Coupons are the perfect way to drive people to your business. It seems like it’s essential if you want to run a successful selling company – is this really the case? According to statistics, almost all customers use them and, very often, if they can’t find any discounts, they will wait with purchasing a product or deciding on service until the sales start. There is an abundance of websites offering a variety of different coupons, like couponcodesme.com, with whom you can develop a partnership. Are you and your business new to the field? Do you wonder if you should start using coupons to attract customers and get them to stay with you? Here are some of the pros and cons to help you make the right decision:
The Pros:
- It can help with your whole marketing strategy. When customers decide to purchase something from you with coupons, they will most likely need to provide you with their email addresses. A lot of them will agree to receive a regular message with a newsletter from you – that’s how you can keep them with you and maybe make them buy more, even for a full price.
- Coupons can attract new customers. If someone doesn’t know you yet, a discount may convince them to buy something just to try out your services. Rice University conducted a study which showed that companies that offer coupons have a 50% redemption rate and 31% of customers who only wanted to try out your services actually returned for more. Very often, coupons can make people change brands they’re buying. According to Valassis report, 78% of customers are willing to buy a product from a completely new place only because they have been offered a discount.
- Offering coupons is meeting clients’ expectations. In today’s world, people actually expect to always get some kind of a discount. It has become so common that customers get disappointed when they’re expected to pay the whole price, and that’s what can drive them away from you.
- Coupons can help you build customers’ loyalty. If you offer some discounts to your existing clients from time to time, you may convince them to stay with you and buy more, even when the coupons are out. They will feel taken care of.
- Coupons can increase your profits. Although you will be selling for lower prices, you will be selling more, and there’s a chance that your profits will increase significantly, especially when you convince a part of these first-time buyers to stay with you.
- Coupons can make you competitive. Most people who decide to buy something will look for the best possible deal. By offering coupons you will ensure yourself visibility. Your offers will always be interesting and customers will keep you in mind, even if this one time they decide to buy from someone else.
- It can help you with your brand’s image. When someone gets a discount from you and then is satisfied with your product, they will most likely recommend you to their families and friends.
- It may help you sell products that weren’t selling. If you need some space for new stock and you have a lot of older products that aren’t selling, offering discount may be the answer.
The Cons:
- Offering too many coupons may cut off your profits. It’s a possibility. Sometimes, when your marketing strategy isn’t so good, you will get some clients, but not enough to make a significant profit. There are also people who would buy your products even without a discount, but you’re giving it to them anyway.
- Coupons strategy may be expensive. You will risk losing a lot if you decide to introduce discounts without understanding your profit margins. Before you do anything, you need to calculate all the costs (production, service, materials, other expenses) to see if it’s worth lowering the prices with discounts. Plus, remember that coupons services aren’t for free either.
- Coupons can lower your brand’s value. It depends on what you expect and what kind of reputation you’re trying to build. You can’t get too many discounts for Chanel, Valentino or Hugo Boss, can you? People may doubt your products’ quality and value.
- You may spoil your customers. It is a big problem already because people don’t want to buy products for regular prices.
- It’s not always sustainable. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to selling and marketing. Sometimes you will do everything right, but most customers will only buy something with a coupon and never return.
Now that you have an idea about the advantages and disadvantages of introducing coupons for customers to your business, you probably can see that it’s almost essential to give your potential clients something. With a good marketing strategy, coupons can only bring you more profit, not reduce it, and ensure you the loyalty of your customers. Do it right and enjoy the growing number of clients!
