Marketing Tactics: Couponing for Success

July 30, 2008 by anne

With many consumers more focused than ever on saving money, coupons are re-emerging as a popular marketing tactic. And according to the 2008 Printable Coupon Consumer Pulse Survey from Simmons/Experiean Research and Coupons Inc. quoted in Marketing Charts, the number of American consumers searching for coupons online has increased to 36 million in 2008, up by 10 million from 2005; that’s 24% of all American coupon users. And nearly half of “Coupon Clickers” are between the ages of 22 and 44.

And there’s residual benefit from couponing beyond the short-term sales boost:  58% of respondents believe brands that provide online coupons are more likely to provide new products that they will enjoy, and 57% say those brands care about keeping them as a customer.

So make sure you get the most out of your couponing program; here’s some tips to help:

First, get all those coupon marketing myths out of your head. According to Marketing Charts, direct marketer ICOM  says a common misconception is that short-term expirations drive immediate sales. Actually---marketers may be cutting their redemption times shorter than is needed for consumers to act.

Another myth is that higher value always equals higher redemption. Not so, says ICOM. Value is important but the highest redemptions come from tying value to optimal expiration.

Also, if you’re trying to entice users from the competition, then focus on attracting their light to moderately loyal users. The lights and moderates are more likely to give you a try and will respond to a lower value offer than the competitor’s most loyal users.

See also:
2008 Printable Coupon Consumer Pulse March 2008, Simmons Market Research Bureau and Coupons, Inc.

For more coupon strategy tips visit Coupon-Redemption Conventional Wisdom Sometimes Foolish, Marketing Charts

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