Coupons!

I absolutely LOVE saving money. If a product has that magic four letter word on it (S-A-L-E), I feel compelled to buy it because I think I am saving money. I use to clip out coupons from the Sunday paper when I was younger because my mom would give me all the money we saved. Ever since then, I love the challenge of finding the best bargain I can find. The Entertainment Book is one of my favorite things! It is a book that is done for different cities and its tag line is “great savings on dining, shopping, travel, attractions, and more.” Through my odd obsession with coupons, it got me wondering what affect coupons had on a customer’s experience. I know for me when I go out to eat and have a coupon, I get more satisfaction out of the meal and enjoy myself ten time more. Even if the food is not that fantastic- in my mind I justify everything by the fact that I saved money. In my paper I would like to explore the relationships between coupons, satisfaction, and store loyalty.




There are so many different reward and store loyalty programs out there. I find it very fascinating that at CVS they track everything I buy, and then give me personalized coupons for things I had previously bought before. Do other people even notice these things? Does it make them feel more connected to CVS? What about punch cards at sandwich shops- does it keep people coming back knowing that eventually they are going to get a free sandwich? There is a serge of online coupon sites where you can get discounts for specific products (Couponcabin.com, couponmom.com, retailmenot.com, etc) The question is: does receiving discounts increase people’s satisfaction with companies? I feel this topic relates a lot to customer insights because I feel coupons exist to drive people to buy a certain product by promoting a discount that could increase the customer’s experience.

According to Motivation Strategies Magazine, the number of people turning to the Web for coupons will soar to 36 million this year, an increase of 10 million since 2005. In an effort to learn more about these so-called "coupon clickers," Simmons/Experian Research and Coupons, Inc. conducted a survey entitled "The 2008 Printable Coupon Consumer Pulse." (http://www.couponsinc.com/corp/pdf/2008_Consumer_Pulse_Survey.pdf) Research confirms the most popular sources for printable coupons are savings-specific sites like Coupons.com. The economic downturn is generating a shift in coupon use and a long-term change in consumer perception and behavior," said Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons, Inc. Some other findings I found interesting from the survey:

• Coupons increase a brand's equity and perceived value; 58% believe a brand providing coupons online is more likely to provide new products they will enjoy; 57% believe these companies care about keeping them as a customer.

• More than 70% of coupon clickers would provide their e-mail address, first and last name and answer survey questions for a $2 coupon.

• Coupons fuel marketing initiatives; 73% of coupon clickers are more likely to open an e-mail if a coupon is offered; 64% are more likely to click on an ad banner or search listing if they know a coupon is offered.

A fear of choosing this topic is that I am afraid that I am not going to have 15 pages worth of content to write about. I am also afraid I will not find enough evidence to find the answers to some of my questions. Any feedback you have would be fantastic!