Types of Coupons To Use During a Consumer Promotion (and when to use them)

This one is so fun to plan out, if you enjoy planning and data that is; if that’s not your thing then you probably enjoyed the gathering emails blog a lot more (anyway….). Before we get into the different types of coupons there are to use, this is the stage where you really have to think “what’s wrong with our brand right now?”. Is it your brand’s image? Is there bad talk on social media? Are you receiving a lot of complaints? Or is there a certain product or a lot of products that aren’t selling well? Are consumers looking at your competitors instead?

 Let’s say your brand is doing very well where it’s big enough that it’s growing but small enough that it’s not bothering anyone at the moment. This is where you can plan out a thank you promotion, if your brand is doing well it’s a good idea to thank the people that helped get you there! 

Those are the considerations you’ll have to think about before you plan your promotion. In a literal sense, there are only three (kinda) types of coupons. 

Physical Coupons: Found in newspapers, magazines, and in-store. (Gen Z here, never heard of a newspaper or magazine.)

Online Coupons: Found, well… online. (websites, emails, text, social, the dark web…no not there).

Promo Code Coupons: These can be found in an email, text message, or even on your website. These coupons are often applied during the checkout process and can be one-time use, automatic, personalized for an individual, or public (generic). You could also make an argument that these are online coupons, and we get that (Tip: try Honey prior to ordering those calendars for gram gram). 

Now in somewhat of a rapid-fire off, we will list which coupons work best in which situation. 

Remember that physical coupons are much more expensive and will require more planning,  as they will be placed in a physical magazine or newspaper (a what now?). So this approach doesn’t cut it for non-emergency-related issues. Keep in mind that physical coupons can be used in addition to online and promo code coupons. 

Don’t think that because an online coupon is faster that it’s easy. Online coupons also require planning and need to be tailored to your brand’s goals.

Regardless of which type of coupons you choose to go with, there’s no doubt that coupons should be incorporated into your consumer promotions strategy. The stats don’t lie, 63% of consumers say that they want coupons to be more available, and 90% of consumers use coupons.

Keep in mind that any coupon you send out should offer VALUE to the customer. If your offer isn’t enticing enough to drive purchases, then you’ve wasted your time, effort,  and money. 

So we’ve got the types of coupons you’ll need in your current state, now we have to move onto attracting people to your upcoming promotion! Our blog Attracting New Customers Using Consumer Promotions can help you with that!

To find all of our consumer promotions blogs, you can take a look here!

Vanessa Niragira, Oakville, ON, February 2021

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