Does the term "back-end" mean anything to you?

In the retail world, back-end means how much you make off of a customer AFTER the initial sale.

U-haul's business strategy is a great example of how back-end works. If you've rented from U-haul within the past few years, you've seen their back-end in action.

Rent a U-haul truck for $19.99, drive it to where you're going to load up, roll up the back door, and you'll discover a dolly and blankets just waiting for you to set them free. And the second you do, you have agreed to pay somewhere between $15 to $25 for their use. Now that's playing the back-end game to perfection.

Years ago, U-haul discovered truck renters made their decisions based on the price of the truck and ignored the money spent on blankets, dollies, moving boxes, etc. Their profitability comes from the rental of blankets, dollies and sales of moving boxes, not from the rental of trucks.

Here's another example that may surprise you. It did us. Infomercial producers rarely make money on the product they spend 30 minutes pitching on your television. They make ALL of their money on the back-end that comes from up-sells during the original telephone order and through offers delivered via e-mail, mail, and telemarketing.