Practical tips
September 25, 2023  

How to Properly Implement and Use Coupons in Email Marketing

[Translate to English:] Gutscheincodes

Coupons are a popular tool in email marketing for acquiring, reactivating, and retaining customers. But how do you properly implement coupon campaigns, and what is the goal behind them? In this blog post, you’ll learn everything you need to know about coupons in email marketing. We’ll also show you practical examples that can be implemented quickly and effectively using the coupon add-on for the Inxmail platform.

Table of contents

Goals of coupon campaigns

Whether as a welcome gift for new customers or as a thank-you for loyal regulars—coupons are versatile and offer numerous opportunities to strengthen customer loyalty or boost sales. Depending on your business strategy and industry, the goals of voucher campaigns can vary. Typical goals of voucher campaigns include:

  • Acquiring new customers: Vouchers create incentives for the first purchase, for example, because an item is cheaper than at a competitor’s. Take this opportunity to convince new customers of your service and offer them a customer experience that wins them over to your brand, ensuring your company stays in their memory.
  • Retain customers: With gift cards, you can retain and build customer loyalty by offering them an incentive to shop with you again.
  • Increase sales: Vouchers can encourage customers to buy more or choose higher-value products (for example, by setting a minimum order value with a voucher or a minimum item count). This can contribute to increased sales.
  • Boost brand awareness: By offering vouchers as an incentive to buy or participate, you can increase awareness of your company, your brand, or your products.
  • Reduce inventory: Vouchers for specific items or product groups can help reduce inventory, for example during seasonal changes or when products are being discontinued and storage space is needed for other purposes.

Occasions and Types of Voucher Campaigns

Depending on the occasion, objective, or target audience, there are various types of voucher campaigns. Among the most well-known are:

  • Birthday emails
  • Sales campaigns for seasonal events, holidays, or anniversaries
  • Welcome emails
  • Apology emails
  • Customer loyalty campaigns
  • Custom campaigns

Other options include vouchers for abandoned shopping carts, vouchers for repeat purchases, VIP or key account vouchers, vouchers for participating in surveys, or for referring friends.

[Translate to English:] Übersicht Kampagnen
Inxmail Coupon Add-on: Overview of Coupon Campaigns in Inxmail New Xperience

Implementing Coupon Campaigns

In the Inxmail platform, you can manage and send coupon codes for various occasions. The tool is easy to use and promotes customer retention and acquisition. First, you need to decide which campaign type you want to create. The Voucher Add-on offers useful presets based on typical use cases, which you can customize to suit your needs.

[Translate to English:] Auswahl Kampagnen Typ
Inxmail Voucher Add-on: Select Basic Settings

In the next step, you can upload vouchers directly to the campaign and configure useful presets. For example, select an end date for sending the voucher codes to ensure that no invalid vouchers are sent. For welcome campaigns, it is also advisable to update the codes quarterly and delete old vouchers.

You can then manage notifications regarding your voucher code quota. By default, the person who created the campaign receives a message when the quota falls below a 10% threshold. You also have the option to customize the settings to your needs—for example, adjusting the threshold, adding additional contacts, setting up fallback coupon codes, or turning off notifications entirely.

[Translate to English:] Benachrichtigung zum Gutscheincode Kontingent
Inxmail Coupon Add-on: Notifications Regarding the Coupon Code Quota

In the editor of the Inxmail Platform, you can easily integrate the placeholder for the coupon code of the respective campaign using the % symbol.

[Translate to English:] Editor-Platzieren_eines_Gutschein-Platzhalters
Inxmail Editor: Inserting a voucher placeholder

What should you keep in mind with voucher campaigns?

Use voucher campaigns in email marketing strategically and with care. You should factor voucher values into your pricing strategy from the start. Carefully consider the occasions on which you distribute vouchers to avoid devaluing your brand and products. It is advisable to establish clear terms for voucher usage and plan campaigns well to prevent abuse and achieve the desired effect.

Prevent misunderstandings on the customer’s part by clearly communicating the terms and conditions (value, customer group, scope of use, etc.). If you set a time limit on your vouchers, you can also increase purchase incentives. After all, you generally shouldn’t issue too many coupons; instead, focus on scarcity and avoid so-called “coupon fatigue.”

Real-world examples of effective coupon marketing

Now it’s up to you: Find the right occasion and get started. For inspiration, we’ve selected a few real-world examples of the most common coupon mailings. Get inspired by the following birthday and welcome emails:

 

Examples of birthday emails:

 

[Translate to English:] Gutscheincode Geburtstag FC Köln

Examples of welcome emails:

[Translate to English:] Willkommen Babymarkt
[Translate to English:] Gutscheincode Willkommen Gabor
[Translate to English:] Gutscheincode Geburtstag pflanzenkölle

Benefits of the Voucher Add-on

Not convinced yet? We’ve summarized the benefits of the Voucher Add-on clearly for you:

 

  • Personalized voucher codes for your campaigns – easy to upload and integrate
  • Quick start thanks to numerous presets based on successful examples
  • All settings—such as usage, quota, or redemption—at a glance
  • Automated notifications when stock is low
  • Fallback code in case the voucher code quota is exhausted
  • Custom delivery settings to prevent voucher abuse
  • Detailed assignment of access and administrative rights

Implement voucher campaigns easily and efficiently

Do you want to create incentives to buy and delight new or existing customers? Then implement your voucher campaigns quickly and efficiently with the Voucher Add-on in Inxmail New Xperience:

Request the Voucher Add-on