Coupons ensure benefits
Coupons ensure benefits

Guerrilla marketing is referred to a practice which helps gain maximum exposure for a brand or any of its products with the minimum amount of expenditure. A coupon which is one of the most valuable tactics of guerrilla marketing is easy to implement for any retail business. Their origin can be traced back to 1909 when C. W. Post envisioned the idea to facilitate the sale of breakfast cereals and other products. 

Coupons have been popular with people for their money saving aspect but they are gaining currency even in tough economic times. The basic idea for the usage of a coupon is to compel the customers to spend more than the incentive cost of the coupon itself. Coupons are offered by retailers as a part of an ongoing sales promotion and can be found in newspapers, magazines, fliers, handbills etc.  

Advantages
The principal benefit of coupons is financial savings. The saving is at both ends i.e. cost savings for the retailer (for the application of a marketing strategy and increase in product sales) and also for the consumer who saves money on his retail purchases. The use of coupons also helps to people connect with brands which they later tag as their ‘favourites’.  

Online marketing strategy 
Domino’s uses coupons very effectively. With every pizza that is sold, either as a take away, dine-in or by a delivery, a set of coupons is stuck to the box which the customer can redeem the next time he orders from Domino’s. As people have become more internet savvy and are taking to online shopping in a big way, retailers have made this facility available for them online as well. Victoria’s Secret also helps customers redeem coupon discounts on online purchases made worldwide where you just punch in the coupon code and get the rebate. Pizza hut offers its VIP members the facility to print out the discount coupons online and use them when they visit any of the outlets. Walmart offers discount coupons not only in their stores but also on the purchases made online where you can redeem them.  

Measuring the effectiveness
The advantage which is prevalent with coupon marketing techniques is that their effectiveness is easily measurable. Seeing who redeemed the coupons and keeping a track of the print coupons helps to know which coupon is working best and which one is not. Codes should be printed on the coupons to make it easy to track them. Another reason for giving out codes and tracking them is to avoid fraudulent activities. Several verification processes including unique barcodes and coupon ID numbers and holographic seals etc can also be helpful to check fraudulent cases. To enhance the effectiveness of coupons, they should be used in co-ordination with other related marketing methods.  

Winding up
Making use of coupons is a calculated risk that helps to catch the attention of potential customers. It will surely help you bring in more customers. A little creativity with the products or services will catch the eye of the customers and can lead to what is termed as ‘coupon craze’ in the county.
 

Stay on top – Get the daily news from Indian Retailer in your inbox
Also Worth Reading