Coupons can be very effective at driving sales, but of course, they're only useful if consumers actually use them.
So how do you get customers to use your coupons? Turn them into a social activity with a friend.
👠Friends Help Friends Earn Coupons
According to a recent study, earning a coupon by doing an activity with a friend makes consumers 20% more likely to use that coupon.
For example:
- Watching a video together
- Playing an online game
- Solving a puzzle
🧠Why it Works
Why? The study's researchers suggest that when consumers share an experience with someone referring a coupon to them, they see the coupon's role as a social activity rather than an economic incentive. In this way, it becomes less about the money and more about a bonding experience so people feel more comfortable accepting and redeeming the coupon.
The concept of coupons focused on a shared experience between the giver and receiver is relatively new, but some companies have been experimenting with it, including e-commerce giant Alibaba.
The company ran a competition in which customers and their friends formed teams and built a virtual skyscraper in exchange for coupons.
The study was first published in the Journal of Marketing. It's called “The Missing Link of Experience Cocreation in Shared Coupons.”
