A Coca-Cola businessman created the first known coupon in 1887 and since then, coupons have transformed into a huge part of the retail industry. Every day, billions of online shoppers around the world use coupons to knock a few dollars off their purchases.
Below, we cover some of the best practices your brand can use to create coupons that attract customers, build loyalty, and drive your sales.
Whether you run an online shop that sells paperclips or trendy gifts, digital coupons will improve your sales performance and make you more popular with your customers.
The Benefits of Digital Coupons
Coupons offer several benefits when it comes to e-commerce businesses:
- Attracting new customers who are curious to try your brand’s offerings.
- Encouraging customers to remain loyal, especially if used with retargeting.
- Advertising new products by encouraging both established and new customers to try the product at a discounted price.
- Providing invaluable market research through digital tracking codes/
How to Design a Digital Coupon That Encourages Clicks
As mentioned above, there are several key elements of a coupon that are necessary for successful campaigns.
Expiration Date
Use an expiration date to tap into the behavioral economics principle of scarcity. A significant portion of coupon creation relies on consumer psychology and including a clearly-listed expiration date on the face of the coupon uses this principle effectively. According to the scarcity principle, when the demand for a product is more than the supply of the product, the price is driven upwards. Applied to your customers’ shopping behavior, this suggests that items in limited supply are perceived as more valuable and are sought out more by your shoppers.
An expiration date tells consumers that the deal is available only for a short period of time. This creates a sense of urgency in shoppers, who are more likely to redeem the coupon to get the deal before it ends.
Call-to-Action Message
Include a catchy call-to-action (or CTA) to encourage the next step in the purchase process. For your e-commerce site, this message can convert shoppers who are “just browsing” to potential customers when they click on the coupon.
Use these best practices when writing a coupon’s call-to-action message:
- Use action verbs at the beginning of the message to encourage a click.
- Example: “Grab this deal before it’s gone!”
- Entice money-conscious shoppers with budget-friendly wording.
- Example: “Save up to 15% with code LUNCH15.”
- Eliminate confusion by walking customers through the redemption process.
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Example: “Enter code BOGO at checkout to redeem.”
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Digital Tracking Code
Get invaluable market research data out of your coupons by including a digital tracking code. The barcode or you can use a QR code maker to create QR codes for coupons. It will give you insights into the demographics and behavior of your customer base, help you make better marketing decisions, and even help you personalize your products and services.
Use Multiple Distribution Channels for Best Results
Use several distribution channels at once to get the most out of your coupon campaign. Let these stats guide you:
- 90% of millennials share deals, and 43% of those say they share via social media.
- Receiving daily deals is the biggest reason people subscribe to marketing emails.
- 61% of smartphone users subscribe to mobile messaging for the deals and coupon codes.
No matter what industry your e-commerce site caters to, a digital coupon campaign could launch your brand to the next level when it comes to attracting customers and boosting sales.
For more best practices and tips on using consumer psychology for the best coupon campaign results, check out the infographic Coupon Chief created. From color palette choices to pricing strategies, these tips will level up your coupon game!
