In the present marketing environment, coupons have taken on a life of their own. Coupons are very prevalent, especially among younger consumers. One of the main reasons for this is that the availability of and convenience of couponing via mobile, the internet, in-store and via multiple access points.

BIGresearch established that 9 out of 10 consumers in the US use coupons. Based on the research, coupons influenced purchase decisions in most users, especially those in the 18 – 24 year bracket. Is couponing part of your recommended marketing strategy?

Advantages Of Using Coupons As a Marketing Strategy

There are several overwhelming reasons why marketing research companies and economic advisers recommend coupons as a viable marketing strategy. However, as with any other strategy, using coupons to market products has its ups and downs. Here are a few excellent reasons for including coupons as part of a company’s marketing strategy.

1.Coupons Can Be Used To Eliminate Excess Inventory

Coupons provide a wonderful opportunity to marketers to tie up new product marketing with tactics to eliminate inventory. For example, the promotion for a new product can be a coupon that offers 40 % – 50% off on an item sitting in inventory, if the consumer purchases the new product. This strategy can help businesses manage seasonal lows effectively. Consumers who are curious about a new product will feel justified in purchasing it for trial since they’re achieving significant savings with another product.

2.Coupons Can Be Used To Build Brand Awareness And Loyalty

Companies that promote their products and reward loyalty by using coupons enjoy enhanced branding, product awareness, and greater conversions. You may not overnight results, but will be able to appreciate the results over the long term.

3.Coupons Appeal To The Youth Demography

Younger consumers tend to access the internet a lot more than older ones. Many companies encourage or promote coupon use to grab the attention of the youth demographic. Young people also use the latest cell phones. They use mobile couponing apps to access, share and redeem coupons. The mobile couponing revolution alone represents a large percentage of total coupon redemption rates. The youth demographic can be trusted to take a campaign viral, which adds great value to your promotions.

Disadvantages Of Using Coupons As a Marketing Strategy

There are some disadvantages of using couponing as a marketing strategy. Here are a few main reasons:

1.Consumers Can Get Into Expectation Mode

One major downside of offering coupons is that customers form the expectancy mindset. They may not opt to buy your products if coupons are not associated with them. This habit, once formed, is hard to break and can greatly affect your brand positioning. You’ll never know if the sales are because your product is popular or your discounts are that good.

2.Coupon Campaigns Can Drain Resources

Companies that issue coupons need to devote considerable resources to manage large redemptions, follow up on campaigns and measure effectiveness. Paper coupons, TRX coupons, Ereleases coupons, internet coupons, e-coupons and printed coupons need to evaluated and reckoned with based on coupon codes. Many companies assign the task of sorting, compiling and totaling coupons to third party clearing houses. All this takes up considerable time and resource investment.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are reasons to both recommend and not recommend couponing as a marketing strategy. If you want to use coupons to promote your product or service, do so carefully. Study coupon-related websites that have been developed for affiliate commission purposes. Evaluate your present market reach and brand positioning. Determine if coupons are indeed key to your marketing strategy.