How Is A "SALE" Really Measured ?

The following ad (one of many in a similar vein by Brandon Oriental Rugs) deals with -- and plays with -- contrasting marketing styles of companies and their choices regarding how they promote themselves.

Many companies by their promotions choose to say -- in effect -- "Come see us. We'll give you a BIG discount compared to what we can really, or usually do, charge for what we offer." What they don't say, is that the discount is taken from a number that's usually made-up, manufactured from a formula that allows the discount to be offered.

For example:  a company wants to sell a product at price= $X, claiming it is 70% OFF the "regular  price". But, "regular price" doesn't exist until it's made up from the targeted selling price. So if you want to sell at $300, and want to broadcast that the "SALE" price is 70% OFF of the "regular price", you create the "regular price" by multiplying $300 by 3.33333333 (or so) which equals the awesome, "who could hope to afford it", regular price of $1,000. $300 looks SO good compared to that "regular" $1,000 that folks can't wait to spend $300. It's a conditioned response, and marketers play the market with it constantly.

Other companies (and Brandon Oriental Rugs has been one since our founding) have decided that they are not going to use the model above of "decoy luring prey to the trap through smoke and mirrors." These companies (and Brandon Oriental Rugs has been one since our founding) realize that they have something REAL to offer their customers. They are offering products with tangible value and benefits that can satisfy the unique wants and needs of the customer (including price) based on REAL Quality points that enable comparisons between products and vendors. They are not selling a targeted price-point or manufactured discounts, or other "made-to-look-real" gimmicks to the public (e.g.: "Liquidation Sale"; "Going-Out-Of-Business Sale"; "Retirement Sale"; "First Day of the Month When It's a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday Sale"; "The Prior Sale Extended for the Remainder of the Month Sale"; etc..)

It's important to realize AND remember that the Quality Price Model provides the customer with purchase prices every bit as good as or, usually, better than the Discount Price model. The difference is that it's rational not impulsive; it's providing pricing related to tangible benefits which can be compared, and not arising from some whim of the marketing department trying to manufacture demand by relating unrelated things. Really, what does a day on the calendar have to do with the the underlying reasons for why things cost what they do? Truly, businesses using the Quality Price Model know that President's Day, or Memorial Day, or Mothers Day, or Fathers Day or the Fourth of July or Thanksgiving or Pick-A-Day or the Final Day is coming when the discount stores will be trumpeting incredible percentages off of their so-called regular prices. So the Quality Price Model businesses (and Brandon Oriental Rugs has been one since our founding) make sure that their prices are as good as it gets everyday, all of the time; that way no competitor's manufactured discount event can ever represent a better value to the potential customer.