Guest Article
There are a few famously recession-proof industries. Liquor is one of them- sometimes people need a drink more than ever when the economy’s tanked. Health care is another; production and distribution of food staples; funerary services, etc. Any product or service that people are going to use can pretty safely be categorized as recession-proof. However, there is also an economic industry that is not only recession-proof, it actually thrives when the economy dives: coupons.
So if there’s something positive to be taken from our current economic woes, it’s that the coupon industry is booming and it’s a boom that virtually any business can take advantage of. Here’s how you can do so.
What Kind of Coupon?
Perhaps because this electronic age has made the digital so ubiquitous, there is a committed subclass of people out there who like physically tangible things. They’re the people who prefer holding an actual book to a digital pad, an actual letter to an e-mail and an actual coupon over the coupon-building bits of data on the internet.
Don’t discount these people. The tried-and-true newspaper and magazine cut-out, flier, insert and their physically-existent counterparts remain widely employed despite the e-trend. That being said, of course the internet has changed everything about coupons and it’s on the net that the future of the coupon, cliché as that may sound, is being established. A coupon can now be an e-mail offer, a banner streaming on the top of a webpage, some special deal offered only to users of a particularly social website or one page on that site, a code scanned by a phone-app, etc. Even the free business ad on Craigslist has joined the pantheon of modern coupon-distribution media.
The most important e-participants of the coupon wave, however, are the “social coupon” sites- Goldstar, Wrazz, LiveSocial and hundreds of others, all lorded over by their reigning liege- Groupon. These sites attract tens, maybe hundreds, of millions and make billions. Even if you don’t think your particular business is suited for something like Groupon- give it a lot of out-of-the-box thought: a lot of unique, obscure and esoteric goods and services have been posted on those sites.
The Three C’s of Couponing- Clear, Concise and Catchy
Coupons can work really well. That’s good but it means that there are a lot of them out there. To stand out among the hordes, consider adding a vibrant image or illustration to your coupon. That being said- don’t be afraid of white space (or empty space of whatever color). It’s way better to have a little bit of text in a lot of space than the opposite. Make solid offers rather than vague promises of “savings” or “good prices” or something similar. And, this is a biggie- be clear about the boundaries and terms: your coupon expires on said date, it is limited to one product or service per customer (or however many), it includes exceptions like “Alcoholic Beverages are Not Included”, and the coupon is redeemable by a set number of people per coupon.
Tracking, Creating and Rewarding Loyalty
Optimally, coupons should be getting you regular customers rather than finding people to take advantage of a single deal. Make the customer aware of post-coupon deals and benefits you offer. If possible, see about getting the customer’s information with their coupon and contact them with the post-coupon deals and benefits you offer. Another tracking function the coupon can serve beautifully is market research- by finding out where your customer found your special offer (if you used more than one site or media), you can find out where to focus future offerings and advertisements. Once you have a customer, consider rewarding them with exclusive coupon offers through your social media pages or snail-mailing lists.
Drawbacks
This may sound like one of those good problems, but using social coupon sites and even the more traditional coupon marketing can pull you too many customers. If your business or bottom line isn’t equipped to handle 500 or 1000 responders all wanting your product or service for a lower-than-average price, it can result in you losing a lot of money and/or alienating your customers and future customers with rushed services, long waits, etc. And there’s always the possibility that your customer will come to associate your product or service with the coupon’s lower offered price, meaning they’ll balk at the standard one. However, if you do your research and trust the product you offer- shrewd use of coupons can bring you considerable success.
“Cutting Paper” courtesy of digitalart / www.freedigitalphotos.com
About the Author: Annie Harrington is a small business owner and freelance writer. In her free time she enjoys writing about small business and business in general, Vistaprint coupons and couponing, and anything else she finds interesting.
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