“The concept of coupon programs is great – as long as you use it wisely! With programs that you have to pay a percentage of your profit to, as long as the item you are advertising is a ‘service’ and not a retail product the return on the advertising actually pays off. As the person that is offering the ‘service’ you are simply providing the time you spent to provide the ‘service’ – during which time you will hopefully add the client to your long list of loyal patrons. The downside to this type of program is when the discount is towards an actually retail product that you resale. Here is why: Once the percentage that is owed to the promoting company is deducted from the sale of the product and you figure in the cost for purchasing the actual product, overhead, taxes, payroll, et cetera… in the end, you as the business owner end up losing money. At least, that has been my experience!”
~ Thomas Balue
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“It has been my experience, unfortunately, that too large of a percentage of the consumers that utilize these types of program are not interested in building a long term relationship with a facility. They will purchase the package that is advertised and move on to the next package and the next facility. In my opinion, there might be some loyal patrons ‘out there’ but not enough to make it an intelligent business decision.”
~ Gail Tarzy
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“If your company/business doesn’t have a lot of money dedicated to advertising this type of program is a great way to get the word out without spending a lot of money. My only suggestion would be to make sure you put the discount stipulations in writing – not only on the actual advertisement but on your company website as well.”
~ Amber Jones
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“The experience I’ve had with the online coupon programs has been very good. It can be a wonderful marketing tool – if used smartly! Personally, it has brought in 250 new clients and I have been able to up-sell to almost all of them. I would advise anyone who is thinking about using this type of program to be very careful on how you word your ad. Make sure your restrictions are clearly written and included on your advertisement!”