Feature Socially Responsible Trade-Ins

If you're The Home Depot in the U.S. you're using social responsibility as a sales stimulus. The Home Depot is encouraging customers to bring in old power drills, broken or not, to get 15% off on a cordless lithium-ion power drill, touted as good for the environment. If people want to bring in their old Christmas lights later, they'll get a discount on an energy-efficient LED set. And if you're Toys"R"Us, you urged your customers last month to trade in old cribs, car seats and other baby items, perhaps part of the estimated 30% of unsafe items never returned, for a 20% credit towards new items that have been stocked since past product recalls.
     Encouraging trade-ins is a fine way to build your sales. Auto dealers have been doing it for a long while, haven't they? Adding the socially responsible angle can put it over the top.
     Here are a few tips:

• Decide how you will dispose of the trade-ins. Auto dealers could get Cash for Clunkers from the federal government. But what would you do with a bunch of old broken drills?
• Give the trade-in promotion a time limit and a distinctive name. The "Power Drill Trade In, Trade Up," "Eco Options Christmas Light Trade In," and "Toys"R"Us Great Trade-In" were given a two-week to four-week span. The time limit and distinctive name protect against long-term consumer devaluation of product types purchased with the discount.
• Tell shoppers how their one trade-in will make a difference. So in advertising, store signage, and personal selling, say things like how many extra hours of HDTV watching customers get with the energy they'll save using the new Christmas lights.