Coupon Advertising

Coupons are a slam-dunk when it comes to tracking your advertising. By placing different offers or different designs in different publications, you'll know exactly which ones are working for you and which ones aren't. If you're having your coupons printed, you should use a unique design or paper with watermarks to keep them from being easily replicated. And keep the coupons as people redeem them so you know just what percentage is coming back to you from each place. Check SW Florida Media Group for sites like swfloridarewards.com and cityrewardsnetwork.com coupon sales.

A close cousin of the coupon is the gift certificate, and you should always have them available for shoppers who are unsure of what to purchase. When customers buy gift certificates rather than products, you're able to keep more inventory in stock during busy periods. Be sure to put an end date on your gift certificates and include disclaimers, such as "This gift certificate cannot be used to pay on account," "...cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer" or "...cannot be redeemed for cash."

Here are a few additional tips when it comes to using coupons to advertise your business:

* Be sure and put an end date (a date when they're no longer valid) on all your coupons. If you don't, you'll have to honor them for as long as you run your business.
* Be careful about your offer. A coupon offering something for free will get the people in, but they may not return. Lots of businesses find that when people come in to redeem a freebie, they don't even focus on what you have to offer and you lose the ability to sell them something else. Better to offer something free with an additional purchase or give a 50 percent discount on the purchase of one item.
* Include your coupons on your website and keep that page up to date.