The recession — depression, if you ask me — has forced more and more consumers to clip coupons. As a low-budget family, we have been captains of the coupon for many years. I see more and more people in the checkout isles with their coupons in hand. So, what does that mean for your company?
Not too many years ago the coupon was for grocery items only. Local stores had them printed by the local newspaper. Slowly, larger companies have started printing coupons for “special” occasions. We get a $5 coupon from Toys R Us for each of our children's birthdays. Pampers used to fill our mailbox with coupons, and Huggies did their share, too. If a large corporation can print a coupon, why can't you?
There are two things needed to print effective coupons: a mailing list and a database. Both of them are obvious, but the trick is to match the coupon to the needs of the people on the mailing list. I think Pampers figured we were done with diapers when we had not used a single coupon for a couple of years. Their tracking was a little slow. Yours does not have to be. Keep accurate records of who received the coupons and who returned them and refine your list accordingly. Update the info on a weekly basis to avoid wasted mailings. The coupon is king right now, why not use them?
How do you track your direct-mailing campaigns?
I have been browsing for more info on these types of coupons for quite a while now.