For e-commerce business to survive it is important to keep customers engages and excited. Couponing is one of the best marketing strategies that can uplift revenues. However, many brands learn their lessons by reckless coupon marketing the hard way. If you are interested in implementing the coupon marketing strategy to your business, this post will help you to know how.
After reviewing over a dozen marketers and businesses who were able to successfully implement the coupon strategy, we have decided to share this detailed how-to guide with you. This is an ultimate guide with tactics building tips for your coupon marketing plan.
Does Your Business Need Coupons?
You need to understand the sophistication of the coupons as marketing tools before deciding whether you need them. Coupons not only drive sales but also help in building your brand value and promoting customer loyalty. Now using the modern CRM infrastructure coupon campaigns can also allow you to track data from your customers and study their behaviour in order to improve your general marketing efforts.
Do you actually need them? Absolutely you do.
Irrespective of your business type or size, coupon marketing can be a big boost to your marketing goals ONLY IF you have a well-thought strategy that is planned to suit your current budget and marketing goals.
*Pro tip-your coupon marketing strategy should be consistent with the way your marketing department works.
How should you start with coupons?
Coupon marketing is going to cost you a budget. It is very easy to fail to control the spending and burn through all your cash. This is why it is necessary to run small campaigns at the beginning with diversified trackable parameters such as discount value and type, discounted products, duration, etc. To succeed it is important that you track the performance of every campaign and coupon you launch.
Right here, I want to warn you that it will take time and patience for things to work out. After numerous experiments, you will figure out what is the best coupon marketing strategy that’s working for your business.
Pro tip-If you have a relatively small business it will be best to choose one product and run 2-3 coupon campaigns over the period of time with different discount types and values. The results will help you understand what kinds of discount work best for you.
Let’s move on to various attributes that will make your coupons more effective.
-Creating coupons that work
When you are creating the first coupons for your business, it is best advised that you consider these tips to create coupons that work.
-Coupon Design:
People are attracted with flashy stuff when they are shopping. Your coupon designs must be catchy enough to get their attention. Poor graphics or spelling mistakes is a strict no. I will strongly recommend employing a professional to design coupons for you if you have the budget. Make coupon designs customizable so they can be used for future campaigns.
-Clear Message:
Too much content to real or too complicated promotion rules can instantly discourage your potential customers. This is why you need to keep the message clear and concise.
-Expiration Date:
To keep offers attractive and protect your budget you will need to set an expiration date for all your coupons. It is statistically proven that offers with a short expiration period are far more appealing for consumers than otherwise.
Use tempting CTA or Call to Action: The CTA is the USP of your coupons so make sure to make them visible to your consumers.
Do not try to go with the usual “Shop Now” stuff and try to be original with your coupons. Some nice and creative CTAs can be:
“See how much you can save”
“Claim your deal”
“Best deals of the day”
You get the gist.
-Track-able code:
It is very important that you use the code with your coupons that can be tracked. The tracking data is the real profit you get from your various coupon campaigns. Select a coupon system that allows you to track coupons through their entire lifecycle.
Here are some lucrative coupons from big brands:
The above coupons are ample examples of how big brands use special occasions and holidays to run coupon campaigns and reap the maximum benefits. You can also use your customers’ personal data like birthdays and anniversaries to offer them special coupons. This kind of marketing personalization is appreciated by modern consumers and build loyalty towards you.
How not to Fail with Marketing Personalization:-
Personalization of the marketing strategy is a sure way to become successful. The most recent privacy hiccup that the e-commerce faced from consumers also demands us to be careful about how we use the consumer data so as not to attract their flack.
Personalized coupon marketing it lucrative, however, you need to pay attention to use it very carefully. According to marketing studies, 43% of consumers agree that they will share the personal data with companies to save money through personalized offers via coupons and discounts. You have to find the balance between the use of personal data of consumers and offering them benefits in exchange without causing loss of privacy.
To create a truly fruitful coupon marketing strategy for your business or your clients you need to know the following facts about your audience:
- Their spending habits
- Time of the day when traffic is highest on your website
- Personal data like birthdays and anniversaries
- Grouping customers in appropriate segments for easy targeting
This data ensures that you are not targeting potential customers with a wrong coupon deal. For instance, a customer who bought a mobile phone will be more interested in coupon deals on added accessories like chargers and power banks rather than one offering a discount on another phone.
Invest in a coupon system:-
Even when you get all the above-mentioned tips right off the bat, it is not possible to manage all coupon campaigns manually. This is why it is wise to invest in a coupon marketing software or cloud service that supports scalable coupon automation.
Permission Marketing-A twist in the tale
Coupon marketing is based on the principle of permission marketing.
Have you heard of the term ‘permission marketing’?
Well, it is a marketing concept introduced in a book of same name by marketing expert Seth Godin. Permission marketing is the nontraditional way of marketing that advertises products and services when consent is given in advance. Seth Godin found the fact to this consumer dilemma in the year 1999 when he developed this concept of permission marketing.
He said that the term is a kind of marketing where you need consent of the consumer before you send any information to him or her. This simply means that you need their approval in some way or the other and if they are interested in your brand or product or services, they will give convert into customers some day or the other.
Benefits of permission marketing
Subscription to newsletter, SMS, RSS feed, blog or loyalty cards can be taken as an opportunity for permission marketing. Like for instance, consumers who buy a Starbucks card can register their card online, which further allows them to check balance on their card or get a replacement in case the card is lost. So, while registering, Starbucks asks the customer about their birthday to send them a discount coupon. And when it is the customer’s birthday, they get the coupon and what they don’t get is the continued chain or series of mails.
Author:
GreatBuyz Streamz– a wonderful permission marketing platform
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