Pull in More Business with the Power of Coupons

Don’t you just love a good deal? Well, so do your customers! One of the most effective ways to offer customers a great deal is by offering coupons. In fact, Advertising Age (an authority in the advertising business) reports that 87% of all shoppers use coupons. A.C. Nielson Co., another famous marketing research firm, says that 95% of all shoppers like coupons, and 60% actively seek out coupons before making purchases.

Those are pretty high numbers! The effectiveness of coupons has already been proven, so it may be time to consider adding a coupon strategy to your marketing activities.

Why consider offering coupons?

• Consumers will break their regular shopping routines to take advantage of good coupon offers.
• Coupons re-engage your old customers. It gives them a good reason to start buying from you again rather than your competitors.
• Coupons provide you with an opportunity to sell additional products. Often, customers will use the coupon and then purchase additional items at full price, including impulse purchases.
• The success of your coupon campaign is easy to measure. Simply count the number of coupons redeemed to see how well it worked. Getting customer feedback can also help you improve future offers to get even better results.

Do What Works

Not all coupon offers are created equal. Some obviously work better than others, so here are some pointers on making your coupon campaign successful:

• Dollars-Off deals work the best because they are tangible. Customers know exactly how much money they will save.
• Percentage discounts are more effective when they are higher percentages (at least 25%).
• People love to get something for free. Buy-one, get-one-free offers are very attractive to customers. You can also be creative with your bonus offers, like “Free Marker Set with the Purchase of Any White Board” or “Buy 5 light bulbs and get the 6th one Free.”
• Be specific in your headline – let customers know up-front what the offer is. For example, “Save $20 on any ceiling fan this month only”.
• Use pictures on your coupons whenever possible. It helps customers understand the offer and makes it more compelling. Don’t forget to put your logo on your coupon, as well as your contact information.
• During your coupon campaign, make sure to capture your customers’ contact information so you can include them on your mailing lists.

After the sale, be sure to follow-up with your customers and provide them with a steady program of sales flyers, preferred customer discounts, new product information, and of course, MORE COUPONS!

Lauren Hobson of Five Sparrows, LLC is the author of the Five Sparrows "Biz Talk" eNewsletter, a free, subscription-based monthly publication designed to help small businesses with web site and marketing strategies that don't cost a lot of money. To subscribe, go to http://www.fivesparrows.com/biztalk.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/