4 Reasons Why Coupon Advertising Works

indoormedia what to include in coupon

If you’re wary of coupon advertising — don’t be. Coupon advertising is one of the easiest ways to get new customers in the door and promote brand familiarity. Whether you’re a new business in your area or just trying to excite your regulars all over again, coupons can be a great way to reach out. They’re also a careful balance of targeting, so you’ll need to hone in on exactly who you’re trying to advertise to. Below, we’ll explore the different consumer groups coupons can help you reach and how to ensure these customers make it to your door.

Coupons Generate a Profit…If You Do It Right

Of course, some business owners have waited this long to use coupons because they’re worried about how it could hurt their business. The perception is that you will take a hit by paying for the advertising itself and then take a second hit by losing profit on the items sold. While this is true for some coupon advertising sites such as Groupon, this is not true for all coupon ads!

 

With a smart strategy and the right partner behind your coupon ad, you can actually increase your profits through coupon advertising. If you know your average overbuy and a simple formula for measuring success, you can easily make a profit on every single coupon redemption.

 

Read more about it in our post, 4 Steps to Evaluate Coupon Advertising.

 

Coupons Help You Meet Your New Neighbors

Whether your business just opened its doors in a new neighborhood, or you’re looking to meet the families that just moved in, it’s always good to introduce yourself within your community. When new customers hear about your business, they may be interested in visiting you, but they probably have another business in your niche that has become their go-to. For this reason, it will be important to incentivize their visit.

 

While new customers have no brand familiarity to build on with your business, they will always be lured in by a good deal. Moreover, you can’t discount all your services so advertising a deal on the items people frequently need, like a haircut or car wash, is an effective way to entice new customers and new neighbors. Whether it’s a dry cleaning coupon for a free wash on a pair of slacks or a salon sale on haircuts, customers will cash in on your promotion. From there, it’s just a matter of wowing them to make sure they come back in.

 download the complete guide to coupon advertising

 

Coupon Ads Build a Database of Regulars

One way to ensure your customers return is by collecting their information. Today, this is easier than it seems, and many people will quickly file their email and phone number with you to redeem a coupon. Some businesses require customers to input this info to log into a loyalty account, which can be a super-easy way to incentivize regulars. By offering customers the chance to earn “points” with each purchase that they can eventually redeem for a larger discount, you’re paving the way for reliable, regular business.

 

Once you have their information, you can quickly format an email newsletter to be released once a week or monthly. You can use the newsletter to advertise any changes to your regular business hours, menu, or list of services. In addition, you can even release regular coupons for participating customers and further incentivize your emails. While customers might be wary of promotional messages at this point, if they know that your newsletter is going to arrive full of discount codes or new promotions, they’ll be all the more likely to open them.  

 

Coupons Bring In The Locals 

Building a brand as a local business is the first step in growing within your community. Once you find a way to create and maintain brand familiarity with the people in your immediate area, you’ll know that you will be able to count on them to keep coming back. One of the greatest assets for any small business is simply locality, and if you’re the closest business to your customers, you’ll quickly become their favorite.

 

One of the best ways to get local customers is to advertise a “locals only” deal. The promotion implies a little exclusivity, so your clientele will be all the more curious about what you’re offering, but it’s also an important way to meet the customers that matter most: your neighbors.

 

Beyond that, you’ll become the store that they think of when they need something immediately. In those moments, they’ll be willing to shell out a little extra cash when they don’t have a coupon readily available. Then, they’ll also be all the more likely to recommend you to their neighbors if you’re close by. If your business can grow through personal recommendations, potential customers will be way more excited to visit you. Word of mouth is one of the strongest methods of local branding because it relies on personal relationships and a level of trust between your customers, but it is often difficult to manifest or emulate on your own.

 

Where to Advertise

Once you’ve decided what you want to promote, it’s time to start your coupon advertising campaign. While digital distribution can be enticing, it can be challenging to ensure that your impressions are occurring in your community, and it’s often useless for local businesses to advertise to anyone further than 15 miles from their store.

 

That being said, one of the easiest ways to secure hyper-local targeting is to look into grocery store advertising. Grocery stores typically pull their customers in from a three-mile radius of the store, and with the right supermarket advertisement, you could be reaching thousands of local customers every day. What’s more is that through programs like coupon receipt advertising, you can print your coupon on the back of every single customer’s receipt. That means thousands of impressions for your business without any extra work from you.

 

download the complete guide to coupon advertising

 

IM In The Know

At IndoorMedia, we believe our blog can help business owners make profitable advertising decisions. Subscribe to our blog to stay in the know!