Hurry! Offer ends Soon! Or, Does It?
Did you read the title? Do you feel compelled to “act” right away? Probably not. Most of us see this as a gimmick to get us to hurry up and buy right now, and that’s exactly what it is; but does that mean it isn’t true? Often times it is not true, and the same offer with the same move it or lose it headline will be there many years from now; However, there are times when it is the truth. We often see this advertising and think there will be another great offer later, but how many times have you gone back to purchase a product only to find the deal you were hoping to get is now gone? I’ve done it, I’m sure many of you have as well.
So, how do you know if a particular offer is long term, or short term? You don’t, but I have a couple ideas that may help you understand how much time you have before an offer expires. First, small companies will often (but not always) mimic the large companies. They use the same tactics to instill in you a sense of urgency, yet the “special offers” from smaller companies are less likely to change over a long period of time because they simply lack the monetary fortitude to switch up their advertising campaigns like larger companies do. I’m not saying this is always the case, just rule of thumb.
In any case, it’s a good idea to follow the trends of the big companies as a general rule when trying to decide how much time you have to get “that deal”. For the most part when big corporations start an ad campaign they’ll run it for one quarter, then switch to something new. Quarters are based on a one year financial calendar with each quarter spanning three months. Almost like the seasons. Q1 is January through March, Q2 is April through June, Q3 is July through September, and Q4 is October through December.
Knowing this will give you some idea as to the time span of a companies main offer, so for example, if you see a really good deal on March 31st, chances are good it won’t be there on April fools day. The offer could change for the better, or it could be worse. There is no way of knowing. The key is to decide if the offer is really something you can benefit from in the first place. Why gamble? There may be times when offers change in the middle of a quarter, but this is mainly for holiday specials which might last a week or so, then revert back to the main offer for that quarter.
