How to Grow Your Business Using Discount Codes

Learn how to use different types of discount strategies to grow your business!

People love to save money- so whether you're running a coupon campaign for a giveaway or launching a new product, discounts can be a really powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.

Running a coupon code campaign and offering discounts is a really effective marketing strategy. Whether you're looking to increase sales, clear out old inventory, improve conversion rates, attract new customers, increase brand visibility, or tap into new markets, different strategies and discount options will be needed to achieve your goals.

So with that in mind, here are 21 ways we will show you to effectively add offering discounts into your marketing strategy and promotions and drive sales:

  1. Email Discount Codes to Re-Engage Customers
  2. Share Discount Codes on Social Media
  3. Newsletter Sign-Up Discount
  4. Limited-Time Offers
  5. Exit Intent Popup
  6. Cart Abandonment Recovery
  7. Seasonal Promotions
  8. Discount in Instagram Bio Campaigns
  9. Pre-Launch Offers
  10. Minimum Purchase Discount
  11. Post-Giveaway Follow-Up Discounts
  12. Referral Program Discount
  13. Social Media Engagement Discounts
  14. Welcome Coupons
  15. Tiered Discounts
  16. Photo Submission Discounts
  17. Customer Feedback Rewards
  18. Download or Signup Rewards
  19. QR Code
  20. Free Trial
  21. Create Discount Partnerships

Re-engage customers and leads by emailing out discount codes. Sending personalised discount codes through email can encourage past customers to make new purchases and remind leads of your products or services.

This traditional method of coupon delivery is one of the most effective ways to boost sales. By keeping your brand top-of-mind with special offers, you can drive repeat purchases and encourage those who are on the fence to go ahead and buy the product they've been eyeing up.

Email Discount Codes to Re-engage Customers

Make the most of your social media platforms to share discount codes and attract a broader audience. Posting discount codes on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter can help drive traffic to your website and increase sales.

Make sure to create eye-catching and engaging posts that highlight the value of the discount.

Use stories, reels, and posts to reach a wide audience and encourage followers to take advantage of the limited-time offers.

This strategy not only boosts your online presence but also helps in converting your social media followers into customers.

Share Discount Codes on Social Media

Offering extra discounts for newsletter sign-ups is a simple way to grow your email list while rewarding subscribers with exclusive offers. Use website popups to easily collect email addresses and offer a discount code in return.

By providing immediate value, you can incentivise sign-ups and build stronger connections with your audience. This approach helps increase engagement and brand loyalty, making it a win-win for both your business and your subscribers.

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Create urgency by offering discount codes for a limited time. Promote these offers on social media and use discount popups on your website to drive immediate action.

These time-sensitive promotions can encourage quick decision-making and prompt action, leading to increased sales within a specified time frame.

Limited-time offers not only drive immediate sales but also create a sense of excitement and urgency, motivating customers to take advantage of the discounted prices before the offer expires. Including a timer popup can increase the sense of urgency even more.

Make sure everyone knows this is the best deal they're going to get!

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Implementing an exit intent pop-up that offers discounts to visitors as they are about to leave is a super effective strategy to recover potential lost sales.

By encouraging visitors to opt into your email list to receive their discount, you can convert them into valuable leads.

This tactic not only helps in immediate sales recovery but also opens a direct line of communication, allowing you to promote your latest products and deals to them in the future, even if they don't purchase anything on the spot.

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Recover potentially lost sales by implementing strategies to re-engage customers who have abandoned their shopping carts.

The best way to do this is through a pop up that appears when they leave your website with items still in their cart.

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Boost sales during peak seasons or holidays by running targeted promotional campaigns.

Offer special discounts, bundle deals, or limited-time offers to encourage customers to make a purchase.

Share these promotions on social media or in emails, and make sure you align your offers with seasonal trends or popular events to capitalise on the excitement and buzz.

seasonal

Tip

You can also drive more powerful actions like requiring an email address to unlock the code by using our Retail Store Coupon Unlock template.

Utilise your Instagram bio to share discount codes and convert your Instagram audience into more valuable leads and customers. By placing a special discount code in your Instagram bio, you can drive traffic directly to your website and encourage immediate purchases.

