I’m Deidra Langstaff of Langstaff Marketing.  Coupons have been around for ages.  And you know what they say, what goes around comes around.  And even though it started way back in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s and really gained popularity definitely in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, we’ve seen coupon, or at least the print coupons, start to decline.  But now the digital coupon is taking off and it’s definitely surpassing the print coupon.  

Every major company out there realizes that couponing actually builds brand loyalty and provides the client with a reason to engage with your brand and, of course, make another purchase.  If you go to sites such as Gap.com, Banana Republic, lots of those online retailers will use a coupon to engage you to get you to purchase again.  I have a Gap card, and therefore I’m on the email list and every sing day its 25% off, 40% off, 30% off.  And I get drawn into that.  And that’s what they want.  They want me to actually follow those emails, and hopefully I’ll use the coupon, but if I don’t, that’s fine with them too.  It’s just that I’ve become a loyal brand user.   

Part of the success is, of course, has been because of organizations such as Groupon that have really come on strong onto the scene.  And then you have other websites, such as Coupon Sherpa, those are really popular with anybody who’s into the extreme couponing and wants to get on there and find ways to save money.  But that’s what people are looking for.  Not only for saving money, but also because they want to engage with your brand.  

So I would tell any small business or large business, don’t discount the coupon, but rather bring it up into today’s time and get off of the print and let’s put it into a digital format.  And there are lots of companies that can do that for you.  Have it go obviously the mobile devices as well as emails, and of course, on your website and use it as a great conversion tool.

So remember, marketing is everything and everything is marketing.