Question Amex and their Small business sale!

Create a Post
P

Puppiesonacid

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Posts
2,161
Anyone going to use the Amex 25 dollar cash back thing on Nov 27th?

Their promotion to small buisnesses.

Can't say I had anyone ask about it last year, but might try promoting it to see what happens.

Might be one of those, everyone waits until that day to come in instead of the weeks before.
 
We did it last year. A couple of people cashed in. I say, anything that promotes my business over other businesses is good for me.

We will send out a reminder via Constant Contact to remind folks we are here. Probably will mention it on our radio ad, too...
 
ah cool. now i guess my next question is. Did you have to pay the 25$ out of your pocket, or did Amex foot the bill?
 
We will be doing it again this year, too. Whether or not someone comes in, it's still nice to have some free advertising.

The people register at amex, come in on that one specific day and buy something. Amex credits THEIR account $25 for shopping with you. (on their statement)

You don't lose $25.

Puppiesonacid said:
Anyone going to use the Amex 25 dollar cash back thing on Nov 27th?

Their promotion to small buisnesses.

Can't say I had anyone ask about it last year, but might try promoting it to see what happens.

Might be one of those, everyone waits until that day to come in instead of the weeks before.
Click to expand...
 
Sounds like another silly gimmick to me:mad:

If Amex wants me to promote their card all they have to do is bring their over the top merchant charges down to somewhere within cooee of those of the other providers.
 
I didn't see this on here before I started a thread in business issues about the same thing :shrug: I'm going to leave mine and see if others weigh or just let a moderator decide if they want to take it down.

I am taking advantage of it. It isn't just for Amex, in fact I have never had anyone asking to use one in my store .... but the $100 of advertising they provide to me has been well worth filling out a few forms. I am excited to get another $100 this year, and just wish i could have gotten the second offer this year as well.

Oh ... and puppies ... if you are going to promote it, this year it is on the 26th :) (Now i have to remember to delete last year's flyers so i don't have the wrong date too. Thank you :icon19: I might have missed that otherwise)

http://www.thegrumble.com/showthread.php?59308-Small-Business-Saturday
 
We did this last year too. Got a free $100 in facebook ads last year and again this year. The $25 is covered by Amex. Since I have an Amex card, I also get the $25 when I spend at a small business. Great promo IMO.

I think if you actually looked at your credit card discount rate you would find that Amex is not as high as you might think. Almost all Visa/MC/Discover swipes are now Mid Qual or Non Qual which puts you in the same or close to the same discount tier as Amex. And I have found the my Amex customers are more affluent and have a higher sale amount per transaction than any of the other cards. Which is what Amex says too.

So I say bring on the Amex's, especially the black ones.

I do not work or am not a paid consultant for American Express, PPFA, Tru Vue, Larson Juhl, or any other company you may care about.
 
Amex seems to be about 1% higher to me.

maybe a bit less after all the rewards from visa, and discover cards.

HOW DO YOU SIGN UP FOR IT?

I got a phone number to call after talking to 3 people at Amex.

open m-f, so i have to wait
 
I agree completely with Kyle. You can't tell what kind of Visa or Mastercard someone is using, and the last year or two I usually end up being unpleasantly surprised at the upcharges for "exotic"versions of those cards on my monthly statement. In many cases, by the time you figure in swipe fees, transaction charges etc. and figure your average percentage on all MC/VISA sales for the month, the cost to take Amex is close, or even less.

I spoke to someone at Elavon about this, and it seems the only remedy is to shift to Elavon processing service through Costco rather than directly through my bank, for a slightly better rate. I intend to do so, but just haven't had the time to fool with it yet.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick
 
Is there a link to sign up for this? Or is it too late?

I started taking Amex about 2 years ago, and HAVE noticed a difference. My Amex statement is separate from the VS/MC/DS statement and is way easier to read. I agree with the others the spiffy extra cards put a dent into the bottom line.

If this is a gimmick, I will try it for free advertising. Why not?

ALSO, I read somewhere, and I suppose this really cannot be proven by me in my eclectic shop, I read AMEX shoppers spend more. Yes, I probably read it on the AMEX website. But, my customers light up when I tell them I take AMEX...I like making my customers light up.
 
Free Facebook Ads!

Sorry if this is mentioned ... I didn't read it all (no time!), but they are offering free Facebook ads, too ... Small Business Saturday.

Thanks for the radio ad idea!! I will put it in my next one, too.
 
Just got a bit of info on this from AmEx today. And a wizzy sticker to put up in the shop. A customer of mine saw the flyer read it and thought it was a cool idea.

I like this idea. We will see if it helps.
 
So how does a business sign up for this event?

I waited till Nov 1st to see if I could sign up so I went to the web page. There is a bunch of signage one can download but I can't find any details in how it works. Anybody know anymore information on this? Did anybody do this last year?
 
I notice that it is the day after Black Friday. Just seems almost like a slap in the face to small businesses, I mean the Malls get huge sales on Black Friday and we are supposed to be happy because AMEX is telling people to further ignore us that day and come in the next, if they have any money left :) It's a conspiracy, I tell you it is....
 
This is a customer program. I understand there is a limit to the number of customers that will be able to sign up. Odds of seeing one in your shop are remote. I think they are just trying to get you to promote American Express with additional signage.

:kaffeetrinker_2:
 
But Pat, remote odds of winning doesn't stop people from buying lottery tickets or going to Vegas :)

I don't do either, so I am also not signing up for the AMEX lottery.
 
Bob Doyle said:
I notice that it is the day after Black Friday. Just seems almost like a slap in the face to small businesses, I mean the Malls get huge sales on Black Friday and we are supposed to be happy because AMEX is telling people to further ignore us that day and come in the next, if they have any money left :) It's a conspiracy, I tell you it is....
Click to expand...

I know that I may be an exception to the rule but...being located in a mall for over 20 years, I have found that yes, Black Friday is busy for the big box mall merchants but, that Saturday has been consistantly a stronger day for myself and other non big box retailers in the mall. Many people go to the big box retailers to get their "door busters" and then spend some time looking around, they then come back on Saturday to spend their money on items they found the day before.

Saturday after Black Friday is, and always has been a very good sales day for me.
 
Not here on Main Street Tim :)

Should be good this year though, we're having a town celebration, fest shindig of some kind.
 
Black Friday has always been a dead day for us, so we are glad to promote ANYTHING to boost sales that weekend.
 
Wow, Amex has reps out on the road hitting the shopping centers to explain and help. I just talked to a rep and she gave me a kit with info and logos. She did answer one question....the customer only gets one $25 credit on their statement, not $25 for every small shop that they go to that day. Also I think that it is more than that one day, possibly ongoing. She said that 1/2 of the FB ads were taken.

Susan
 
Create a Post
Back
Top