Promotion Code Best
Practices
Using promotion codes as part of your online company store
marketing strategy can help generate awareness and expand your
brand's visibility. Learn more.
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P - 888.802.8219 • P - 912.232.3754 • F - 912.233.5006
Whether you’re trying to generate new sales, move closeout merchandise or do a little of both, promotion codes
can be a highly effective tool for attracting buyers to your online shop. While it is true promo codes can backfire if
not used wisely, you can easily avoid the pitfalls by sticking to promo code best practices that help ensure you’re
offering a discount but still making a profit.
Promotion Code Options
Promotion codes typically allow for a variety of deals, ranging from percentage discounts on select
items to a set dollar amount off the entire order.
Those available on our online store platform can be set using up to 10 alpha-numeric characters, with the
following options available:
Percentage discount on all items
Percentage discount on certain items
Flat dollar discount off order total
Flat dollar discount off a particular item
Free item on orders over $X
When to Use Them
You can use discount codes any time you wish, of course, although using them regularly on a set schedule can
condition your shoppers to wait until you run the sure-to-come promotion before they buy anything. Here you’ve
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cogginspromo.com • 41 Park of Commerce Way, Savannah, GA
P - 888.802.8219 • P - 912.232.3754 • F - 912.233.5006
just created a customer base that will probably never pay full price. A more strategic choice is to use promo codes
with a specific purpose in mind.
See Also: Gift Codes for Online Company Stores
Seasonal promotions: Promotions run during certain seasons can raise awareness of your shop during slow or
busy seasons or specific holidays. These can also be useful for clearing out last season’s merchandise.
Launching a store: Get employees or other shoppers to place their first order at your newly launched shop with
a discount on their first order.
Promoting a new category or item: Start the sales rolling on a new item or category of items with discounts on
those select items.
Moving discontinued items: Those water bottles you’re no longer carrying? T-shirts that showcase last year’s
design? Use promo codes on those select items to help move them out of your shop.
Encouraging shoppers to make bigger purchases: Pick an enticing free gift, then set up a promo code that
rewards shoppers with the gift when they make a purchase of at least $100, $200 or $300.
Thanking customers: Include a special promo code in a thank you email sent to repeat or big-spending
customers, offering a discount on their next order.
Rewarding winners: Run promotional contests on your social media sites, rewarding the winners with a
discount code worthy of their efforts.
Testing marketing campaigns: Running a variety of campaigns with a different promo code linked to each
campaign allows you to see which campaigns are netting the greatest results based on the promo codes being
used. Use can also a specific promo code with a specific online ad you run to track of the effectiveness of that ad.
Celebrating fans: Creating different codes for your social media fans on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other
sites can encourage them to keep sticking around to check out your social media feeds.
Turning new readers into customers: If you’re partnering with a blog or media outlet for a feature, or writing a
guest blog or feature for a specific site, consider creating a promo code that can be used specifically for their
readership.
Tips for Avoiding the Pitfalls
The biggest problem with promo codes is the risk of losing money, and that can happen when the codes are
shared, re-shared, end up on coupon websites and never expire. Avoiding the pitfalls is possible with a few
strategic tips.
Set an expiration date
Not only does setting an expiration date ensure your promo code can’t be used for years on end, but it also
creates urgency with a set time limit for using the code.
Make sure your discounts are sustainable
While you want to consistently draw in business, you don’t want to consistently lose money while doing so. Make
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cogginspromo.com • 41 Park of Commerce Way, Savannah, GA
P - 888.802.8219 • P - 912.232.3754 • F - 912.233.5006
sure the discounts are high enough to generate interest but low enough to ensure you’re still making a profit.
Issue codes to select audiences
Instead of making promo codes readily available to be shared and re-shared across the web, consider sending
them to specific, targeted shoppers. For instance, set up specific codes you share with employees, loyal
customers, email list subscribers and other categories of shoppers. Send them the codes directly instead of
posting them freely on your website.
Create, and measure goals
Increasing sales is a catch-all goal for any type of promotion, but you can fine tune your promo code strategy if
you fine tune your goal. Figure out what you want the promo code to do. Draw in new customers? Encourage
repeat or lost customers to come back? Increase sales during a slower season? Beat last year’s sales during a
busy one? When possible, assign specific numbers to your specific goals. This lets you track your promo code’s
progress, giving you insights into areas of the campaign that may need to be adjusted or further developed. One
final note is to err on the side of caution when creating any type of promo code campaign. Before you break out
the big guns and serve up a hefty discount, you may want to test the waters with a trail run that offers a smaller
discount. This can give you an idea of the type of response you may receive, which allows you to adjust your
promo strategy accordingly so you make money instead of lose it.
