Why are offers only put on Facebook

[Paul]

I understand the point of having Facebook page for customers. and also understand your points guys
but I must admit this kind of account would work better for person who is selling to the public. not to people who actually made those lovely printed gifts.

[bms]

As you are aware Martin, your DSF section was removed in accordance with our agreement over the discount scheme you ran and chose to close. If you would like your section set up again you know the terms for this and I will gladly discuss this with you but just to be clear to members, your section wasn't removed it is not currently visible and can be restored at any time if BMS wish to follow other Suppliers an pay for this section.

Yes I aware that the section has been made invisible. Removed might be the wrong word, but members can't see it so the issue of invisible or removed effectively means the same thing - it isn't there anymore and therefore DSF members won't see offers we run. That's the point I was making in relation to why offers are posted elsewhere.

If the DSF wants offers to be made available for the benefit of members then they may have to make this more freely available or be more proactive in searching out offers and consolidating them in a section for the benefit of members. Something like money saving expert does and put up best buys or latest summary of offers on a weekly or frequent basis. It's then up to members if they want to click through to see any offers - you could have a pay per click revenue stream then for instance like Paul has on his site. Just some thoughts, but this is now going off topic.

[ASLCreative]

Facebook Business to Consumer works well - not so much for Business to Business (though this does depend on how big the businesses are - smaller businesses it does work for).

It is not the number of likes that count really, it is the degree of interaction between those who like the page and the business. It is so easy to block somebody on Facebook, so if somebody is responding to your posts you know they are reading what you post so you develop the relationship with them and gain their trust.

[harlequeen]

I think it's a shame that we can't see the DSF offers on here. I don't want to 'like' the DFS Facebook page because I don't want my friends/customers seeing what I pay for items. We are missing out now, but I can understand BMS' interpretation, invisible is invisible. Maybe they could be made visisible to only premium members?

[Craig]

Harlequeen If you read above on Justins post i believe that suppliers must pay for the priviledge of advertising on here and obviously this is what keeps the forum running and I would assume this is something BMS do partake in at present but Justin and Martin will be the 1s to shed any more light if required.

[harlequeen]

Yes, I understood that, and I can see Justin wanting to get funding for the forum. My point is that it is a plus point for the forum having these offers displayed here, so would encourage more paying members, without having to charge BMS.

[Craig]

Well this is 1 for Justin to give you his reasons if he wants but I fully understand that other suppliers pay to advertise in the section so it is the same for everyone

[Paul]

Yes, I understood that, and I can see Justin wanting to get funding for the forum. My point is that it is a plus point for the forum having these offers displayed here, so would encourage more paying members, without having to charge BMS.

good thinking but...
who benefit more? forum or supplier?

I think its suppliers.
They have fantastic opportunity to show they products to most interested customers.

so i think is very fair play to charge suppliers for such great exposure.

[pisquee]

I can understand Justin's point of view, about advertising space being a paid for thing, but the forum does also benefit a lot from BMS being on the forum helping people out, answering questions etc, certainly more than the other suppliers, and in turn I am sure that BMS get a lot of business through their presence here.

[Ian M]

BMS do help a lot of members out on here who are having problems or who need advice & I think we are all more than grateful for their input at all times.

If you look at the suppliers section it says 'Area for Suppliers to announce new products/member discounts etc.' & yes we do ask them to pay for that privilege. If they no longer want to pay for this then that privilege is taken away from them. It's just the same for any premium member who decides they don't want to be a premium member anymore in that they loose their privilege to discounts etc.

If you have a business you will usually find if you want to advertise or promote your business & products you have to pay to do that. Now, if you supply a certain business sector & there is a forum such as this full of potential customers wouldn't that be the cherry on top of the cake for your business. Just ask yourselves if you were in the position where you could target a lot of new regular customers from one source would you expect that for free?

I personally think BMS are doing exactly the right thing in using Facebook to promote their offers & at the same time their business. If you have a business you really do need to look into using social networking for your business. There are a few simple tricks you can use on Facebook to promote your business which only will take you a few minutes a day to do. I've done my homework on social networking for business over the last few weeks & it has really opened my eyes. One thing you do need to do with social networking is to keep your personal & business seperate at all times. I'll be honest & say I'm not going to share any of the things I have learnt about social networking as it has cost me a lot of money but, there is a lot of free information out there to look at & read.

As Paul said the suppliers can benefit more from this forum than the forum its self & that is why it is fair to charge them to use the forum.