You’ve probably noticed many websites dedicated to sharing promo codes online. You can find discounts and deals for just about any website if you run a quick search online. That’s because promo codes are a highly effective marketing and PR strategy. Done right, they’ll make your customers feel appreciated and bring you plenty of sales.
Promo codes like “WELCOME15” and “SHOP10” are commonly handed out to new customers, and the discounts get more personalized once someone becomes a paying customer. If you haven’t used them yet, consider how promo codes can be a good PR strategy for your business.
People favor businesses that offer promo codes
If you’re not running deals on a regular basis—or at least offering a small discount for first-time customers—you’re missing out. Most people expect their favorite brands to offer promo codes, and will think more highly of brands that offer deals. The better your deals, the more people will talk. For example, many bloggers buy shared hosting accounts when offered a significant discount because they’re on a budget. Popular sites like The Blog Starter recommend shared hosting for good reason. In the blogging world, saving money is a priority.
Bloggers always share their experiences with various web hosts, and that’s how a lot of hosting companies get new customers. When saving money is a priority, blog owners are less likely to say positive things about hosting companies that don’t hand out promo codes, even if those companies offer good services.
In many cases, when people have a choice between two businesses, and one doesn’t offer deals, they’ll usually choose the company offering a deal. The more satisfied and happy customers you can generate, the more they’ll tell others about your business with word-of-mouth and positive online reviews.
Promo codes make discounts easy
People think highly of companies that make it easy to get a deal, but there is much to be said for making customers do something to get that deal. If you look at successful direct mail campaigns from the past, you’ll notice that many required people to tear out and paste little stamps onto a piece of paper to indicate what they wanted to buy. When a customer becomes engaged in the process of ordering, it increases their commitment to making the purchase. The same is true for promo codes. When a customer has to manually enter a promo code, they’re more likely to complete their purchase.
There is a difference between running a sale, a discount, and offering promo codes. Promo codes force your customers to take action, which makes them feel like they’re in charge of getting the deal. If you just offer regular sales on your website where you mark down existing prices and automatically apply the discount at checkout, you’re missing out on the psychology that makes promo codes work so well.
Keeping promo codes active helps maintain your reputation
One reason people love promo codes is the fact that once they use their “welcome code,” they know they can search for more codes online and potentially save another 10 percent on their next purchase. It’s somewhat of a treasure hunt, but having promo codes floating around on the internet can help you get more sales and boost your reputation among your customers.
For example, popular clothing brands that have $100+ price points often give customers 10% off on their first purchase, and occasionally send out additional promo codes through email. However, these codes are typically only good for one use. With higher-priced items, some customers will only come back for another purchase if they can find a working promo code. Even if all they save is $10, that can be enough.
When you keep your promo codes active and allow them to circulate online, you’re going to generate more sales from people who will only buy when they can get a deal. It will also get more people to talk about your company when you have serious fans. For instance, your customers will pass around promo codes to their friends and in online groups, which can bring in quite a large number of sales, create long-term loyalty, and generate repeat purchases.
Promo codes tell people you’re generous
Yes, you went into business to make money, but there’s room for generosity within every business model. When you use promo codes to give discounts, you’re demonstrating to the world that you are generous and want people to benefit from a deal. That makes your brand look good.
Whether or not you use promo codes is a personal choice. However, it’s at least worth experimenting to see what they can do for your brand.
