Increasing Sales by Using Coupons - Will it Help Your Business?

Increasing Sales by using Coupons. Will it help your business? Well, the Promotional Marketing Association's (PMA) "Coupon Council" shows that 3.8 Billion coupons were redeemed in 2003. Consumers saved over 3 billion dollars. 79% of American's used coupons last year. There are many Coupon Franchises out there with quite a track record. Here are a few of them: Val-Pac; http://www.valpak.com/info/franchise/franchise_faqs_content.jsp.

United Coupon Corp. United Marketing Solutions. Adventures In Advertising. Coupon Tabloid, INC. Consumer Network of America. Coupon-Cash Saver. Effective Mailers. Money Mailer. Welcome Host of America.

What do all these services have in common? Well, for retailers and service providers they are quite effective at getting people into your franchise to try you out. That means new customers. There are a few things to remember, first; keep the message simple, less clutter is better. Second; Specific Dollar Amounts are more favored by consumers and tend to grab and keep their attention better and are more effective. Third; coupons are great but if you say special savings or special offer, do not keep running the same ad. Forth; You want customers to fall in love with your product and/or service, not the discounts.

We have often watched the miss-treatment of those customers coming in with coupons to those without, since the store owners feel they make more money on the ones who do not have discounts, but this misses the point of getting new customers. Also always remember a current customer is 4 times more likely to buy from you again than a first time buyer of your wares. Coupons are such an interesting free market innovation. One of the earliest examples of coupons in the US was with Asa Chandler, who bought the Coca Cola secret recipe; He offered free soda drinks using coupons in 1894. By 1895 everyone was copying this idea in various industries, another early adopter was C.W. Post who offered a 1 cent coupon for Grape Nuts Cereal. Hey back then a penny was a big deal. Another tip in coupons is to put lots of disclaimers all over the coupon so the FTC or some consumer watch group headed by an attorney does not try to figure out a way to hit you with a class action lawsuit, paying millions of people 35 cents, which costs more to mail them out than the amount in the check, while the attorney clears many millions of dollars at your expense.

Franchisors who wish to help consumers save money and promote their businesses so they can expand, pay more taxes into the system, provide more jobs and further the economic expansion, will have to pay to play. No we do not mean the costs of the coupons, those are relatively inexpensive. You will have to hire attorneys to protect you from attorneys. Think of it more like the Mafia charging you for protection. Of course all this hurts the consumers in the end. Since it causes higher costs in the market to all Americans and prevents competition in the market place, but we will pretend that this is okay in a free market in the Greatest Nation on Earth. We will pretend that this unbelievable extortion is helping consumers. We will pretend that the loss of economic output, jobs, tax base to governments is fully acceptable and that attorneys are knowledgeable, ethical and without every single one of them the entire country would instantly turn to anarchy? After all Einstein always said a good imagination is favored over good education. So pretend with me will you?

Regarding the argument that all those disclaimers clutter the coupons and make them less effective; well, yes that is true, but we had to destroy the coupons to protect the consumer. If this does not work we may have to destroy all the businesses to protect the consumer? Hey, what if an attorney actually produced something for society? Yah, wow, isn't that a great challenge for your imagination, let's also Pretend that too? I wonder if we are protecting the dumbest Jerry Spinger Future Guest Star or the Jeff Foxworthy; "Here's Your Sign Candidates? Oh well, The Darwin Awards are only second to the events described on: http://www.overlawyered.com

Coupons work, they bring people into your franchised outlet, so you should consider coupons as a way to increase sales and help you business grow. So we recommend mailer coupons, try it a few times see the new customers it brings in and then work really hard to keep them while you go get some more.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

---

How to Develop a Proactive, New-Business Sales Team!

I don't know about your business but in my experience... Read More

Building Trust For Lifetime Success

Trust.One word.One very powerful word that can increase both first... Read More

Do You Really Want Local County Contracts?

If you really want to secure government contacts at the... Read More

Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments

Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and... Read More

Train a Winning Sales Team: Rounding Third and Heading for Home

Although I never met the man, I imagine Lou Boudreau... Read More

Raise Concern About Sales Competition, Not About Yourself

As you are reading this sales article, read very carefully.... Read More

Retail Operations - Effective Branch Manager Support and Guidance

Performance and behaviour management is by far the most difficult... Read More

Transforming Your Sales Force by Creating Specific Expectations

I just finished a phone call with a potential client... Read More

Speed-up Your Sales Cycle

This week's article is my response to a question by... Read More

We Will Make It Back----- A Fictional Story Based on Fact About Sales Management Success

Bill Borders stepped up onto the podium. He had just... Read More

Snowflakes Improve Holiday Sales

Snowflakes are beautiful!For the Winter Holiday sales season handcrafted snowflakes... Read More

Effective Sales Territory Management

How you prioritize your sales territory management activities depends upon... Read More

How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance -- Part 2

Another key reason why companies suffer from 80/20 performance is... Read More

Increasing Business Through Distributors

You're a small company with a good product. You are... Read More

The Benefits of Catalog Sales For Your Business

Things to watch out for when selling your product in... Read More

Sales Competence Isn?t About Quota Performance!

Compounding the problem are two myths regarding measures of competency... Read More

Free to Succeed: Effective Sales Leadership Using A Coach Approach

About 2 years ago, I participated in a training program... Read More

The Hardest Job Of A Trade Show

You've heard this before: There were four people named Everybody,... Read More

Business Career, Executive Coaching Article - Perfection vs. Excellence

"(Howard) Hughes never learned how to convert his knowledge to... Read More

Producing Premium Performance

One of the major issues that arises in managing a... Read More

How You Can Raise Your Business Earnings By 50% With An Age-Old Magic Truth

Imagine increasing your business earnings by 30, 40, or 50%.... Read More

Overcoming Sales Objections for Small Business Networks

Do you need help overcoming sales objections? Do you sell... Read More

Management by Osmosis

Sales managers are an interesting breed, effective sales managers are... Read More

How Exhibitors Can Move More Attendees Closer to Buying

Q. What's the single, biggest change exhibitors can make to... Read More

How to Write a Business Plan Sales Section for a Mobile Service

We all agree one of the most important parts of... Read More

The Differences Between A Commercial Collections Agency & Lawyer

If your letter writing and phone calls have all failed... Read More

Sales Tactics to Beat Your Competition

This month I want to share a success from a... Read More

Commodity Sales Prospecting - How to Stand Out From Your Competitors

I have received a number of requests for advice from... Read More

How to Sharpen Your Sales Message with Do-it-Yourself Focus Groups - Small Business Power Tools

You've probably heard of focus groups. It's a tool that... Read More

The Nine Warning Signs that You Need a Sales Video

Corporate videos are an important sales tool that can often... Read More

Small Business Marketing: Overtaking Your Competitors

Few businesses keep tabs on competitors, yet such knowledge can... Read More

How To Have A Successful Retail Sales Event

In the 30-plus years I spent working in advertising and... Read More

How to Improve Your Management Procedures Usability

Are your people consistently following your procedures? Each year, organizations... Read More