Advantages and Disadvantages of Coupon Codes in Your Business

Published on: 09 May 2018 Last Updated on: 25 June 2021

There are two sides to offering coupon codes in your business. One side shows that you could make more sales with coupons while the other side shows you could lose profits after discontinuing the coupon purchases. Both sides have a point, and you should pay attention to these things while coming up with a discount strategy. Many businesses still view couponing as a perfect way to drive customers and sales without experiencing revenue losses. If you are considering using coupon codes on your business, here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the idea.

Advantages of Offering Coupon Codes :

Businesses like Vistaprint have been offering coupon codes with the idea of attracting first-time buyers and it is working really well. You could also attract customers with this method without having to give them more discounts on future purchases. Use it as a customer acquisition strategy.

If you have inventory that you want to unload quickly, offering coupon purchases is the best way to trigger quick sales. It will influence more people to prefer your products over those on other stores as long as the quality matches. You could also use coupon codes to encourage brand switching where buyers from another brand are encouraged to buy from your brand because of the pricing lure. Getting customers to make the first purchase might lead to add-on sales for products that were not discounted, which could help to raise revenues.

Disadvantages of Offering Coupon Codes :

This is a costly decision. You need to estimate the correct amount you can afford to give away. If the profit margin is not impressive, you won’t find coupon sales profitable, so it’s only sensible to use coupons on products that have a good margin. Not sustainable as a promotional strategy because customers may only choose the discounted product and never come back. Some businesses have experienced unprofitable Groupon promotions because customers only pick discounted items and only return when there are more discounts to be exploited. Could affect the image of the business as this in some cases may make it look cheap, which in perception may send a message that the quality offered is not good. This strategy could also encourage customers to always wait for discounts and only buy when you are offering discounts.

Also remember that offering discounts, especially to first-time buyers, could alienate loyal customers who are made to feel they deserve the discount more for sticking to the brand.

Conclusion

With the points discussed here, you can see how adding coupon codes to your business could affect its performance. You need to be careful with offering discount codes as this could also damage the business by lowering profitability even with more sales. Only use this strategy if you are sure the revenues to be gained are enough to get the business running smoothly. It is a perfect way to raise cash and you can clear inventory that has been stuck for a long time. Just make sure it does not lead to losses.

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Ariana Smith

I enjoy writing and I write quality guest posts on topics of my interest and passion. I have been doing this since my college days. My special interests are in health, fitness, food and following the latest trends in these areas. I am an editor at Content Rally.

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Don’t Do the Math: 5 Reasons Outsourced Bookkeeping Services are the Right Choice for Your Business

Every business owner is faced with the challenge of knowing when to outsource and when to hire in-house. With most business tasks, this depends on many different factors. But when it comes to accounting, it's always better to outsource. In this guide are five amazing benefits of outsourced bookkeeping. Read on to see why you should outsource bookkeeping services. 1. Increased Privacy/Security: Due to the sensitive nature of financial documents, and the wide array of legal issues that result from improper bookkeeping, your accountant must be extremely trustworthy. If they do you wrong, it could completely destroy your company. This is doubly true of in-house accountants. As they are a member of your own staff, you are held accountable for any mistakes they make. But when you outsource your bookkeeping, this burden of accountability is outsourced as well. Since the accountant belongs to a separate company, any mistakes or intentional misconduct they make is on them, not you. Plus, when you outsource, there's far less chance of misconduct happening regardless. The stakes are much higher for outsourced accountants than for in-house ones. For an in-house accountant, bookkeeping is just a job. They might leave for a better one at any time. They aren't necessarily all-in. But a third-party accounting company is. If they don't provide you with competitively superior accounting service, they'll go out of business. 2. Peace of Mind for Everyone Else: When you do your own bookkeeping, you have exclusive control of your company's secret financial records that no one else is allowed to see. Understandably, this makes clients and tax agencies nervous. How do they know you're not fudging numbers and manipulating the records for selfish gain? They'd have to just take your word for it. And that's not very reassuring. But a third-party accountant has zero incentive to bookkeep dishonestly. And since the accounting is done off-site, no one at your company will even have access to edit or share this information. So there's no reason for anyone to question the accuracy or integrity of their accounting. 3. No Training, No Management, No Turnover: Your outsourced accountant requires no recruiting, no training, and no management from you, ever. That's all taken care of by their company. It's true, however, that you'll still have to scout for the right accounting company for your business. But it's much less involved than the typical hiring process. Here's more info on that. Best of all, you'll never have to worry about turnover. This is a really, really huge deal when it comes to bookkeeping. Have you ever considered what happens if your in-house bookkeeper quits without any notice whatsoever? Accounting is essential. It's not something you can put on hold until you hire someone else (which can take a really long time). Who will take care of it in the meantime? If you outsource, you won't need to answer these questions. Even if the accountant assigned to your case abruptly quits, there's an entire team of qualified accountants ready to replace them. 4. Keep Your Focus on Your Business: You heard us right. When you outsource, you won't have to recruit, manage, or rehire accounting staff, or do your own accounting, ever again. It sounds like you just got a lot more time on your hands. What will you do with it? You'll do what you do best, of course. You now have all this extra time to invest in your business where you're needed the most. 5. Upscale or Downscale With Ease: Outsourced accounting is as big or as small as you need it to be. It will more easily upscale or downscale with you as needed than in-house accounting staff. There won't be any hiring or layoffs of accounting staff when your company rapidly changes size. And they don't take up any space in your office, so space restrictions won't be an issue, either. Get Outsourced Bookkeeping For Your Business: It's now plain to see that outsourced bookkeeping is the best option for any business. Outsource your bookkeeping to reap these great benefits. Get more financial tips for your smoutsourced bookkeepingall business right here. Read about six loan mistakes every business owner must avoid. Read Also: It’s All In Your Head: Do You Have The Right Mindset For Business? 3 Things To Consider When Designing A Company Logo For Your Business

