Just another side effect of the deep recession we’ve all been through is more number of discount freaks and an increased rate of discount coupon usage by them. Budgets have become tighter, and price discounts are a way to allow the consumers to stretch further on their budget to accommodate the maximum stuff possible. When such is the situation, if your online store or Ecommerce website is offering discount or some free stuff, you have really taken a solid profit-oriented marketing move for your business.

When it comes to ‘online coupon,’ there can be different versions of it. It can be found as a clickable banner ad, a promotional ad on a website, a clipped newspaper-like coupon, or a restricted offer to a distinct group or community. In whatever way you choose your coupon to display, your goal should always be to have a coupon strategy for maximizing the returns.

Here is how you can activate a coupon strategy on your Ecommerce site step by step:

• Deciding the level of discount and the period of its validity: You have to fix the amount or level of discount and also decide how long will be the promotional period for that discount offer. For example, 10% Off Summer Sale or Buy 2 Get 1 Free Till 31st October.
   
• Creating an online coupon: There are certain ways to create online coupons. You can do it through a site such as Local.com or Craigslist that provides utilities to create printable online coupons. Another way is to use an email program to create a coupon and ask the prospects to bring the printed version of it if they want to be entitled for the discount offered.
   
• Distributing the coupon: Email blasts are a good way to distribute the online coupons. You can also use a company blog or some local blog site dealing with the news or topics of your locality or industry. Online coupon directories and social networking sites can really help you to get your message out.
   
• Adding the coupon to your site: You can choose to have a simple online coupon with text or a more creative and attractive banner ad with some graphic work. It should be tied in across your website and online presence and made a valuable feature of user experience. You should have the discount offer link to a landing page with this information, and it should be available everywhere where customers could visit for offers (especially the home page).
   
• Eligibility for the coupon usage: You may limit the coupons to particular purchases, one per family for instance. Make sure that you allow coupon sharing and also honor coupons from any source that you have authorized it for. If you include a link on your online coupon that allows sharing of the coupon via emails to the email and networking contacts, you can instantly make your marketing message go viral.