Boost business and drive consumer loyalty with a well-designed and professionally printed coupon booklet
Like most business owners, you’re probably constantly on the alert for innovative ways to attract and retain customers. But in your quest for innovation, don’t make the mistake of overlooking time-honored, tried-and-tested methods. One such strategy that has stood the test of time is the use of coupon booklets. When you design printed coupon booklets, you’re generating a versatile and cost-effective tool that can be tailored to suit any business model. In this post, we’ll explore the advantages of enticing customers with gifts, discount offers, and special features by designing and printing custom coupon booklets to support your customer loyalty campaigns.
The power of coupons in customer retention and sales
Coupons have always been a popular way for businesses to attract new customers and keep old ones. In fact, in recent years, couponing has become something of a cultural phenomenon, with Facebook groups, forums, online communities, clubs, YouTube channels, apps, and even cable TV shows dedicated to the practice of saving money through couponing. These channels provide businesses with free, self-sustaining marketing and promotion among communities in which every participant is already a self-selected hot lead! It’s a marketer’s dream come true. People are constantly on the lookout for ways to save money or get more value for their purchases. By offering coupons, you can tap into this consumer mindset and increase customer retention and frequency of purchase.
But you need a well-thought-out strategy to make your printed coupon booklet campaign work optimally. Obviously, the quality and appearance of the printed booklet is of vital importance to the success of your campaign. High-quality gloss paper with clear messaging and vibrant colors—or whatever best reflects your brand identity—is a must. So is the targeting, timing, and distribution method you choose to promote your coupons. So, let’s look at the most important considerations to bear in mind when you’re developing your campaign.
• Define your offer clearly for maximum effectiveness
The success of a coupon lies in its clarity and value. Vague coupons—with offers such as, “Present the coupon in store for a % discount”—are often ignored or discarded without a second thought because they don’t give the potential consumer anything truly concrete—an image, product, or value—that they can easily grasp and visualize. To make sure your coupon is effective, clearly define the offer. Use specific wording describing specific products and include a precise value offer. So, rather than the previous example, this would be much better: “$10 off a luxury crystal wine glass set” and also include the normal price of the item to highlight the value customers will receive. By making the offer clear and valuable, you increase the chances of customers using the coupon and making a purchase.
• Create a sense of urgency with expiration dates
Creating a sense of urgency because of an apparent scarcity of the product or a time limit on the offer helps to encourage immediate action. So always include an expiration date on your coupon. However, it’s important to strike a balance with the expiration date. Make sure it’s not too far out that customers forget about it, but also not so close that they don’t have enough time to plan and make use of the coupon. Our previous example could be made more powerful still by adding this strategy into the mix: “$10 off a luxury crystal wine glass set when you present this coupon before December 31st. “
• Set special limits to promote fairness
There’s a downside to the popularity of printed coupon booklets and the spread of clubs and groups that promote and take advantage of their use, and that’s when people try to game the system. To make sure your coupon campaign is fair and to prevent abuse, it’s a smart move set limits on how consumers can use your coupons. For example, you can limit the use of the coupon to one per customer, or no more than one per transaction. This helps prevent customers from using multiple coupons to offset a single purchase so far that it steals your profits or sharing the coupon with others in a coupon syndicate. By setting limits, you keep control over your coupon promotions and help to guarantee that they are used in a way that benefits all customers fairly without undermining your business.
• Market timely or seasonal items
Another potent strategy for printed coupon booklets is to market items or services that are timely or seasonal. By offering special discounts on products or services that are in high demand during specific times of the year—think the Christmas and Easter holidays, the summer vacation, and Halloween, for example—you give customers a reason to choose your business over your competitors. To make it simple, if you know people tend to purchase a particular product during the holiday season, include a special offer for that product in your special edition seasonal coupon booklet coupled with a time limited or “while stocks last” scarcity statement. This strategy is popular because it always works! It’s a proven way to get customers to call or visit your business instead of looking elsewhere.
• Promote new products or services
Printed coupon booklets are also a fantastic way to promote new products or services by generating buzz and developing interest. While there will always be a small cohort of “early adopters” keen to try out new products and services, most customers prefer to stick to what they know. That’s good for brand loyalty, but it can be a barrier to pushing sales and reviews for new lines. By promoting a coupon book of special offers or discounts for your latest offerings, you create excitement and encourage customers to try something new.
Best practices for designing printed coupon booklets
When designing your printed coupon booklet, it’s important to follow established best practices for advertisements and promotional materials. To sum up the core principles to adhere to, here’s an explanatory list:
- Use catchy but descriptive headlines—give your coupon booklet a title and ascribe a simple headline to each coupon, making sure that the title describes the offer clearly in simple language anyone can understand
- Promote benefits rather than products—of course you want to sell your products, but the customer wants to get a benefit, which may be greater ease, comfort, pleasure, or some other thing. So sell the benefit they will get if they buy your product, rather than the product itself. For example, with kitchen white goods, don’t worry about the materials, electrical wattage, and other technical details; let the customer know that it’ll make doing “x” quicker, safer, cheaper, etc.
- Include a single, clear call to action—tell people what to do! A clear call to action (or CTA) is essential. So, “Present the coupon in store”, “Scan the QR code”, or “Enter the discount code at the online checkout” are all unequivocal calls to action.
- Remove barriers—make it as easy as possible for the consumer to respond to your offer. Maybe they need to take the physical coupon to the store, but if you can offer them a QR code to scan, for example, that breaks down the barriers to purchase.
Keep in mind that a coupon is essentially an ad message, and you only have a few seconds to capture the customer’s attention and create interest. Make your coupon visually appealing with eye-catching graphics and a simple message that communicates the value of the offer.
Drive traffic to your website with QR codes
Incorporating QR codes into your coupon booklet can not only break down barriers to purchase, as we said, but it can also help drive traffic to your website as part of a multi-media marketing campaign. QR codes allow customers to access additional information or redeem special offers quickly and easily by scanning the code with their smartphones. Consider including a QR code that leads customers to a landing page where they can register for a giveaway or promotional offer, sign up for your newsletter, or see a range of similar items. This not only drives traffic to your website but also provides an opportunity to capture valuable customer contact information which you can use for customer satisfaction surveys, upselling, and review requests.
Honor expiration dates to maintain trust
One critical rule of coupon marketing is to always honor expiration dates. Failing to do so undermines the trust and credibility of your coupon promotions. If customers and prospects learn that your coupon and offer expirations are meaningless, they may lose interest in future coupon promotions and be less likely to take advantage of your offers. By honoring expiration dates, you maintain the integrity of your coupon campaigns and make sure that customers perceive your offers as valuable and time-sensitive.
Printed coupon booklets work!
So, we hope you can now see why designing and printing custom coupon booklets is an effective way to support your customer loyalty campaigns and boost sales. By clearly defining your offers, creating a sense of urgency, and promoting timely or seasonal items, you can attract and retain customers while increasing the visibility of your brand. Follow best practices for design and messaging, incorporate QR codes to drive website traffic, and remember always to honor expiration dates to maintain trust and credibility with your customers. With a well-designed printed coupon booklet, you can effectively engage your target group, increase customer loyalty, and drive business growth.
Talk to us!
At QinPrinting, we’ve been working with businesses, non-profits, and independent stores for almost 30 years now. We have a lot of experience in developing and printing highly successful marketing materials and will be delighted to share our knowledge and expertise with you to help you develop a printed coupon booklet marketing campaign which is on message, economical, and effective. Get in touch today to discuss your ideas or ask for a no-obligation quote. We can’t wait to work with you.
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Dear Rabat,
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