Coupons are powerful marketing tools. Use them strategically, and they’ll help you get your brand in front of more customers, increase loyalty, and drive sales.
However, online competition in coupon marketing is fierce. If your coupons aren’t compelling and highly targeted, they’ll get lost in the ocean of codes, offers, and discounts that consumers receive every day.
Use these five simple tips to give your online coupon marketing strategy a competitive edge.
There are many online channels you can use to get your coupons out to customers, from email to apps and social media. Don’t overlook digital receipts. They’re perfect for driving engagement and getting your online coupons in front of more customers.
Demand for digital receipts is high – 89% of consumers want retailers to offer digital receipts as an option. Use coupon marketing software to create and manage digital receipts with vibrant coupons that will stand out when they land in your customers’ inboxes.
One-size-fits-all promotions and discounts won’t cut it. To get the attention of today’s consumers, you need to tailor coupons to their shopping behaviors. 91% say they’re more likely to shop with brands that send offers that are relevant to them.
To make your promotions personal to each customer, you need to know more about them. This is where the customer data collected at your POS can help. With retail data analytics, you'll gain key insights into their shopping habits, including the types of products they buy, average basket size, and how much they spend per shop.
These insights let you deliver targeted and relevant offers as part of your online coupon marketing strategy. Personalization means your coupons will be much more enticing. For instance, rather than a generic 50% discount on soft drinks, you can send a coupon for their favorite brand of soft drink, with a discount tailored to their average spend.
Timing and urgency are critical to successful coupon campaigns. Don’t give your customers too much time to redeem. It doesn’t matter how exciting your offer is – the more time you give them, the higher the risk that they’ll be put off from using the coupon until they forget about it completely.
Use your coupon messaging to remind customers that they need to act now before it’s too late. To instil urgency, your coupon should have:
Redeeming your online coupons should be quick and effortless. Any obstacle, no matter how small, will reduce the likelihood of a customer taking advantage of an offer.
Follow these best practices so your codes make the checkout process as simple as possible:
An online coupon marketing strategy isn’t something you just set up and forget. You need to continually measure the results, find out what works and what doesn’t, and make improvements.
Use retail analytics to track who redeems your coupons, and if they do, what happens after. Are they visiting your website and/or physical stores more often? Are they spending more than they usually would? If visits and spending increase, that shows your campaign is working. If they stagnate, it’s a sign you need to change your tactics.
Remember to also measure against a large enough control group. For example, if your online coupon campaign targets 200,000 customers, compare the results to 20,000 customers who didn’t get a coupon.
Online coupons offer customers something for nothing, which is what makes them such a powerful marketing asset. But with countless promotions vying for every customer’s attention, you must have a robust online coupon marketing strategy to stand apart.
Backed by the right coupon marketing software, retail analytics tools, and best practices, you’ll deliver targeted online coupons that customers can’t ignore. And your campaigns will drive the loyalty and sales to make the investment more than worth it.
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