by, Lesa Seibert, President, Xstreme Media

Last week looked at four was to get your coupons in front of your potential and current customers.  This week we are going to look at four more ways to do just that.

  1. Mobile phone coupons.  According to research firm Yankee Group, the number of mobile coupons redeemed in North Amercia is set to increase more than tenfold in 2010.  They forecast $2.37 billion in North America mobile coupon transactions in 2013, up from $5 million in 2009.
    • CellFire.com provides a unique system to create mobile phone coupons.  This service is provided free of charge to consumers and currently supports more than 800 different mobile handsets.  Consumers sign up to receive text message coupons directly to their phones that can be used online or in brick-and-mortar stores.
    • MobileCoupons.com is another supplier of similar mobiles services.  The basic service is free for both merchants and consumers.  MobileCoupons.com generates revenue by charging for additional services such as bold listings and mobile websites for your products.
  2. Twitter.  many companies are using Twitter to great advantage to grow their business.  Companies such as local Zappos have made well-publicized claims to have driven tens of millions of dollars in new business using coupons sent through their Twitter feeds.  Entertainment services like night clubs, event organizers and orchestras can tweet schedules of events offering discount codes for tickets.  Restaurants and hotels can tweet the day's lunch menu and offer discount coupon codes valid for one day only.  E-commerce sites can advertise coupon codes for a deal of the day through their Twitter feed to drive traffic.
  3. Offer a coupon code after the sale.  Wait for a customer to make a purchase, then offer a coupon code on the sales confirmation page or their email confirmation that is good on their next order.  This can help drive repeat purchases.
  4. Accept competitor's coupons.  Let your competitor's promotion dollars help you grow your business.  To find a list of your competitor's coupons, first check their website then visit coupon consolidators like RetailMeNot.com or CouponCabin.com.  Collect these codes and add them to your coupon management system, so when consumers type them in, your system will recognize them and apply the code to their order.
Internet coupons are a great way to not only begin, but also extend the ongoing conversation with your customers.  The most successful coupon programs provide the three basic benefits that all consumers seek:  value, help in making a decision and improved ease of shopping.  Test different methods, ramp up those that succeed and stop those that don't produce.

In the final part of this series next week, we will look at coupon best practices.