Six Low-Investment Business Ideas You Can Start Today

Although they may already have a traditional 9-to-5 job, many people today are slowly beginning to realize that in order to have financial security, and they need to have multiple sources of income. Because of it, many people are looking to give up their daily jobs in order to become self-sufficient and start their own businesses. Even if they prefer not to completely leave their job, the general population has already realized that with the economic strain on income generated these days, they will need to have more than one source of income. Unfortunately, people are generally hesitant to do so and they might have a valid reason too. Starting your own business is not as easy as it sounds; in fact, successful entrepreneurs seem to think that if anything it is even harder than it used to be because of the many restraints present in today’s world. The main restraint being the amount of funding required in starting a business which, due to inflation, has gone up day by day. However, there still are many other options one can take to start a successful business which does not require a huge sum of money so here are 6 low investment business ideas that you can start today. 1. Offering services: While every business idea does require at least little funding, offering services to people requires no funding cost at all. It is a great way to earn money if you are looking to avoid taking small business loans or any other loan although that might be beneficial for some people. There are many services you can perform that do not require funding and are easy to master too as described below. Recruitment Services: Many local small or mid-scale businesses are interested in hiring suitable employees, and you could provide that service for them. It only requires you to build a database of potential employees and match them to the respective companies depending on what they’re looking for. If the person you recommended does get hired, they will pledge their first month’s salary or part of the salary to you, and in this way, you can earn money without investing a heavy amount of money. Party Planning: Providing party planning services might be a hectic job, but it is a job that pays well. Many people will pay a good amount of money to avoid going through the hassle of party planning and this is where you can provide that service for them. It won’t require any of your investment, and you can easily make a profit off of it. Once you’re experienced enough, this can easily be turned into a full-time job and then you can look to further expand your business. 2. Online Freelancing: In today’s modern world, almost every one of us has access to an internet connection and a computer, online freelancing is one of the best options, if not the best, you can still take it if you’re looking to avoid a major business investment. If you feel like you possess an IT skill that people are willing to pay for, online freelancing is the way to go. With various freelancing portals like Fiverr or freelancing.com already available to you, all you have to do is to invest in a decent computer and a fair internet connection (if you don’t already have one). 3. Marketing Services: Businesses are always looking to expand their market reach and many local businesses in your area will be looking to do exactly that. That presents an opportunity for you as it is a service you can provide through either affiliate marketing or digital marketing, both of which require little to no investment at all. If you’re going the affiliate marketing route, the companies will provide you with their products that you’ll have to sell or the operations you have to advertise, so none of your investment is in play. Similar is the case with digital marketing in which companies are always looking for digital marketers to be able to provide marketing copy that is search engine optimization (SEO) friendly and can transform websites visitors into actual customers. You can provide this service through the comfort of your home provided you have an internet connection and a computer. 4. Online Product Marketer/Seller: Online product marketer or seller is somewhat similar to affiliate marketing with the only difference being that you’ll have to sell products directly to customers online. The only requirement from you will be to be familiar with the directory of the products of the company, and you won’t have to have any of your investment. The more products you’ll sell the higher you’ll earn as the earning is directly related to the commission made selling a product. Online market places like eBay and Alibaba have this option, and you can easily master it as it requires no real training. 5. Being a personal assistant: There are a lot of people who will pay a handsome salary to get all of their work organized and are looking for a personal assistant. Although this does require you to be available at times your employer demands so it may put a strain on your job; however, once you get around the timings, it is an easy to do a job that requires no investment and pays well. If you feel like this isn't the job for you, then its alternative is available which is to become an online assistant. 6. Social media consultant: With almost one billion people using popular social media today, businesses are looking to promote their products/service on social media. You can provide this service for them, and all you’ll have to do is to search for the right people/pages online and market the products to them. This is a risk-free business that required almost no investment since you can do this even from the comfort of your phone. Read More : 1. Make Your Business Popular Online 2. Building A Brand For Your Small Business 3. Top 5 Types Of Startup Business Loans

