SMART SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING - ATTRACTING NEW CUSTOMERS WITH ATM
COUPONS
Increasing
your sales is a process of continually letting people know that your business
exists and encouraging customers to visit it. Having an ATM machine and a sign
that advertises the existence of it on your business premises will certainly
motivate a lot of new customers, who otherwise won’t come to you, to visit your
business and buy something from you.
The
ATM machine can be configured to dispense coupons
via the second cash cassette or the thermal printer. Coupons are a cost-effective
way to inform and motivate your potential customers to check
out your new product or service, while offering them some incentive for doing
so. This way you motivate your customers to both use your ATM machine and buy
the product or service you are promoting with your ATM coupons. ATM
coupons also promote customer loyalty to your business.
Coupons
are cost effective because you can reach a considerable group of potential
customers quite cheaply. They also allow you to measure the results of your
marketing efforts. Knowing the effectiveness of your coupons helps you
determine what you need to improve them, and how much money and customers they
bring in.
To
measure the result, record each coupon that is dispensed through the ATM and
presented to you. Also, record any add-on sales, and note whether the customer
was new to your store, pub, club, cafe or supermarket. When the promotion is
finished calculate the number of new customers and then divide the amount of
money you spent on the coupons by the number of new customers to reach a
cost-per-customer figure. Add up the add-on sales, minus the cost of the
promoted product, to determine your profit from the coupons promotion. You can
use these figures to compare this marketing effort with other marketing
strategies.
a) Designing
your coupon
If
you want to use the back of the ATM receipt roll to promote various services
and products, we recommend that you use an advertising company that has
experience with this sort of marketing. Many of the bank ATMs in busy shopping
centres would use coupons already pre-printed on the back of the ATM receipt
rolls. These coupons should have the name and contact details of the company
that has designed and printed them for the advertiser. Depending on your
marketing budget, they will be able to design attractive, targeted and
effective coupons.
If
you want to use the second cash cassette in your ATM
to dispense coupons, again make sure that you use an established company to
professionally design and print your coupons. Look in the Yellow Pages under
“Direct Mail” or “Advertising Companies”, and ask for referrals from other
businesses that you see using coupons to market their products or services.
Probably,
the most cost-effective way to design and distribute your coupon is to print
the coupon together with ATM receipt for every cash withdrawal or balance
enquiry performed by your ATM machine.
Whichever
option you choose, remember two important things:
q Use
coupons that are consistent with your image and target market;
q Use
coupons regularly for at least one year (response rates always increase over
time).
b)
Write a catchy headline
It
is very important that you have a very effective headline for your coupon. The
headline must draw the attention of your target market. Your potential
customers have to be intrigued by it.
Sample
power headlines might look like these:
q They didn’t think I could__________but I did.
q Who else wants____________?
q How_________made
me_________
q Are
you_________?
q How
I_______?
q How
to_______?
q If
you are________, you can_________?
q Secrets
of___________
q Thousands
(hundreds, millions) now ________even though they_______
q Warning:_____________
q Give
me_________and I’ll_____________
q _________ways
to_________
c)
Back up your marketing statements
Today
consumers are quite sceptical about advertising, so you will need all the proof
you can muster to convince your potential consumers that your marketing
statements are genuine.
q Use
attractive pictures, posters, graphs, drawings, and
charts that capture the benefits of your product or service for your consumers.
q Use
testimonials from your customers.
q Use
testimonials from celebrities. If you can
get a celebrity to autograph a photo or sign a letter, make sure you frame it
and hang it somewhere prominently so all your customers can see it.
q Do
demonstrations and sampling of your products.
Let your customers sample your products (food, beverages, etc.) or do
demonstrations for them if you are selling equipment.
d)
Make irresistible offers
Your
coupons will remain ineffective unless you stimulate your potential customers
to take action now. You will have to make offers so irresistible that customers
will be compelled to buy your product or service.
The
offers you make must appeal to your target market. If you are in the CBD, make
offers that attractive to office workers. If you are in an area frequented by
tourists, make offers that are appealing to tourists. The following list
contains some proven methods in getting customers to take the required action
now:
q Limited
availability: “We have only so much of so and so, so hurry
and get yours” (say this only if it is true).
q Premiums/Gifts:
“Call or buy now this, and a get free____ with every purchase.”
q Deadlines:
“A free ________for of all of those who purchase_____ by 1 December.”
q Multiple
premiums/gifts: Give multiple incentives for multiple orders
(e.g. a free mug with the purchase of a 1 kg of ground coffee, and a free wine
cooler with a purchase of a dozen bottles of a particular wine, etc.).
q Discounts
for fast response: “Receive 20% off the price of
_______ this week.”
Give
clear directions for what you want your customers to do with the coupon (call,
come in, buy, write, email, etc.). Make it easy for your customers by requiring
them to take the required action in one step.
Often,
two or more of the methods mentioned above can be combined in one marketing
effort. The key, as in all marketing, is to test and measure what works for
you, your area, and your target market.
e)
Offer a guarantee
Customers
are wary of hundreds of marketing messages and false claims they are bombarded
with on a daily basis. Guaranteeing your products and services is essential in
overcoming the in-built cynicism in most of your potential customers. If you
have a product or service you may have to refund, don’t offer it in the first
place.
Your
guarantee must be specific, measurable, and, ideally, it must be worth more
than the amount of money and effort the customer is making. A simple
‘satisfaction guaranteed or your money back” doesn’t work any more.
If
you consistently deliver more than what your customers expect, just imagine
where your business will be in two years?
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