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A few days ago, in this thread:
http://news.lugnet.com/market/shopping/?n=11832
I mentioned the large group order that we (my co-workers & I) do every year
about this time. This was our third annual and largest order yet. I'm not sure
how many other people do this in their office/workplace or how many are
interested in how ours went, but I thought I'd post a few notes about it just in
case.
Our order is compiled and submitted by one person (who is kind enough to let
this sit on her credit card until mid next month). She emails anyone who might
be interested and they stop by with their orders. It's important to note that
she is not a LEGO fan in any sense other than she enjoys buying it for her kids
and sometimes helping them to build. She's a typical parent of children who
like LEGO bricks. In fact, I was the only one ordering bricks for me... all
others were normal parents.
I do my best to help out by taking an actual printed copy of the Shop At Home
catalog in to work and leaving it on my desk for everyone to see/use.
This year's order, as noted above, was our largest yet. We had 10 people
participate and in total (before tax) we bought more than $900 (in Canadian
funds). But maybe a few people reading this are wondering, "what's the big
deal?" Here's a few things that might help you understand why I think this type
of activity is so great.
1) Everyone who ordered got free shipping, since we were well over the $99
minimum. This helps those people who wouldn't have gotten free shipping since
many of the individual orders were actually below that amount.
2) In total we ordered more than 20 Advent calendars. This was one of the
items that sort of got people jazzed about this back in 2002 when we did our
first order. Each year we order even more.
3) Everyone who ordered bulk packs got the 15% discount, since we ordered way
over 15 items from that section. That includes people who ordered only 1 or 2
packs, so again this is a big incentive to join in our order.
I think it's also worth noting that we know for certain that at least 6 or 7 of
those people who ordered would have purchased little or no LEGO on their own
since they don't normally do so and some people just don't change their habits.
So here's the real point I'm trying to make with this posting. I *think* this
type of program (bulk orders placed for a group by one representative customer)
would be a positive thing for the LEGO company to implement. I hope someone is
listening and sees the numbers above. We are just a small office... only about
44 people. That means nearly 25% of the people in our office participated in
this order. Imagine if such an order were placed by a larger office or other
workplace where you have many more _potential_ customers.
Our little group buy is completely organized by us... or rather by my co-worker
noted above. She has built an Excel spreadsheet that tracks everyone's order
and amount owing, with discounts and taxes included. She was able to balance
her spreadsheet to the penny with the final order on the LEGO website. But what
about people/offices who for whatever reason wouldn't go about organizing such a
thing? Should they be left out? Should those potential sales simply remain...
potential?
From what I've seen in the last few years, working in an office environment,
catalog sales programs (one person brings it in and places group orders) are
very popular. People sometimes buy things they wouldn't otherwise buy simply
because it's easy, it gets delivered, and hey... "everyone else is doing it."
:)
I can only hope that if this idea hasn't been explored by LEGO that they will at
least think about it. I just feel that it has the possibility of bringing in
more sales; much of that in Shop At Home items where presumably the margins are
a bit higher. Not to mention that our order is just one big order... not 10
little ones. Doesn't that somehow save on packing/shipping costs? Maybe a
little. But add up all those little amounts over many many orders and what do
you get?
It seems to me that a simple change to the web order form (to allow for a larger
group order, broken down by individual buyer but still calculated as one
purchase) would be a good way to test the waters. Promote the fact that groups
end up with bigger savings if they order this way. If that seems to work then
explore the possibility of a more parent-friendly catalog that helps those
people (who aren't kids or AFOL's) understand what they're buying. And if all
that goes well, why not even explore the idea of actual sales reps like those
used by Pampered Chef or Tupperware? Build in some incentive (free stuff,
discounts) for those folks to bring in more sales.
As noted above, 90% of those who ordered with us were just regular parents. This
is not an AFOL targeted sales program I'm talking about, but rather one that
tries to get the average parent buying more LEGO for their kids.
Am I looney? Is there a fundamental reason that even a small portion of these
ideas wouldn't work? Is our office unique? Do you do already do this with your
co-workers? If not, would you now consider it for next Christmas, based on what
you've read above?
I'd be curious to know what people think of these ideas and/or what you're
already doing in your own workplace.
Best regards,
Allan B.
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Anatomy of a Shop At Home group order
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| (...) Well, it sounds nice and good...but you have to be able to demonstrate that it's feasible AND profitable. A few key details... 1) most companies make money on Shipping and Handling when they do it. What you are proposing is to reduce that (...) (20 years ago, 8-Nov-04, to lugnet.market.shopping)
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