you for the clarification! Please let us know when the 10 orders have been claimed. :)
Wow. I’m really not sure what to say, but thank you. I really appreciate the kind words, and the assistance.
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