When it comes to purchasing, most people prioritize saving money. This is why coupons have become such an important aspect of eCommerce marketing. According to the most recent coupon statistics, up to 90% of customers use coupons in some way.
Coupons encourage buyers to make a final purchasing choice, and practically every brand uses them. According to a study conducted by Kelton, 48 percent of shoppers are more likely to make a purchase sooner if a discount is available. With websites such as supercouponsurveys, you can easily find all sorts of coupons.
While coupons serve as a purchase incentive for consumers, they serve a quite different purpose for businesses. Brands can use online discount coupons and vouchers to target certain sectors of the market, establish client profiles, and get rid of excess inventory.
Common Coupon Marketing Strategy Issues and Their Effective Solutions
You’re not alone if you’ve been pushing coupons nonstop for the past few months and haven’t seen a big rise in sales. When it comes to coupon marketing, many firms make common blunders and miss out on potential rewards.
Here are the 8 steps you can take to avoid failure:
Restrict customer for buying after landing on the website – Provide Limited Time Offer
It’s an art in and of itself to create a sense of urgency. The more time clients spend debating whether or not to buy your goods, the more likely you are to lose a prospective transaction.
Limited-time offers are common in the marketing world for a reason: they work. You can urge customers to act sooner rather than later by restricting access. Limited-time deals, according to research, have a significant impact on sales. They make use of a psychological phenomenon known as loss aversion, in which people would rather avoid loss than gain. Many buyers are pushed to make the final purchase for the fear of missing out.
Because most businesses have these offerings, the only way to stand out from the crowd is to go above and beyond. If other retailers are offering 15% off coupons, you can offer a similar deal that also includes free shipping.
Prioritize High-Intent Customers — Offer Exclusive Discounts
The majority of visitors that visit your website will not purchase your stuff. That’s how the eCommerce world operates. So there’s no use in squandering time and resources trying to persuade low-intent customers. Some discounts should be reserved for consumers who have completed the checkout process and have added products to their shopping cart. You can give a final inducement to customers who are about to make a purchase this way.
Reduce Cart Abandonment With Relevant Coupons
70 percent of shoppers abandon their shopping carts for a variety of reasons. Here are some ways you might persuade them to buy:
- Use exit-intent popups, which detect when clients are about to leave and then display a relevant offer in a popup message.
- Unexpected charges, such as delivery, cause most customers to abandon their carts. Free shipping discounts are particularly successful as a result of this.
- To emphasize clients who are loyal to your brand, create loyalty and incentive systems. This will prevent others from taking advantage of your promotional deals.
Focus on Customers that Buy in Large Quantity
Non-tiered discounts have become the norm for businesses. While high-value coupons encourage customers to buy from you, there’s more you can do to increase your sales. We’ve reached a point in the evolution of coupons when simple bargains are no longer sufficient.
Assume you provide free delivery on orders of $45. As a result, the difference between orders of $45 and orders of $450 is nearly non-existent. Both get free shipping, but that’s it. Customers don’t have much of an incentive to order anything more than $45, either, since the deal is 15% off all purchases over $45.
This method will greatly reduce cart abandonment, as excessive prices are frequently the reason for customers not making purchases. Businesses can use a tiered approach to reward both high-volume customers and those with lesser cart values.
Acknowledge your Customer Base
Marketers have a strong desire to believe that they know everything there is to know about their clients. Is this, however, the case? Yes, they are aware of the clients’ country of origin and the amount of time they spend on the website. Outside of this, though, marketers rarely have a clue.
Marketing innovation is stymied by a lack of expertise, leaving organizations with the same old techniques. Without a clear understanding of client preferences, firms are forced to rely on commonly used discount methods, such as lowering the price of a product by a specified percentage or amount.
Of course, these aren’t bad ideas, but firms can’t afford to offer discounts of $10 to $20 all of the time. Furthermore, some customers may prefer alternative solutions such as:
- There’s a chance to win a prize.
- Participate in a referral scheme.
- Gifts
Customers enjoy the opportunity to win prizes because it gives them a sense of accomplishment. Customers can set trends and influence other buyers through very effective referral schemes. Meanwhile, even if the presents are small, they encourage clients to form a bond with a store and feel valued.
Reach Maximum Number of Customers
It doesn’t matter if you develop the most effective discount offer ever devised if it doesn’t reach the intended demographic. When you use the right channels, your communications reach the people who are most inclined to buy.
Here are a few examples of frequent coupon distribution channels:
- Emails
- Texts
- Social Media
- Blogs
- Forums
Businesses send coupons to customers via email for a good reason. According to data, 93% of customers who sign up for a brand’s newsletter are likely to use a coupon they receive in the mail. 40% of people forward these emails to their friends. Many of these emails, however, end up in the promotion tab, making it critical to vary the distribution routes.
Strategize your Coupon Marketing
Couponing might be harmful to your business if you aren’t careful. Discount offers are frequent, which means less profit on purchases. Analyze how discount marketing affects your bottom line to make sure you’re not going crazy.
When it comes to coupons, there’s always the risk of your regular consumers developing a habit of waiting for special offers. If this happens, you’ll have a consumer base that won’t spend more than a particular amount on your products. This translates to lower profitability while the cost of acquisition or manufacturing remains the same.
Establish Better Partnerships with Affiliates
Most brands now use affiliate programs to work with digital coupon sites. Businesses should invest in their partners to get the most out of this partnership. Begin by examining the websites with which you are currently linked and determining how much value they provide.
Your commissions should be calculated based on results like new customer acquisition, conversions, and awareness. Large commission payouts should be reserved for websites that bring considerable value to your business.
How to Get Digital Coupon Websites to Comply:
Getting websites to adhere to your defined guidelines is critical. Affiliates should be aware of what is and is not acceptable behavior. Let them be aware that hot buttons like expired coupon promotion, trademark bidding, and advertisement of discounts that don’t exist (such as up to 60% off) and other click-bait methods aren’t welcome. Make it a point to check these websites at least once a week to ensure compliance.
Finally, invest in your affiliate connections. Make special coupons for your various websites and encourage them to advertise your company. Small gestures like boosting their social media through your site (e.g., sharing and retweeting their content) or linking their blogs to your site can go a long way toward developing trust and loyalty.
Improve Coupon Marketing Strategy
Final Takeaway
When done correctly, online discount campaigns can increase income while also solidifying a company’s digital footprint. On the other hand, poorly executed coupon tactics cause more harm than help.
Coupons having a long expiration date can sometimes create a sense of urgency. Non-tiered deals, on the other hand, are when clients who make large purchases do not receive any additional perks. Brands can establish a discounting model that is both sustainable and complements their overall marketing efforts by addressing these concerns and making some further improvements to their coupon strategy.
