Coca-Cola successfully launched the first ever coupon campaign in 1887. Since then, couponing has rapidly developed to become one of the leading marketing tools for brands both large and small. With the age of technology and the Internet, digital coupon usage has continued to rise steadily, with 66 million digital coupons redeemed in 2013, leading to marketing professionals launching regular coupon code discounts in a bid to secure online sales. Continue reading to learn the value or coupon marketing campaigns.
Brand benefits
Coupon campaigns are a fantastic way of attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. They are easy to implement and to promote. More than this, they are easy to track and analyze in terms of success. Coupon marketing is a great way to increase sales, reduce average order time, and improve your supply chain, but don’t neglect to encourage additional purchases at the point of sale.
Coupons can help lure customers away from their usual brand, or store-own brands, which so often symbolize better value for many consumers. According to a research study, 60% of consumers state they will try a new brand if there is an appealing offer. Vouchers can be used to shape shopping behaviors and attract elusive new customers.
Coupons are important for customer retention – 91% of coupon redeemers say that they will visit a retailer again after being offered a voucher. In terms of customer satisfaction, this rises by 4% with coupon use. It is imperative to remember that by enticing price-sensitive customers, you may need to keep offering discounts to retain them. However, with exemplary customer service and high quality niche products, you can expect to retain a great number of customers and lure them back to make future purchases. For those price sensitive customers, you can retain their details for future coupon code promotions.
Consumer reaction to coupon codes
Consumers are becoming more aware of price comparison benefits and will go the extra mile to save. A staggering 57% of consumers say they would not have made a purchase without a coupon first. Before the hit of the recession (in 2007), 63.6% of consumers stated they’d used coupons or vouchers. In 2012, this number rose to 79.8%. In fact, between 2011 and 2012, 26.4% of consumers used coupons more frequently. This is a trend that has no signs of abating. It is vital that businesses are able to offer this type of shopping.
The discounts do not have to be huge to be attractive to customers. Nearly half of consumers (43%) consider discounts of 25% or less to be a good deal. Incredibly, 1 in 4 believe that 1 to 24% discounts represent good value with customers least interested in free shipping offers. Consumers are most attracted to specific amounts of money off, rather than having to do the mental arithmetic on percentage discounts. They want their discounts to be simple and easy to follow. They are also interested in price reductions on products they actually want to purchase. If offers are only applicable to less popular products, it won’t be enough to entice spending.
Why Coupon Campaigns Can Fail
So why might a coupon campaign fail to become a success?
It is important to take these dislikes into consideration in order to avoid pitfalls. The British brand Boots now offers Advantage card discounts that don’t expire until three months after the issue date because they listened to customers who stated they needed longer to redeem.
Requiring people to spend too much in order to earn savings is something that arises time and time again with coupon ‘complaints’. Again, ensuring that your voucher represents a good deal for customers is vital for its success.
Coupon Campaign success
When properly planned and assessed, a coupon campaign can be instrumental in increasing sales and boosting brand awareness. Clothing companies Gap and Orange (now EE) are responsible for some of the best coupon marketing campaigns ever devised. Their simplistic, yet effective coupon campaigns offered consumers deals they actually wanted, but they were also easy to redeem, easy to share amongst friends, and heavily promoted via email, social media, and in-store specials.
Getting It Right
For smaller brands, making a mistake when utilizing coupon marketing campaigns can lead to loss of profit, poor brand reputation, and pressure overload on the business. The “keep it simple” approach applies to coupon marketing campaigns.
Make sure your campaign is planned with a clear set of objectives in mind. How will you achieve desired results? Also, how long will your coupon campaign run for? How will your customers redeem their coupons? How will you promote your coupon campaign? The execution is just as important as the planning. A quick Facebook status update offering a coupon code just won’t cut it.
Guest Post by: Emma. Emma handles the planning and execution of coupon campaigns with the team at Vouchercloud.net. She works with clients to develop enticing deals, which are designed to be beneficial for both the consumer and the brand.