This strategy uses your social media presence to convert Instagram followers into email leads and drive instant sales with discount codes.

An Instagram audience is an incredibly powerful tool for any brand, and this campaign is the perfect way to capitalise on your social presence.

Make sure you promote the discount in your posts and stories to maximize visibility and engagement.

bio

Tip

Want to drive more meaningful actions? Use our Instagram Bio Coupon template.

Generate buzz and anticipation for new product launches by offering exclusive prelaunch deals or sneak peeks to your audience.

Provide early access, special pricing, or bonus incentives to incentivise preorders or registrations.

By engaging your audience ahead of the official launch, you can build excitement, gather valuable feedback, and secure initial sales momentum for a successful launch.

prelaunch

Tip

Want to build more pre-launch awareness? Try our Build Pre-Launch Awareness template.

Encourage larger purchases and increase average order value by offering discounts based on minimum purchase thresholds.

For example, offer a percentage discount or a fixed amount off the total purchase when customers spend above a certain amount.

You can implement this by emailing discounts to users after they spend a certain amount, or automating the process at checkout.

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Running a promotional giveaway can significantly boost brand visibility, engagement, and customer acquisition- it generates excitement and attracts new potential customers to your brand.

So, show appreciation to participants post-giveaway by sending follow-up emails with special discount codes. This gesture re-engages participants who didn't win and encourages future purchases. By providing exclusive discounts, you incentivize continued engagement and loyalty with your brand.

You can also announce on the giveaway post that everyone who enters will receive an exclusive discount code. This approach can drive more entries as participants know they'll receive a reward even if they don't win the grand prize.

Post-Giveaway Follow-Up Discounts

Encourage users to refer friends by rewarding both parties with a discount code upon successful referrals to paying customers.

Referral Program Discount

Referral programs are the best way to leverage word-of-mouth marketing to drive sales and increase brand awareness. This is the best way to incentivise existing customers to talk about your brand with their friends, which will always be more convincing than traditional advertising.

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Offering discounts to users who like, comment, or share your social media posts can be valuable, but it's tricky to implement without manually going through each interaction and DMing a discount code to people.

To streamline this process and incentivize various powerful actions, we have some awesome rewards templates.

You can reward users for engaging with your brand's social media channels by creating coupon codes either as an instant win or as part of a giveaway.

For example, offering a discount for actions such as checking into your location on Facebook increases social media engagement, brand visibility, organic reach, and sales.

Take a look at this template which unlocks a coupon code for checking into your location on Facebook:

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Offering welcome coupons for new followers from a social media platform is another handy rewards strategy.

For example, you can set up a customisable popup to offer a discount code to users who join your email list after following you on Twitter- this instant reward encourages them to make a purchase right away.

Automating the process with a platform like Gleam ensures that users receive their discount codes quickly and easily.

It's a great way to boost engagement, drive traffic to your website, and convert social media followers into customers.

Plus, by offering exclusive welcome discounts, you can increase your email list, improve conversion rates, and drive more sales.

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Tiered discounts incentivise users to take more actions, such as sharing the giveaway on multiple platforms or referring friends, to unlock higher-value discounts.

This strategy is a great way to not only encourage increased engagement with your promotion- but it also rewards users for their efforts, which in the end drives participation and amplifies the reach of your campaign.

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Encourage customers to submit photos of themselves using your products or participating in brand-related activities in exchange for discounts.

Photo Submission Discounts

This not only generates valuable user-generated content that can be used in future marketing efforts but also increases customer engagement and brand interaction overall.

Photo submission discounts are particularly effective in boosting brand image and social proof, as potential customers see real people enjoying your products, which in turn is an awesome way of increasing trust and interest in your brand.

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If you're looking to learn how your business can improve, offer discounts or other incentives in exchange for customer feedback through surveys or reviews.

This strategy not only provides you with valuable insights into the customer journey, satisfaction, and areas for improvement, but also makes customers feel valued and listened to.

Customer Feedback Rewards

Rewarding feedback encourages participation and can lead to improved customer retention, as you can address issues and adapt your offerings to better meet the needs of your audience.

