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Saving Money With Online Coupons Growing In Popularity
According to Simmons/Experian Research and Coupons, Inc, "The number of people turning to the web for coupons has soared to 36 million in 2008. That's an increase of 10 million people from 2005." With rising gas prices and concerns of a nationwide recession, shoppers are becoming more and more cost-conscious. Any option that helps them save money is going to factor in to their purchasing decisions. Online coupons are also providing an additional benefit to merchants that goes beyond just attracting more business. By focusing specifically on their local community, merchants are able to better target their advertising budget. Instead of being forced to spend money on campaigns that include additional demograhics outside their market, local merchants can focus solely on their community to build brand recognition and customer loyalty without blowing their ad budget. Traditional advertising methods require local merchants to spend more money than they would like in order to cover a market that goes well beyond their actual focus. For example, a local Conroe TX merchant recently ran a Direct Mail campaign. The goal was to reach her immediate local community. Unfortunately, due to the way the region was segmented by the marketing company, the merchant was forced to spend money that would reach well beyond her actual market. Much of that ad budget was simply unprofitable. The Internet continues to gain in popularity among local shoppers. It has become the norm in millions of households across America to simply log on and search for a better deal. A local Conroe, TX business man who wished to remain anonymous recently said, "I relied heavily on Yellow Pages advertising for my business. One day, it was like someone just reached over and shut off the valve to my business. I found out that my customers were starting to go online. Instead of finding me, they were finding my competitors. It almost destroyed my business!". Smart businesses are learning to tap in to the power of the Internet to target their market with laser-like efficiency. The payoffs include reduced advertising expenses and a higher ROI as more of their advertising dollar is focused on the actual customers they wish to attract. Small town businesses are finding this extremely targeted approach to advertising a way to compete more efficiently with large chain stores and franchises that have the advantage of extremely large advertising budgets. Local Conroe TX resident, Tina Rooney, said, "I like a good deal. And it can be a lot of fun to go online and find a coupon I can print out to use at a local restaurant or business. Every little bit helps."
More and more shoppers are turning to online coupons for finding great deals in their local community.