Pros, Cons, And Ways To Implement Discounts

A time comes for every online store to decide whether to offer vouchers when to offer coupon codes and what should be the worth of it? Many online stores use discount codes and promo codes as a weapon to drive customer loyalty. If it is done correctly, it will gain trust from the customers and extraordinary profits for the store too, but if it is done without sufficient planning, it can be disastrous.

We are discussing the advantages and disadvantages of these online coupon codes, and ways to use them appropriately in order to drive customer loyalty. First, we must understand what customer loyalty is?

Customer Loyalty

When consumers choose your brand over every other brand, it is known as customer loyalty. This choice is based on the previous experience they had with the brand. There several reasons which determine the fidelity of buyers which includes excellent customer service, quality products, consistently positive experience.

The loyalty of the buyers can be measured by looking into the purchase frequency, purchase quantity, consumer’s lifetime, and many other factors. The purchaser who trusts the brand develops an emotional connection with the store, and they become the advocates for their favorite brand. This is possibly the best way of customer acquisition.

One significant way to gain loyalty from the consumers is offering discounts and deductions. However, this isn’t risk-free so, let’s see the potential benefits and threats it poses to the store.

Pros

•    Easy to plan and quick to implement
•    Easy to track with various softwares
•    Increase customer loyalty (naturally)
•    Increase the number of buyers
•    Aids in conversions
•    Help move the stock quickly
•    Make sales goals easy to achieve

Cons

•    Margins and profits are decreased
•    Brand damage is possible
•    Conversions can be decreased outside the period of sale
•    Price-driven shoppers are attracted
•    Order size can be reduced
•    Customers outside the target market can be attracted

Ways To Reap Profits Through Discounts 

Now, let’s see how these offers can be used to bag the financial benefits and win the buyer’s trust. There are so many ways to direct these sales we are discussing some of them here.

Weekly/monthly Discounts

Set a proper interval like the end of the month or mid-week sales and offer deductions during this time every month or week. People would wait for that time, and it is effective for conversions.

Seasonal Discounts

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are obvious but try to offer coupons on other national holidays too. Consumers would notice and check out the store on different holidays.

Use Social Media

Social media is such a powerful tool if used rightly. Offer discount codes and promo codes on liking your social media accounts and sharing your posts. It will make the tough job of getting the word out easy. The incentives will motivate the users to share your store ads, and it will appear on the screens regularly.

These are some ways e-stores can use to sky-rocket their sales and most importantly keep their customers loyal.