Tom's blog

Well, I'm back (sort of) after taking a bit of a break this past week. I have to say, I feel refreshed after not writing for a week - good to do this every once in a while.

The following is a guest post from one of my Colleagues, a local web designer, Shannon Chiarenza.

What's in it for me? Get better results with incentives

Incentives are enticements that encourage one into action, a reward for participating. It gives people a reason to read your flyer, visit your website, click on that link, sign up for your newsletter or fill out your survey. How many flyers and brochures do you get in your mailbox that you don’t even look at, just toss into the recycle bin? It’s just more background noise in our lives, more clutter we have to deal with.

Give people a reason to act so you don't lose sales.

Our time is valuable, no incentive means I have no time for you

I recently received a letter in my mailbox from a back treatment clinic I've used before. Their treatments are effective and did help my back pain significantly however at $75 a visit it adds up quick, so I can’t go as often as I’d like. When I received this letter saying I was chosen to participate in a survey to help improve their treatments I was happy, I read it front to back looking for my incentive, quickly realizing there was nothing in it for me.

Into the recycle bin it went and a shame to, they spent a lot of money on stamps for their return envelopes and printing, not to mention all the waste of paper. In addition I felt somewhat insulted, they assumed that my being chosen should be reason enough.

What would have made me take time out of my day to spend half an hour on the phone for an interview? A free treatment, that’s it…one free treatment and I would participate. Maybe that’s selfish but my time is valuable to me and that seems like too much work when I get nothing in return. If they offered a free treatment in return for my participation I would've been happy to do it, they get the information they need to improve their service and I get to have a visit to help my back, we both win.

They probably got some people to participate however I wonder how many more they would have if they just offered an incentive? It’s more than just what my time is worth it’s the appreciation for my efforts, a thank you not only for helping their business but a thank you for having spent so much money on them in the past.

What's your incentive?

This is one thing that is hugely overlooked by business owners, not too many people are going to take time out of their day to do anything for you if you don’t offer something in return. If your going to spend the money on mailouts make sure in bold front and centre is your incentive, like " $10 off coupon inside", "free shipping" or "mention this brochure and receive XYZ for free" something that will stop people in their tracks and open that brochure, visit your store or call you up. Make it easy to do and worth the effort, same goes for your website, give people a reason to sign up for your newsletter, bookmark your site or fill out your survey.

Incentives are more than just a way to get people to do what you want, they act as a thank you for doing it, it shows appreciation and that is worth our time.

Shannon Chiarenza is a web-designer here in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Finally, one of my articles was featured at the Carnival of Finance over at Funny About Money last week,

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Being that it's unbearably hot outside I've decided to include a post from one year ago at this time. I think this post is somewhat relevant since a few of the big car companies are going bankrupt and we're in a recession.

June 2008

One thing I’ve seen recently, on websites such as Craigslist and Leasebusters, is people who want to get out of their vehicle leases and will offer financial incentives to anyone willing to take over. Sounds appealing – but is it a good deal?

I’ve seen ads which offer as much as $6,000 to take over a lease. Granted this was a BMW with payments over $700, but you can certainly find cheaper cars with lower payments; of course, the cash incentive (if any) will be less.

Depending on the incentive and time period left in the lease, it has the potential to save you some money. The cash incentive lowers your effective payment, thus it’s a cheaper option than entering into a lease from day one, AND you frequently can avoid paying a deposit.

Why would anyone want out, after paying large deposits in many cases?

Simple – life situations change – loss of a job or transfer to another city or the birth of a child – there are so many situations where the car could become a financial drain.

What are the costs?

There are various costs to be considered when taking over a lease: there’s usually a lease transfer fee and your vehicle insurance may be higher as the leasing company may require higher levels of insurance.

Also, watch the mileage – make sure there’s enough mileage left on the lease so that it’s worthwhile given your driving habits. If there’s only a few thousand km’s left on a lease, it might not be worthwhile.

At the end of the lease, you’ll also need to make sure you can just give the car back, if you don’t want to keep it. Some leases can hold you responsible for the decrease in value – I would prefer a ‘drop off’ lease, where you simply give the keys back.

Assuming the car has been reasonable maintained you shouldn’t be on the hook for drop in value, if applicable. As always, check the terms of your lease … do your homework!

This brings up another issue – if the previous owner badly maintained the vehicle, you could be on the hook for any drop in value. I would want confirmation from the dealer and/or previous owner that the car was maintained acceptably.

At the end of the day, I like the idea of getting money BACK when purchasing a car.

So, if you’re in the market for a car and plan on leasing, check out lease transfers – get a newer car, save the deposit AND put some cash in your pocket.

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The following is a guest post from a colleague of mine, Barbara Waltz over at 247Quoteus.com.

While the current economic climate has had varying effects on us, this period has caused a great deal of reflection into our spending habits. One of our larger monthly bills comes from various forms of insurances. Similar to car insurance, if you have a loan out on your current home, the lending institution almost certainly makes you purchase insurance on it, after all if something were to happen to it they would lose out on their investment. It is possible to find affordable homeowners insurance and still maintain great coverage.

Shop Around.

While it is a simple task that we often do for other purchases, many people over look it when it comes to insurances. Just because you are with your current company and have them for other policies does not necessarily mean they are going to give you the best rates. Rates vary greatly and so it is important to take this quick way of making sure you are getting affordable coverage.

Raise Your Deductible

Although it is sometimes considered risky, and if you live in an area prone to natural disasters then it certainly may be, for the most part is a quick fix to lower premiums. When raising a premium, it is important to make sure it is still low enough that you can afford to pay it if something were to happen to your home. There is a fine balance between making sure it is low enough to still pay but high enough to provide a good enough discount to make it worth doing. You know your finances better than anyone, and if a premium of a few thousand dollars would not be possible if it was ever needed then perhaps it is not worth it for your situation.

Policy Bundling

If you have your insurance through a larger company, they likely offer more than just home insurance. Putting your policies together with one firm can often times net a pretty good discount. Moving current coverage to a new company is an option, or if you are buying new policies then you should ask your current company what kind of discounts may be available.

Improving Your Home

A safe house is always going to be cheaper to insure than one that is risky. Having a security system, fire prevention systems or other such devices can lower your premiums. There are many options available and some allow for larger discounts with less investment from your side. Weigh your options and see what can give the best overall savings.

All insurance policies should be looked over on an annual basis to make sure that you still need that level of coverage and that you are not paying too much, the same is true with homeowners. Perhaps a few years ago you bought a nice LCD TV or computer and increased your policy value to reflect that, but now those items have depreciated and it may be more costly keeping them on the policy than removing them. By following these simple steps you can cut a bit off of your monthly premiums and over the duration of the stay in that home save quite a large sum.

This article was written by Barbara Waltz, an industry expert and one of the founders of a well known insurance blog.

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