Coupons With A "Catch" Are Harmful

My wife is not much of a coupon clipper. As a matter of fact the only coupon she uses is the one dropped on my desk about once a month trying to convince me it’s time to get my car washed! She has a guy that comes to her office weekly, so her car is always clean. But my car is filled with samples and golf accessories meaning it only gets cleaned up and reorganized prior to a car wash. Since I quit eating in the car between sales calls, the food droppings and crumbs have been minimized which makes me overlook the car washes until she drops that coupon.But the other day I saw a coupon she clipped from our local paper offering $10 on a purchase of $50 at grocery store she frequents in between trips to Trader Joe’s. I believe one of the reasons she avoids coupons -- and I totally agree -- is because there is always some restriction or gimmick that makes the coupon worthless. I can’t tell you how many restaurants we’ve gone to over the years where we plopped our two for one on the server to find out the small print says it is either expired or not good for the things we ordered or just not valid on the day we’re dining.So over the years, we’ve become hardened and ignore these offers rationalizing that they are all pretty much bait and switch. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw this coupon on the counter. At first I ignored it. Then I noticed it was staying on the counter – two days, three days, four days. I remember thinking if it was authentic, it was going to expire so maybe I better take a look at it.I read and reread all the fine print. Except for legitimate exclusions like alcohol and tobacco and could not be used in conjunction with other promotional offers, it seemed okay. And it did have an expiration date but even that was more then a couple weeks away. “So what’s the catch,” I found myself saying aloud as my wife was walking up from behind. “Yes,” she agreed, “it seems like a good deal and I need some stuff there so I’m going to try and see if it works.”So you’re wondering to yourself, “What was the catch?”You may consider this the catch; but I found it to be best INNOVATIVE MARKETING IDEA of the day! She ended up spending nearly $300 and saved ten bucks!It was a very authentic and legitimate offer. It gave her exactly what it said it would give and it made the exchange simple. It got her into the store. From there she shopped and saw a number of things she needed but was putting off. She noticed additional discounted pricing for things she needed. Although her normal shopping visit would be around a hundred dollars she felt good enough about that savings, she went on to get things that were priced better. She showed me how much she “saved” because the register receipt broke out the shelf price from the discounted price itemizing the amount “saved.”The point here is that coupons work. But the offer has to be legit. Business offering coupons to grab attention and then end up charging the client more in the end get no respect, are considered insulting to the consumer’s intelligence and make things bad for businesses making good offers and giving real value to earn a customer’s visit. I was reading that Procter Gamble – a huge believer in coupons -- is planning to raise $1 million dollars through coupon redemption for charity. For every coupon redeemed the company makes a donation toward GIVE Health, a campaign under the company's Live, Learn and Thrive corporate cause. This is obviously a nice way to be a good corporate citizen. It also gives a discount to folks who use or want to try your products. Another INNOVATIVE MARKETING IDEA introducing new consumers to build future sales and profits. Oftentimes, it can be difficult to determine the best coupon offer. Nobody wants to give away the store just to get someone in it. I’m of the belief that a gift or premium of some sort is a better incentive to get attention for your coupon then the dollars off offer. Many ideas are less than a buck to get that attention, some are more exotic and but can be useful too.Personal is always best. So let me help you decide the most appropriate way for you to reward your prospects and customers. Contact me at Jay@InnMkting.com or visit our website www.InnMkting.com. The website is a search heaven. If you type in an idea or budget in the search section you will see an idea or two that will be useful for your next promotion or marketing campaign.