Do Incentive Certificates work to boost sales?

I joined the Travel and Dining Association, and as part of my mebership I can print out and email an unlimited number of certificates for $300 rebates on gas or groceries and complimentary vacations that which I giveaway to customers. I was wondering if anyone else has had success with something like this. I've had great results using it to get people to join my mailing list and as a way of getting referrals. This works great for prootions and is also a great way of improving business on slow nights. For example, I let my usual customers know that on Tuesday nights I'll be giving away certificates for a complimetary 4 day Florida getaway and since then my Tuesday business has tripled. If you want more information about these certificates, ust send me a message.

Tags: Associations, Certificates, Marketing, Promotions, Referrals

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Permalink Reply by Howard Appell on March 7, 2009 at 8:55am

I publish two trade nespapers for the foodservice industry and I offered the certificates for gas to new potential advertisers and got only one response. Of course timing is everything. I bought the certifcates when gas was over $4.00 per gallon and by the time I got them and made the offer it had gone down to $2.00. I still have them and will use them when gas goes up again.

The problem with certificates you give away is that they are sometimes more trouble than they are worth. You can only use them on a Thursday in a month that has an S. Make it as simple as possible to use them and you should be fine.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Szala on March 9, 2009 at 5:28pm

I have heard of folks with pretty good results. The certificates do nee to be legit and enticing. Giving something away just to give it away doesn't do much unless it's something a patron wants.

Check out www.blabberbug.com, it's a similar concept.