Coupons and promotional codes are synonyms. They have one goal —to attract a user and convert it into a sale. The only difference is that the coupon is in the form of a certificate that can be exchanged for a discount or free product. A promotional code is a combination of letters, symbols, or numbers that you need to enter to get a discount or free product.
Most often, the coupon is:
- a promotional code that can be purchased on special coupon sites.
- physical discounted flyers that you can apply in an offline store.
The type of coupon and promotional code depends on how they are distributed: through advertising on radio or TV, offline, or through blogging integrations. A promotional code can be a secret word on the radio, and a coupon can be a discounted Ad cut from a newspaper in a supermarket. And what about the famous “brewdog discount code” beer campaign, when there was a bottle of beer as a gift under every second cap? This is also a coupon that the buyer receives along with the product.
Who will benefit from coupons and promotional codes?
Promotional codes should be used when you have flexible pricing and are technically feasible. Because discounts lost profits that we use as a marketing tool to attract customers.
Promotional codes can also be useful for marketplaces. They are definitely better than general discounts. After all, the marketplace has goods from different stores, each of which has its own system of accounting, deliveries, and shipments of goods. It will not always be possible to automatically give a discount on a product, and if it does, it will take much longer than giving a promotional code for a specific list of products.
Alternatively, promotional codes are useful for a business whose sales come from several channels. We had such a client, a restaurant chain. They had three points of sale: an app, a website, and a chatbot. Here the fun began. For example, a person received a letter, and he ordered lunch from it through the application. There were many options for such links. Therefore, we tracked the effectiveness of the channels through promotional codes. Each channel has its own promo code. They took sales figures, looked at how many promotional codes used, and, based on this, understood which sales channels were the most effective.
Why do you need coupons and promotional codes
With coupons and promotional codes, you can:
- Track the effectiveness of various acquisition channels. Suitable if conversion to sales is difficult to track using traditional analytics. For example, a restaurant sends out a newsletter announcing a new menu, but to order, you need to go to the restaurant’s app.
- Increase customer loyalty. For example, if a customer delayed with an order at McDonald’s, you can give him a card (coupon) to exchange for an ice cream cone.
- Increase the number of duplicate checks. Suitable if you need to stimulate purchases – for a specific group of customers or a group of products.
Coupons and promotional codes can help:
- attract the attention of new customers to the product.
- build loyalty with existing customers.
It is important not to overdo it with these tools, so as not to destroy the value of the product with constant discounts and freebies. Because if you constantly offer coupons or promotional codes, the user might think, “There is something wrong with these guys since they are giving everything away for free.”
Therefore, all loyalty programs and promotions are complex mechanisms where you need to consider the risks and benefits.
When a promotion starts, it lasts for a certain time. And here we need to give a message: “It all started, let’s start!” or “It will over soon, we run faster.” This is where the promotional code comes into play, which can play the role of:
- accessing key to the promotion: “We will hand you a promotional code, without it, you will not be able to participate in the promotion.”
- the last argument: “The action is over for everyone, and specifically for you, it continues. Here is the last promo code for you, apply it before everything disappears.”