92% of consumers use coupons, and 67% have made an unplanned purchase based solely on finding a coupon. Despite their continued importance to several verticals, you can’t use yesterday’s coupon strategy to reach today’s consumers. We’ll show you five ways to improve your coupon marketing strategy and bolster your current and target audiences.
1. Start with Mobile Coupons
Consumers use their phones constantly when comparing prices and looking for deals; capitalize on this trend by targeting them with mobile coupons. 67% will likely shop with a retailer that offers mobile coupons over those that don’t. Secure customer loyalty with the following tips:
Use Geofencing to your advantage: 65% of US consumers are more likely to shop at retailers who send proximity-triggered mobile coupons. Drive traffic to your stores by targeting customers with personalized and contextually relevant messaging based on their purchase behavior. To increase mobile coupon redemption rates, set the range between your store and coupon recipients to around 32 feet.
Include coupons in your mobile app: Introduce coupons into your mobile app experience to drive more sales volume and increase in-app engagement. Offer exclusive coupons for your app users, and ensure that the app has a built in scanning tool so consumers can scan products to discover in-store offers.
Offer an omnichannel experience: Reach today’s omnichannel shoppers by sending real-time offers based on their purchase history and activity on your website, email promotions, or mobile app. Deliver a seamless experience to consumers by making your mobile coupons usable online or in-store. And don’t forget about print: use QR codes in magazines so deal seekers can make online purchases with coupons through your app.
2. Optimize Coupons for Profitability
Creating coupons without learning the proper methodologies can work counterproductively and decrease your returns. Be selective when creating and distributing coupons. Below are some instances where your business will profit from a fine-point and customized approach:
Entice new customers: Offer coupons to new customers to encourage their first purchase. Make coupons visible to potential customers by placing them in your website header, footer, or lightbox. ASOS offers new customers a 15% coupon and places the details at the top of its homepage.
To encourage repeat purchases, consider offering visitors a 5-10% discount, gift card, or some other perk for their next purchase.
Re-engage customers: Use variations of ‘we’ve missed you’ coupons to bring back customers who have stopped purchasing from you due to pricing issues. Before employing this strategy, determine which customers have a good second life and duration probability. In addition, restrict this offer to one coupon per customer and segment the offers based on customer lifetime value.
Reward loyal customers: Acknowledge repeat customers with a rewards program that discounts future purchases. Offer exclusive deals based on your customers’ shopping habits and personal interests. Sephora’s Beauty Insider Loyalty Program, for example, offers Rouge members (customers who spend $1000 a year) 20% off and VIB (Very Important Beauty) members (customers who spend $350 a year) 15% off.
3. Promote Your Coupons
No matter how valuable your coupon is, if consumers can’t find it, they can’t redeem it. Considering that 46% of consumers search multiple places to find coupons, you need to make sure your offerings are easily accessible. A few strategies to get your coupons in front of buyers:
Allocate resources into paid search: Consumers exposed to coupon ads are twice as likely to convert on a retailer site. To get consumers to click on your ads, dangle attractive discounts and highlight the potential savings. Walgreens’s paid search coupon clearly shows consumers what they’ll save:
Review conversion data to find out which keywords are strongest at leading to sales, and use that data to adjust ad copy, refine bid policies, and optimize your keywords.
Partner with coupon websites: Work with outlets that offer value beyond posting coupon codes. As part of your Martech stack, include a tracking platform to see how these websites contribute to a sale. Create affiliate-only coupons and clearly define discount terms.
Free Standing Insert (FSI): FSIs — unattached promotions found in newspapers or magazines — remain the predominant channel to reach consumers. Use this method to either announce a sale or introduce a product. Place a single offer on a page, including just one CTA.
4. Employ Single-Use Coupons
Instead of standard discounts that customers can reuse multiple times, opt for single-use coupons that allow you to send targeted offers. Two things to keep in mind here:
Offer high-value coupons: Consumers prefer single-use higher value coupons over the lower value varieties they can use multiple times. If highlighting the percentage discount, set a minimum order value. Use analytics to gain a deeper understanding of your customers’ price elasticity, which will identify the ideal offer value for your coupon and help avoid over-discounting.
Take steps to prevent overuse: Block the use of additional coupon copies by including randomized codes and ensuring coupons expire on all channels and devices once they’ve been used. Make discount links available only to customers who have come through the predetermined flow.
5. Track Performance
Tracking and measuring your coupon campaign performance is the only way to know if your strategy is working. Here’s how to conduct your analysis the right way:
Utilize a single platform: Track and manage campaigns using a single platform that offers real-time reporting and tracks customer engagement all the way to redemption. Use advanced analytics to track purchases sparked by coupon use to see how consumers respond to your messaging.
Use unique codes: Place different tracking codes on each coupon to identify individual buying habits and see which types of discounts or benefits drives the best returns. Ensure your coupon codes are simple and work in both uppercase and lowercase characters.
Track relevant metrics: Measure and track coupon campaign performance with metrics such as coupon conversions, ROI, number of coupon downloads, and coupon redemption to measure the effectiveness of your offer. Ideal KPIs are measurable, trackable, and tied to your primary objective.
Coupon marketing can greatly benefit your business if used correctly. Integrate online and offline data to understand your customers at a deeper level and reach them with the right offer. Consider collaborating with other brands to reach a whole new audience and create a post-purchase program to continue engaging consumers. As a final note: consider a program that allows shoppers to share reviews on purchases with friends, and give them post-purchase rewards such as cash back, points, or more coupons to retain them and make the most out of your deal programs.
