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Selling Cookies
We wait all year long for Girl Scout Cookie season. We wait patiently. Some cities get Girl Scout Cookies earlier than others. We start to hear the rumblings about Thin Mints and we get a little less patient. We get downright anxious and excited. We start hounding our coworkers and friends who we bought from last year.” Are they here yet? Are they here yet?” Instead of shopping at our usual grocery store, we frequent the one that we know sold Girl Scout Cookies last year.
The Girl Scout Cookie marketing / selling method is interesting. By selling only once per year, supply and demand is kept high. They also do not make it easy to purchase. Here’s a few examples:
Only cash (sometimes check) is acceptable. When was the last time you carried more than $20 in cash? Now, if you want more than five boxes and/or to make a charitable donation, you’re limited to $20 or taking the time to go to the ATM before purchasing cookies.
At first sight, the Girl Scouts seem to embrace technology. They have a Facebook Application, a MySpace profile and a Flickr stream. However, they don’t allow full, online transactions on their official site and ban any troop from doing so. Don’t you think you’d sell a tad more boxes that way? I do. Why the ban you ask? They don’t consider it “safe.” Yet, going door-to-door without adult supervision is? Ummm okay.
In fact, when an 8-year-old Digital Nomad had the idea to promote and take orders (NOT a full transaction and only from people within range for a personal, hand delivery), her YouTube video and site were quickly shut down. You know a jealous, competitive parent tattled 
Personally, I think it’s LAME. And, it’s certainly not in the spirit of entreunership, which is one of the lessons cookie sales are supposed to teach.
Posted in Advertising, Marketing
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