20 Bucks for a Lifetime of Watch Batteries
At my store we charge customers $10 for a regular battery and $13 for lithium. We all know they cost almost nothing—but the time it takes to change one means our employees aren’t on the floor selling. Of ten we ask customers to pick up their watches in a couple of hours or the next day—but a battery is something they want done then and are willing to wait—hence the 10 bucks.
What about charging 20 bucks for a lifetime of batteries and $24.95 for a lifetime of lithium batteries? We all know batteries last a long time—if it runs out—well then the customer comes back in 6-7 months—but you’ve got the 20 bucks right then? Does it sound like we’re out for every little penny OR is it a great way to build customer loyalty?
Side note: I interviewed someone the other day who told me they do this at the store he currently was working for—and I didn’t know what to think of it. Have you all tried this? Is it worth it? We take in a bunch of batteries, but $20 bucks a pop sounds like a lot (when we know most will forget and most of them whose battery does run out—a battery is such a thing you want done right then and will go to the closest place).
JACK800 commented:
Trade the battery replacement charge for something more valuable to
you and your store: customer data. “The most expensive thing
you pay for is a new customer and the most expensive thing you can
lose is an old customer”. Charge $15-$20 for a battery or $10
for a battery and a survey to collect basic marketing information;
F&L name-addr (Optional), Zip code (required), local
subscriptions (newspapers/magazines, etc.), age group, organization
memberships, significant dates (B.day, anniv, etc.), upcoming
purchases (gifts, weddings, graduations, etc.), how they found your
store, what ads they remember, etc... You can then use the data as
an anchor point in future sales and marketing campaigns; zip codes
- where your customers are coming from, subs - what they pay to
read, seasonal sales mailers, etc… It may even trigger a
purchase for something they forgot about. Depending on the area,
you may even be able to get the local paper, magazine, or other
vendor to pay for the battery if you include an offer for a
complementary starter subscription-service-product.
Wizard commented:
We have a one year battery for $10.00 and a lifetime for $20.00.
They mostly go with the lifetime. Both are done while they wait and
let them browse.
Wizard commented:
We have a one year battery for $10.00 and a lifetime for $20.00.
They mostly go with the lifetime. Both are done while they wait and
let them browse.
