To know which of incentive and rebates would work better with your customers, you need to ask yourself five key questions:
Question #1 Are the Majority of Your Customers Women? If so, then either's fine because women love to shop, and they love to shop more if you're offering them additional benefits to do so. You need to understand that women ��" most but definitely not all of them ��" need no reason at all to shop so they'll love you more if you're offering them a legitimate reason to shop.
If majority of your customers are men, however, then it might be better to offer them an incentive of sorts instead of rebates. Unless you're willing to offer them instant debates ��" furnish the coupon and voila: the process of shopping is finished! ��" it's rare for men to take the time to carefully cut out coupons, fold it and keep it inside their wallets ��" if they even use wallets that is and not the ever-so-compact money clip.
Question #2 Where are You Selling? If you are selling your products and services in the Internet, you'll probably enjoy better marketing success by offering your customers an incentive. The correct incentive can even give you a competitive advantage. If, however, you're offering them with a rebate then be prepared to give them cash rebates instantly because that's already what most website's are offering. If you offer anything less than that, it should be more than compensated with the product or service you're selling.
Question #3 State the Terms and Conditions Clearly You've heard about unethical stores or companies being sued for using illegitimate or deceptive marketing strategies. But have you heard about consumers eager to sue legitimate companies by twisting their words and winning hundreds or thousands of dollars from lawsuits?
You have to be prepared for similar eventualities when formulating incentive and rebate strategies for your company. To avoid legal complications, always make sure that you file the appropriate licenses before offering any sales promo. Secondly, state the terms and conditions clearly and have a legal counselor check on it to ensure that there are no loopholes.
Question #4 What Is the Income Class Level of Your Customers? If majority of your customers belong to the lower or middle income class level, they'll probably appreciate it more if you're offering cash benefits. It doesn't matter whether it takes the form of incentive or rebate just as long as it allows them to pay for something for a lower price.
The same rule applies for teenage markets. Consumers belonging to that age group generally don't earn enough to spend huge amounts of cash and as such, they'll no doubt appreciate rebates more than other incentives. Incentives may still work with the younger generation, however, just as long as you know what the latest trends are. Remember that younger generations prefer fashion over usefulness and durability.
If, on the other hand, your target market belongs to the upper income class level, most people in this category usually prefer to pay for their purchases by credit card. And since you need to base your marketing strategy on that, an incentive will probably work better in this instance than rebates. If you are affiliated with a particular bank, you can then give your customers an incentive for using that bank's credit card. Rebates will normally prove useless in this score.
About the author:
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