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Doing it this way rather than via asking people to reply to you on social media is much better in case you get any negative feedback.

Encourage new users to download your app or sign up for your service by offering a reward such as a discount or bonus content upon completion.

Download or Signup Rewards

This strategy is particularly effective in boosting initial user numbers and building a user base quickly. By providing an incentive right from the start, you not only enhance the attractiveness of your offering but also establish a positive initial engagement with new users.

Plus, rewards for downloads or signups can lead to increased user retention, as customers are more likely to explore additional features and services if they feel like they got a good deal.

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Try allowing customers to scan a QR code to receive a discount or special offer instantly.

This approach to coupon distribution is highly versatile and can be integrated into a physical store or physical marketing materials like flyers, posters, and product packaging, as well as digital platforms such as emails or social media.

Plus, QR code tracking can provide valuable insights into customer behavior and campaign effectiveness, allowing for more targeted and efficient marketing strategies.

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Offering a free trial is a really effective way to attract new customers by allowing them to experience your service or product without any upfront costs.

free trial

This strategy is especially effective for software services, subscription-based products, and other services where the value can be demonstrated through use.

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Just think, would you splurge on an expensive subscription without even seeing how it works first?

Partnering with other brands or influencers to offer discounts in return for completing things like social actions creates exciting and valuable prizes while facilitating cross-promotion.

This approach is a really effective way to enhance the perceived value of the prize while expanding your audience reach. Partnering with brands who have a good fan base or a loyal following is the perfect way to create buzz around your brand and engage with a wider audience.

Create Discount Partnerships

So, now you have an idea of your objective, to start off with, let's take a look in more detail at the different types of discount coupon code ideas that you can use.

This type of discount offers customers a certain percentage discount off of their total purchase. This common type of discount is a sure fire way to boost sales volume by making purchases more attractive.

Percentage-based discounts are versatile, suitable for attracting new customers, and excellent for incentivising larger orders to increase overall spending.

Percentage based discount

Customers receive a specific amount off their purchase with this type of discount. It's great for promoting specific products or collections and can be a strategic tool for driving sales within a certain price range.

Fixed amount discounts are really effective at increasing the perceived value of savings which is great for encouraging customers to spend enough to meet the discount threshold.

You could also do an offer of something like $5 off your first purchase to encourage first time buyers to take the plunge.

fixed

By eliminating shipping costs, these codes remove a really common purchasing barrier, which can significantly increase how attractive the offer is.

Free shipping is super compelling for people doing online shopping and it often increases the average order value. It's also appealing for those who don't want to spend hundreds to unlock free shipping, meaning you'll get a lot more smaller purchases as well as your large ones, rather than none at all.

Free Shipping Codes

Flash sale discounts are are time-sensitive promotions that offer significant savings for a short duration.

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Flash sale discounts can generate a great buzz, drive quick sales, and encourage customers to act fast to take advantage of the special discounts.

flash sale

Bundle discounts not only offer exciting prizes through things like a gift box, a summer edit, or including a free gift, but also drive sales of specific products, whether it's a new launch or old inventory you want to clear out.

Bundle Discounts

By bundling complementary products, you provide added convenience and value to your customers, enhancing their shopping experience whilst driving the specific products you want to sell.

Buy X Get Y discount codes, or BOGOF codes, allow you to offer free or discounted products to customers who purchase a specific product.

In order to receive the free or discounted offering you can set it up so your customers have to purchase a specific quantity or type of product to unlock the freebie or discount.

While discount codes can be a powerful tool whether you're an online business or a physical shop, it is important to use them strategically to maximise their impact so you make sure you get your money's worth.

Here are a few bonus tips and tricks:

  • Create a sense of urgency by setting an expiration date for the discount code. This creates a fear of missing out and encourages customers to purchase sooner rather than later.

  • Track is the redemption rate, which measures the percentage of customers who actually use the discount code. A high redemption rate indicates that your discount code is resonating with your target audience.

  • Measure the average amount spent by customers who use the discount code. A higher average order value suggests that your discount code is driving customers to spend more

Author

Charlotte Czarnota

Charlotte is a Growth Intern at Gleam. Share this post if you got something out of it ☺