For the past two weeks, we have been taking an in-depth look at ecommerce coupons. In Part One, we examined the different types and last week, in Part Two, we discussed the best ways for ecommerce merchants to offer coupons to their customers. This week, in Part Three, we will discuss ways to create and to further promote them.
Creating Coupons
Now that you know which types of coupons you want to offer, and the best ways to offer them, the next step is to create a coupon. Keep the advice from last week’s blog post about pricing, limitations, and using short and easy to remember codes for your coupons in mind when you start, and you will be well prepared.
When it comes to actually generating and managing ecommerce store coupons, there are a wide variety of add-ons and software programs to choose from. Depending on your ecommerce store, the process for creating coupons will vary, but generally speaking, it involves installing a coupon module or add-on, creating a simple code, deciding on the parameters of your coupon (how much, how many times it can be used, expiration date, etc) and then entering this info and the code into the Admin of your store.
Landing Pages
However you create your coupons, you need to make sure that once your customers click on the coupon, they are taken to a page with the item(s) that the discount applies to. Many merchants assume that linking to a generic landing page is the best method, but in reality, this usually only leads to frustration and confusion on the part of the customer if they can’t tell whether or not their coupon has been activated or is still valid.
Link your coupons to a specific, customized landing page and you’ll save both you and your customers time and effort, and reduce the chance that those customers will leave your site before redeeming their coupons.
Promotion
Promoting your coupons can involve many things. Facebook and other social media sites are obvious places to offer exclusive coupon codes to your followers and fans. As we pointed out in Part One, however, make sure that if you say that you are offering an exclusive coupon, it really is an exclusive coupon for that particular site and that it isn’t being offered in other places.
How else can you promote your coupons? Including them in marketing emails and offering coupons to new customers to encourage them to make repeat purchases are all good ways. In general, think of the methods that you use to market your business and convey information to your customer base, and see if you can figure out a way to integrate coupon marketing into them.
Remember, customers love coupons, but if they are too restrictive, expire too quickly, are complicated to use, or don’t deliver on their promises, your customers won’t love your coupons, and likely won’t even bother to try to use them. If you use coupons correctly, however, they can become powerful marketing and conversion-increasing tools.
