Be Careful With Coupons and Discounts

Due to the tough economic times many businesses are trying to jump-start business by offering steep discounts and high percentage-off coupons. Be careful! Once you discount your product or service customers will expect these lower prices all the time.

You shouldn't get in the habit of sending out coupons on a regular basis, especially if you offer a premium product or service. I like to take the approach that if the customer asks for a discount I might entertain the request. I would never, though, make a broadcast offer. GMC is a good example. A while ago they were promoting "employee pricing" to boost auto sales, and lo and behold, when shopping for a new ride recently I overheard a customer ask for the discount even though the promotion was long gone. An argument ensued and the customer left shouting, "I'll come back when the discount is offered again!"

Am I saying that coupons and discounts do not have their place? They do. I look forward to my Harbor Freight coupon circular every couple of weeks and won't go shopping there unless I have coupon in-hand. Couponing is good here because the tools Harbor Freight sells are something I don't really need. I might be convinced to buy if the offer is enticing enough but I am never going to be a loyal Harbor Freight customer. I am only going to shop on price. If you think your business can survive on that kind of customer mentality then coupons and discounts are the way to go. Otherwise, you had better be selling value and charging what you are truly worth.

Drastic times do cause for drastic measures, but giving away your product or service at cut-rate prices may linger around a lot longer than you really want or anticipated.

Restaurant Marketing

Here's a money-making tip for all restaurateurs - collect the email addresses of your guests. And how do you do that? It's simple... just ask.

A postcard on the table or a quick request from your server at the end of a meal should suffice - "If you provide us with your email address you'll be the first to know about special discounts and other money-saving coupons you can use on future visits."

Many times guests will be more than happy to give their email address. A brief disclaimer at the bottom of the postcard should contain the following privacy policy that will increase your request rate even more - "We will never sell or rent to third parties any of the personal information our guests provide to us."

Did you know marketers spend $5.6 billion in coupons annually? And with the rise in gas and food prices, we believe more and more people will be utilizing coupons than ever before.

Our agency has had great success with restaurant e-mail coupon campaigns. Not only do restaurateurs see an immediate increase in business from an e-mail blast, but imagine the delight from a guest who receives a personalized e-mail coupon from 1.) a restaurant 2.) located in their favorite vacation town 3.) where they will be visiting next month. Sweet!

Cena è pronta,
(Dinner is ready)

PS. Don't settle for just an e-mail address. Try to capture a name, mailing address, phone number, birthday, anniversary date, and their reason for dining out. If you can't get the information at the time of their visit, attempt to get it in a future e-mail, i.e., "To better serve you, please answer the following questions..."