DMSRetail

While checking out my Facebook page, a ‘Sponsored’ box showed up on my screen.

It was about 4” by 6”… quite a sizeable ad, wouldn’t you agree? It was definitely designed to get the reader’s attention and it worked.

Scored!!

Pipa’s Pizza (name changed) ran a Facebook ad that was clearly successful in getting positive reaction.

The ad was so perfectly timed, and it was such a great offer, I went for it immediately.

Yes, I would be ordering a Pipa’s pizza for dinner.

Although no one in our family had tried Pipa’s pizza before, this offer was a no brainer…it was an irresistible offer. And those are the winning offers, almost every time.

So, armed with my credit card and having agreed on the toppings with the rest of the family, I hit the ‘Shop Now’ button. I was directed to a place to input my address.

Of course, they need the address for a couple of reasons like knowing which store should produce the pizza and then where it should be delivered to.

After entering all of my details, I saw a message saying ‘Online Ordering is Temporarily Unavailable’.

I tried it a couple of times thinking I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes little things happen but they get fixed quickly so no harm done.

But, no.

No Pipa’s for us.

I checked it again the next day and got the same message.

One important thing I haven’t mentioned yet…

The special offer was ONLY applicable for orders placed online.

No telephone orders.

No walk-in orders.

Also, there were no asterisked items such as time of day this special would be available, or participating dealers or anything else.

So, no one was going to be able to take advantage of the offer being made on Facebook.

Does this not seem somewhat unproductive?

I don’t think it’s too harsh to ask, “Who is running this operation?”
Why make an offer if no one can use it?

Why bother designing the ad? Why pay for an ad to run?

Of course, mistakes happen. Of course, we must be reasonable but, come on now. How much understanding should there be for people who haven’t tested their ad…for people who went to the expense of creating and placing an ad that is doomed?

That ad cannot be successful…it is impossible.

Pipa’s Pizza very likely has a whole lot of other problems, as well.

So…make sure that you always follow up, check and double check when your money and reputation are at stake. Better still, ensure you have trusted people to do that for you.

All the Success!

PS. More articles at DMSRetail.com/RetailArticles