Putting Coupons to Work for You

“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.” Thomas Alva Edison

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. With all of the chaos over the holidays, I elected to take a little time off from writing. So now that the insanity is over, I figured I would jump back in where I left off in November. At that time we were discussing the value of offering coupons and other incentives to your customers.

As I mentioned in my earlier ramblings, one of my favorite types of buyer incentive programs is the spend $50 get $5 off your next purchase variety. I like this because it insures that your customers are spending before you discount your products. It is a win / win for everyone. Ironically, since I last posted, I signed up for one of these programs at a local eatery. I was really impressed with their program and I would like to share with you a few of the details.

Let me begin with the presentation of the program. I thought this was masterful on their end because I didn’t feel like I was getting sold anything. They left it out there for me to discover. It wasn’t pushy. It was effective. The waitress dropped off the check in the check presenter folder and opposite the bill was an invitation to join the Frequent Diner Program. It was easy to fill out (took less than 2 minutes) and it assured me that my info would be kept confidential. I filled it out, paid my bill and went on my way.

Less than 2 weeks later (outstanding response time) I received my frequent diner card and the details of the program (spend $350 and get a $25 gift card). The part that I liked most was a 2 paragraph note that was included (hand signed by the manager) that welcomed me to the club and gave a brief synopsis of who they are and what they do. Impressive. Simple. Effective.

I loved it - primarily because instead of cheapening their products and services, they raised my expectations. That is a fantastic marketing idea. That is putting coupons and incentives to good use.

I would love to hear your feedback on what has and hasn’t worked at your establishment.