The most popular (and often most effective) form of sales promotion are the various types of coupons your brand can utilize to spur short-term, immediate action from your consumer.
Sales promotions, and more specifically, coupons, should never be your only focus when creating a marketing plan. Instead they are just one of the many tools you can use to increase sales, encourage first-time customers, and increase brand loyalty.
Quick Facts About Coupons
Before we jump into the different types of coupons, here are a few facts about coupons and consumer habits to show how important they can be.
- 94% of consumers have used a coupon with 45% reporting they use them often.
- 38% of consumers admit to buying more than they would have because of a coupon.
- 67% of consumers have made an unplanned purchase due to a coupon.
- 86% of consumers have tried a new product because of a coupon.
As you can see, whether it’s encouraging higher volumes of sale, spontaneous purchases, or first-time customers, coupons are incredibly successful (if used correctly).
Types of Coupons
There are more than a few ways to get your coupon into the hands of your consumer and each one has benefits and drawbacks.
Media-Delivered Coupons
This type of delivery system means offering coupons through newspapers, magazines, or websites.
When it comes to physical delivery (free-standing inserts) through newspapers or magazines, this means your coupon is only being delivered to those who are actively subscribed to that publication. This might sound like a negative, but reach isn’t everything. Because you know exactly what kind of person is reading that magazine (fishing, decorating, gaming, etc.) you know your coupon is targeting the people who are most likely to actually use it.
Digital delivery is also a fantastic option if you want to keep the cost of creating the coupon low. No paper and no waste.
Check Out Another Blog: Types of Sales Promotions and How They’re Useful!
In-Pack/On-Pack Coupons
No tricks here, in-pack simply refers to any coupon found inside a package and on-pack is for anything located directly on the packaging.
For this type of coupon, it is fantastic for encouraging repeat customers, as they require the consumer to make the first purchase in order to take advantage of the coupon for their second purchase.
Instantly Redeemable
A version of the in-pack/on-pack coupon that allows the customers to take advantage of the offer on their first purchase.
While two sales is always better than one, sometimes these types of coupons are better if you’re trying to get that initial buy-in from consumers. This is especially effective if you have a worthwhile product, one that you know will draw in additional purchases based solely on its performance.
Cross Coupons
If you have a product that fits perfectly with another, why not utilize that partnership? A cross coupon is using two separate brands to offer a promotion for one another.
As an example, milk and cookies make for the perfect combination. So, Oreo could offer a coupon inside their package for a deal on milk, and Neilson could offer their own coupon for Oreos.