4 Simple And Cheap Methods To Attract More Customers

Every business’s lifeline is its customer base, which is why big companies allocate a large budget to create strategies to reel in more customers. For a small business like yours, you don’t have to go to such extensive lengths to grow your number of customers. You can start with simple methods and build from there. 4 Strategies To Attract More Customers To Your Business Big giant companies are spending thousands to attract more customers but your budget is small. How you can organize your branding and promotions and going to attract more customers? Every time you do not have to spend thousands if you are going to follow some easy tips you can accomplish your work within a small budget. Here are a few ways you can attract more customers to your small business without breaking the bank. 1. Treat Your Customers Well: Customer satisfaction is vital in every business, which is why you should make sure to treat the few customers you already have with care. Word of mouth is always an excellent method to gain more customers. Let’s say you’re a company like Capstone, and you provide a service that requires you to interact and communicate with your clients. The way you treat them, the tone of your voice, your body language, etc. affect how satisfied they will be by the end of your meeting. If you treat them well, they will be satisfied with your service and are more likely to recommend you to their friends or relatives. If you treat them poorly, they might badmouth you which might cause you to lose potential clients. 2. Create Social Media Accounts: People, when looking for something, usually search for it online first. If you have a social media account, there’s a high chance they will find you. The best thing about it is that the potential customers can quickly send you a message to ask for details about your products or services. They won’t even have to get up from their bed to ask a query, which makes things easier for them. However, not every business with a social media account can always succeed. It takes more than just setting up your page to create a successful social media strategy. As a small business, you probably don’t have the human resources yet to manage all of your accounts. Here are a few tips to make sure your social media accounts benefit you: Start with one platform first. It’s better to have one platform which you regularly manage than to have multiple ones but don’t get to handle actively. Create useful, informational, and quality content. Be a little witty or funny sometimes, but make sure that what you say is appropriate for your business. Respond to comments and messages as soon as possible and always be respectful. 3. Start A Contest: Contests are always a fun way to create a buzz. People can get competitive especially if there’s a prize waiting for them. There’s something about emerging as the winner or being the lucky one that makes them feel special in probably some egotistical way. Word of mouth and social media are both excellent ways to spread awareness of the contest. If you offer a prize that benefits the winner and a family or friend of their choosing, they will immediately talk about it and might even share the news with other people they know. For a social media contest, you can require the contestants to like and share your page, tag a few friends, or even invite as many as they can to like and share their page too. If you do plan to run a contest, make sure to set an appropriate budget. The prizes you will give out should not cost you too much. Stick to your budget so that the costs during the entire duration of the contest do not make you lose more money than the sales you gained. 4. Get Involved In The Community: You don’t have to conquer the entire country to achieve success in your business. Everybody starts small. You can begin with your local community. Being involved in the place closest to your business’ location is an excellent way to attract more customers. It’s a good strategy to attract first the persons nearest to you since it’s more convenient to have business transactions with them. Usually, the target market of a business involves most of the people within their community. You can attend or sponsor some local events like charities or sports leagues. People are supportive of the people who also support their community. Your brand name can get associated with those activities, and you’ll build a good reputation, which will attract more customers. Conclusion: Try these simple steps, and you might grow your customer base. Small businesses don’t have to risk time, money, and effort for campaigns that will cost them more than what they gain. It’s all about good strategy and excellent customer service. Once you earn a substantial amount of customers, make sure to maintain good relations, so you don’t lose them. Read Also: Building A Brand For Your Small Business How To Attract The Best Talents For Your Startup The Best Methods To Build Strong Customer Relationships

Advantages and Disadvantages of Coupon Codes in Your Business

Advantages of Offering Coupon Codes :

Disadvantages of Offering Coupon Codes :

Conclusion

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Ariana Smith

I enjoy writing and I write quality guest posts on topics of my interest and passion. I have been doing this since my college days. My special interests are in health, fitness, food and following the latest trends in these areas. I am an editor at Content Rally.

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Don’t Do the Math: 5 Reasons Outsourced Bookkeeping Services are the Right Choice for Your Business

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Coupon Codes in Your Business

Advantages of Offering Coupon Codes :

Disadvantages of Offering Coupon Codes :

Conclusion

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I enjoy writing and I write quality guest posts on topics of my interest and passion. I have been doing this since my college days. My special interests are in health, fitness, food and following the latest trends in these areas. I am an editor at Content Rally.

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Follow Us

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