Coupon codes are hurting your direct marketing

It's easy to fall into the trap of relying heavily on discounting and coupon codes to drive customer acquisition and boost short-term sales. However, overusing such tactics outside of your loyalty program can actually discourage customers from signing up and dilute the value of your program. Moreover, the usage of discount codes can complicate the redemption process and negatively impact the customer experience. Here's how you can modernize your offer marketing strategy:

Restrict Discounts to Your Loyalty Program

If customers can get the same offer without joining your loyalty program why would they sign up or opt into direct marketing from your brand? That is why leading brands are moving away from offers without a loyalty program in place.

• Diminishing Loyalty Value: By offering discounts outside your loyalty program, you dilute its unique value to customers. Potential members will question the benefits of joining your program if non-members receive similar benefits.

• Adopting a Leader's Approach: Many leading brands prioritize offers within their loyalty programs. This encourages sign-ups, strengthens customer-brand relationships, and allows for direct marketing to customers.

Eliminate Discount Codes to Streamline CX

Transitioning away from discount codes enhances the customer experience by simplifying the checkout process and reducing cart abandonment rates.

• Enhancing In-Store Experience: Customers often find it inconvenient to look up codes at checkout and it can increase how long it take to check-out.

• Reducing Cart Abandonment: When shopping online, customers must navigate away from your site to search for discount codes, increasing the likelihood of cart abandonment.

• Streamlining Remarketing: Tracking and remarketing to customers who have used discount codes can be labor-intensive and costly. By transitioning towards loyalty program-based offers, you close the redemption loop; knowing exactly who redeemed and can now leverage your own marketing channels vs spending more on advertising.

• Eliminate Fraud & Excessive Discounting: Deal sites, customers, and even employees will share codes meant for specific marketing initiatives and will frequently reuse them. This leads to over discounting and inaccurate marketing attribution.

Involve Franchisees in Your Loyalty Program

Leverage a platform that allows franchisees to use the same dashboard tools as HQ to send out offers and marketing messages to boost program success.

• Aligning Marketing Efforts: If franchisees cannot use the loyalty program, their marketing efforts may be focused on other tools they source on their own. 

• Boosting Sign-Ups: Employees at the store level are often the best resource you have for driving loyalty program signups (read more here). If franchisees are able to use the tools and see the direct benefits of more members in the loyalty program, they're more likely to advocate for it; creating a flywheel that drives the brand-wide marketing initiatives.

Conclusion

By focusing on offers exclusive to your loyalty program, eliminating discount codes, and involving franchisees in your loyalty program, you can modernize your offer marketing strategy. This approach not only enhances the customer experience but also drives loyalty program sign-ups, promotes customer retention, and ultimately, boosts your bottom line.

Learn more about loyalty program offer redemption