Need tip on building a coupon program.

[Harold Mansfield]

I've been getting a few calls for coupon programs. The basics seems very doable but I can't graps the full implemetation.
I assume I'll have to run it with some kind shopping cart, but what about the tracking?

How do you set them up for download, and have them have unique numbers?
Doesn't something need to be on the client end so that they can see what has been downloaded and what has been redeemed?
There has to be software for just this purpose.

Can anyone give me any suggestions on the base of setting up something like this?

[vangogh]

Will these sites have shopping carts associated with them? If so most every cart I've ever seen has the ability to set up coupons, though I'm not sure if any set the coupons up for download and redeeming in person.

Setting up a unique id isn't a huge issue. Any database table can generate unique ids, which can then be used as the number on the coupon. Since people would need to bring this in to a physical location I would think they'd print the coupon, in which case a page could be set up in html and the unique number ends up being part of the html. Every time someone visits the page, the database could be updated to generate a new number so the coupon number wouldn't be duplicated.

As far as recording the number you'd probably need the coupon to also print a bar code or something similar. You can generate bar codes with php and I'm sure other programming languages too. However you'd then need something that can scan that bar code. I'm not sure if that can be directly connected back to the website easily. Maybe at that point it's just a comparison of what the bar code scanner shows and what the website shows.

I'm sure there is software out there that does all of this, but I'm guessing it's not inexpensive. You'll probably need some kind of point of sale system.

A couple of simpler ideas. If the reason for knowing what's been redeemed is to make sure people don't try to redeem the same coupon multiple times then generating a unique number (maybe in combination with the bar code) is probably enough. Most people aren't going to try to redeem a coupon more than once and if the person receiving it even pretends to enter the number of scan the bar code it will stop most of the few who might try.

I'm guessing this is more about knowing how well the coupon works. In that case you really don't need a unique number. You should be able to track how many coupons are sent out, whether that's by who clicks a button to receive it or who it gets emailed to. You could then count how many are redeemed and it's simple math to find the % redeemed. Recording how many are redeemed could be as simple as counting them if there aren't that many to using a bar code scanner or setting up the cash register to require that a coupon was added. If this would be for different coupon offers you could give each offer a different name as simple as coupon 1, coupon 2, etc. and make sure to record the distinction when redeemed.

If you are looking for software, the software you're looking for most likely is point of sale software.

[Harold Mansfield]

Everything you are saying makes perfect sense. I think the one thing that has been missing is the redemption. You are right, there has to be some kind of redemption or what is the point of the coupons?
So a shopping cart would have to be the only way to do it on a website.

What about for products sold in 3rd party stores?
Is it a partnership with the supermarket? How do they get all of those coupons into the system at each market so that the ones you get out of the newspaper are redeemable any any supermarket?
is there is supermarket coupon database that they all tap into?

[vangogh]

I don't think you'd have to use a shopping cart to get coupons on a site. It's more that most shopping carts offer coupons as a feature so if you're going to sell through the site you might as well take advantage of the features.

I couldn't say exactly how the super market coupons work, but I'd imagine it's a central system anyone can use, probably for a fee. It might be all part of one system across industries too since those coupons have a bar code are scanned in. Keep in mind that the super market coupons probably don't come with unique numbers. The supermarket and manufacturer can tie them to individuals through the discount cards all super markets offer. And keep in mind that companies with much more resources than you and I have built these things.

What kind of people have been asking you for coupon programs? Have they been asking for specific requirements? Are these people who sell exclusively online? Or is there an offline component as well?

Years ago when I worked in the picture framing shop, our boss would run coupons in different coupon books here in town. When a customer brought one in we placed it in the cash register. We may have written the total sale price on the coupon too. I can't remember. I don't think my boss did much more than count them all at the end of the day/week/month or whatever. I think he was mostly looking to see which offer brought more people in and also from which coupon book. That way he could better decide where to advertise and what offer to use.

When it comes to tracking, whether it's online, or offline, there's no one way to track. It depends on what you're looking to know. Start by asking what information you want to learn and then figure out how to track things to learn that information.

[krymson]

Is what you are trying to do something like Groupon or LivingSocial?

If so try to find some tutorials on making those types of sites... They're out there you just have to look. If i find something ill post it for you.

[vangogh]

I don't think Harold was looking for Groupon or LivingSocial clones, but he'd know more than I would. Actually I'm not sure why anyone would want to replicate either of those sites since they seem to be losing more money each year than most of us hope to see.

[Harold Mansfield]

Noooo. Definitely NOT a clone site. Just a simple, in house, coupon program for one product. You print it out and redeem it at a local retailer.

[vangogh]

That's what I thought. I still don't know why someone would want to replicate those deal of the day sites. Groupon has lost about 40% of it's value since their IPO. That doesn't mean they'll never be profitable, though the early signs haven't been good.

[Harold Mansfield]

I don't know why anyone would want to replicate ANY site. I remember the stampede of You Tube clones a few years back and I didn't get it. Why try and recreate something that you don't have the resources or knowledge to do better?

I believe in competition and that the little guy can totally rise up and concur a market or industry, but you aren't being realistic if you think you can compete with a company that not only has a head start and name recognition, but a team of engineers, a support staff of hundreds, and a millions in operating capitol. You can't beat that by yourself, with a couple hundred dollars. You can't even get close enough to siphon off a few users.

And yet we all get those calls; "I want to build a site like Facebook", ..."like Groupon"..."like Pinterest".

[krymson]

I was just trying to get some clarification. Hmm... Vangogh is probably correct... you're going to have to look into some POS software or a shoppng cart software. As far as tracking that's a whole other monster in itself.