It’s no secret that providing exclusive offers, discounts, deals, and coupons to your customers is a great way to excel in business. Whilst these methods come in many forms, extensive market data over the past five decades has shown us that coupons and discount codes are the most effective.
This is linked to the simplicity, and ease of access that these methods provide. Coupled with this, it provides a powerful marketing tool for you to use on other platforms, allowing you to grow an organic following, whilst also selling an increased volume of products or services.
If you’re starting a new small business, or wish to grow your small business to something more lucrative, it’s a good idea to consider discount codes or coupon options.
Today we’ll be exploring ten of the most effective ways you can implement discount codes and coupons into your business. These will be general methods, allowing you to pick and choose the approach that works best for you, and optimise it for your specific business needs.
Coupon and Discount Code Ideas for Your Small Business
Let’s break down ten of the best ways to implement coupon and discount code programs into your business:
The First-Time Shopper Offer
If your brand is unfamiliar to many prospective consumers, they could be reluctant to purchase from you. Offering a special deal to first-time visitors can be exactly the encouragement they need to become paying customers.
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A pleasant initial experience is essential to making the most of this kind of discount, so make sure that the customer’s product is promptly sent once the purchase has been made.
Referral Promo Code
If a friend or family member recommends your business or product to someone, they are significantly more likely to purchase from you. Utilize incentives to promote referrals and take advantage of this. You have the option of offering a bargain to the individual making the referral, the person being recommended, or both.
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Many referral apps can help to cut down on the work required to set up a referral program. Do some research into referral apps, and pick the one that suits your business the most.
Exclusive Social Media Offers
Creating exclusive deals for your followers on social media may be a terrific strategy to increase client loyalty. Additionally, by giving new users an incentive to follow and subscribe to your social media accounts, you’ll be able to promote to them in the future.
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Make sure to always focus on the platforms you have the most followers on, or wish to grow the most. It doesn’t help to offer deals on unpopular social-media platforms your customers are not on, as this will only create frustration for your customers.
Customer Loyalty Offers
By rewarding customer loyalty and limiting discounts to those who have already made purchases from you, you can create an even stronger bond with your clients. Even if competing businesses might offer a better deal for a short time, customers will become anchored to your site, as they wish to utilize their loyalty benefits.
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Much like referral codes, customer loyalty offers have a large range of apps you can take advantage of. Do your research and find the app that offers what you’re looking for.Be warned: Many apps offering customer loyalty support will often come with a monthly subscription. Make sure to factor this cost into expanding a customer loyalty program.
Regular Discount Offers
The bread and butter of discount and coupon code programs, the regular discount offers approach is a proven method of creating solid conversions for your business. These regular discount offers are a reliable way to ensure you see a substantial boost to your business, expand your customer base, and even move older products if you deal in perishable goods.
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It is recommended to always time your discount and coupon offerings around quarterly and financial year targets. Discount offers are one of the most reliable ways to boost your earnings, and solidify a solid quarter for your business.
Prelaunch Coupons & Discount Offers
It is often a good idea to utilize prelaunch deals to boost traffic and stir interest while your firm is still in the prelaunch phase or even when you’re introducing a new product. This will help you convert new consumers into devoted ones. Pre-launch discounts and coupons, even if they don’t specifically target your new product, are a fantastic way to market your business, as well as increase sales.
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Prelaunch offers are one of the best times to expand your emailing list. Make sure to always require an email to access the discount you’re offering, as this increases another arm of your marketing arsenal.
There is a range of Prelaunch apps available to help make this process easier. However, like all app offerings, they often come with an added cost.
Abandoned Cart Coupon Codes
For any business that tracks the rate at which carts are abandoned, with items still inside, it will become clear that this makes up a significant amount of your user traffic. Market research reflects that over 70% of all carts are abandoned by customers.
Offering email reminders and coupon codes for prolonged abandoned carts are a great way to help bring back those customers. As well as offer them a deal that will be sure to convert them into a loyal customer.
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It’s important not to pester people, as this runs the risk of having your emails marked as junk and never seen again. Limit cart reminders to one email, with the coupon code limited to two reminders.
Including a CTA (Call-to-action) in these emails is a proven way to increase the number of people returning to buy the items they have inside their abandoned cart.
Offer A Minimum Purchase Discount Code
An excellent upselling and cross-selling strategy to get consumers to spend more money and raise your average order size is to provide an offer depending on the total amount in the shopping cart. Calculate the average order amount over the last several months for your online business, and then strategically give a discount or free delivery on any purchase that is 10% to 20% over that normal order value.
For certain collections and goods, you may also provide discounts for minimum purchases. Try providing a minimum purchase discount to encourage your audience to concentrate on a certain collection if you want them to.
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This offer excels at moving products or services that require time to replenish, as the customer will feel the need to act quickly. You can utilize the “Fear of missing out” tactic to drive more sales this way.
Make sure to study your business closely before implementing this approach. After this offer is in place, it is not recommended to change it, as this will create frustration for your customers.
In-Person Coupon Purchase Offers
It’s always a good idea to drive business to your brick-and-mortar location if you have one. More customers coming into your physical location will help to reflect, in your local community, the popularity of your business.
A great way to do this is to offer in-person coupons that can be redeemed when they come into your store, often provided from online purchases. Customers are far more likely to stay loyal to a business if they have physically visited it, and allows you to provide far better customer service than your online store.
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Google or Facebook ads are great at geo-targeting customers, allowing you to offer these discounts to customers in your local community. Whilst they do come with a small investment, it’s worth it if you see more people visiting your store.
Customer Milestone Discounts & Coupons
Customer milestones are particularly significant if your business runs a customer loyalty program. These anniversaries or birthdays could be special occasions for the client personally.
Other achievements might honour the bond you’ve developed with your partner. These might include the anniversary of the client’s first purchase or the day they signed up for your customer loyalty program, spending a certain amount of money, making a specific number of transactions, or engaging in different brand-related activities.
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Make sure to always thank your customers for their loyalty, and provide them with incredible customer service. As these customers make up the foundation of your continued growth.
Make The Most of These Ideas and Begin Growing Your Small Business Today!
Growing and excelling with your small business doesn’t have to be a struggle, although we know it can often feel that way. With these coupon and discount ideas at your back, you have everything you need to start cultivating a thriving venture and gaining a level of success you can be proud of.
Did these methods help you? Perhaps you’d like to share some coupon codes on Official Save, and start growing your business through multi-platform discount offerings. Let us know what you think down below!