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Coupons, Coupons, Coupons
...... business, but I can't imagine that
ANYone EVER took advantage of the offer. (It may be
significant to note that the restaurant in question failed.)
If you are selling gift certificates, they cannot expire.
Someone has given you money for a product or service that
Ask Mr. DDear Mr. D I have heard that to make it on the Internet, a business must have a high ranking on the search engines. I have ..... you have not yet delivered; to allow that to expire is
unethical in my opinion, unless you return the money to the
purchaser after the expiration date.
Accounting for them, however, can be a problem. A friend of
mine received landscaping gift certificates for several
years. She accumulated them until she had a big project to
do, and the nursery that issued them was mortified that they
were going to have to honor them all at once. If you think
about it, though, they got a better deal because they had
use of the money for all of that time, and the buying power
of the money they received has diminished over time; a $100
certificate, for example, issued 5 years ago won't buy as
much today as it would have then. Gift certificates should
be carried on your books as a liability. That way, you
don't realize the revenue or take the profit until the
certificates are redeemed.
Some people have the feeling that gift certificates are too
much trouble because of the liability and accounting, but my
feeling is that you should do what's best for your customer,
not what's best for you.
Coupons and gift certificates are good tools. Use them, but
be smart about it.
About the Author "Make More Money and Have More Fun" with your small
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Comments and/or questions are
always welcome at 1-800-366-2347 or Dave@DaveBalch.com.
(c) Copyright 2002, Dave Balch.
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