I find it disappointing that the only weekly business journal
serving Indianapolis employs such poor marketing practices as to be shameful.
I would strongly encourage that someone on the staff of the
Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) be assigned the task of actually reading
the content in your magazine (or any basic business text, for that matter) and
proposing strategies be altered to reflect what was discovered.
Allow me to illustrate: The lifetime value of a customer
should make retention a priority, which is why so many organizations offer
loyalty programs and other incentives for customers to continue doing business
with them. Contrary to this, the Indianapolis Business Journal offers first
time subscribers the print-only version through Groupon
for $39 (netting the IBJ less than $20) and charges current subscribers $59 to
renew.
Not only that, but instead of bothering with the need to
renew annually (at the $59 rate), current IBJ subscribers are given the option
to renew for three years if they would like. At $194!
This is a 9% premium ($64.67 annual rate versus $59) for
renewing for a longer term! Please tell
me it is possible to renew for five years at $750!
With marketing practices such as these, why should anyone
trust the content of the Indianapolis Business Journal? I can think of no
reason to do so and will get my news elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Emmett Dulaney, disgruntled former subscriber