eSolution Coupons

Best practice: Expanding the price strategy through price range & couponing

"Don't coupons just eat up revenue?"

"Why should I sell something at a lower price if the guest already wants to order?"

"Why do some customers first have to see an advantage in order to appreciate my offer?"

Such questions are absolutely understandable. The effect of couponing is rarely immediately visible - and this is precisely why this instrument is often underestimated or used incorrectly.

More than one pricing strategy in the same company

One central idea is crucial:

  • You don't have to follow the same pricing strategy for all guests.

  • Couponing does not mean questioning the previous standard price. Rather, it complements it with a second, targeted pricing strategy - for guests who consciously search for offers, are digitally savvy and actively engage with your brand.

  • These guests would often not have come in the first place without an incentive.

Why else do even market leaders in quick service couponing use couponing so consistently? Why do employees even have coupons available there - or do self-order terminals specifically display information about coupon promotions? The guest is already at the start of the ordering process. From a purely rational point of view, you would have to say: don't give away a cent now.

However, practice shows otherwise:

  • Not all guests are interested in coupons - but those who do are more loyal, return more often and recommend to others.

  • Couponing as an instrument for expanding the customer base

  • When used correctly, couponing is not a discount tool, but a management tool. It allows you to influence targeted behaviour without devaluing your core offer.

Couponing can help you:

  • to publicise new or specifically selected products,

  • First-time customers into returning customers,

  • to attract price-sensitive guests to your offer in the first place,

  • to additionally address digitally affine, playful target groups.

This allows you to expand your customer base instead of simply shifting existing sales.

Linking with digital channels

Coupons are particularly effective in combination with digital channels. Couponing makes social media campaigns more measurable, more immediate and more successful. You receive direct feedback on your campaigns and can flexibly adapt, extend or terminate offers. Couponing is therefore not an isolated tool, but part of a modern, data-based pricing and marketing strategy.

Conclusion

Couponing is not a sign of weakness, but of strategic maturity.

It enables you to address different target groups with different expectations - without damaging your price level or your brand.

Not every guest needs a coupon.

But for some guests it is the decisive reason for choosing you.

Factual note on coupon security and article numbers

When entering coupon codes, this is technically a reference to an internal article number. If a coupon item is no longer actively offered, it can still be called up if users have saved the coupon number or saved a screenshot.

To avoid this, we recommend

  • adjust the product range allocation of the article in question or

  • assign a new internal article number (e.g. for an extended or changed promotion).

This ensures that expired or unwanted coupons can no longer be redeemed.

Use coupons

To use coupons, you must activate them using the setting: Activate coupons in the webshop. You can make further settings there, for example whether the coupon is captured manually or using a QR code. Coupons can be used in three different ways:

  1. Scanning a coupon code via QR code.

  2. Enter a coupon code.

  3. Selection of an available coupon code (only in YourAPP).

The option to scan a coupon code via QR code also includes the optional entry of a coupon code in the event that the user's camera does not work or scanning is not possible. If you do not create your coupon codes with a QR code, you can also switch to the standard input of a coupon code.

The selection of a coupon within YourAPP is always activated, provided that the redemption of coupons has been activated.

Format specifications for coupon QR codes...

The structure of coupon codes via QR code must correspond to the following structure:

https://www.hypersoft.de/?HYAR=1234 or shortened: HYAR=1234 (1234= placeholder for your free article number)

Further topics: Shop with coupons

Use couponing in the Self Order Terminal (SOT)

The use of couponing at the SOT is described in a separate section of the SOT documentation under the heading SOT with coupons.

Use coupons in the app and in the web version

Coupons are a component of Content & Ratings and can be accessed via the corresponding menu entry within YourAPP.

You can access the Coupons module via the module selection at the top left.

The call of coupons shows you the following module.

Element / Switch Function / Description
YourAPP Shows you whether the entry is released for YourAPP.
trial account Shows you whether the entry is released for the test account.
Date from

Shows you the start date of your coupon.
Date to Shows you the end date of your coupon.
Heading (DE) Displays the name of the coupon heading in German.
Heading (EN) Displays the name of the coupon heading in English.
locations Shows you the number of locations that are relevant for coupons.
likes Shows you the number of currentikes in YourAPP of this coupon.
ratings Displays the number of ratings for these coupons.
Average/stars Displays the average rating of this coupon. See also: Reviews
status

The list can be filtered via Status. You can choose between All, Unpublished, Published and Testaccount.

Unpublished shows all couponsthat are not released in YourAPP or for the test account. Published shows all coupons currently displayed in YourAPP. Testaccount shows all coupons which are released for display in the testaccount.
Location Via Location you can filter the list. All - Shows all coupons, regardless of where the news is relevant. Selecting a specific location will only display the coupons that are relevant to the selected location.
Search The search lets you search for any coupons. Click on the symbol with the magnifying glass in the title bar and enter the desired search term. The hits of a search query are displayed in yellow.

Create Coupon

Create a new coupon via the Create coupon button below the list or via the menu at the top right of the title bar.

Element / Switch Function / Description
release Control the release of your new coupon. You have the option of not releasing the coupon for the time being, in order to edit it again later if necessary, or to publish it at a later point in time. If you want to release the coupon, you can do this first for the test account to test all texts, images and location assignments, or release the coupon for all /users who receive the coupon automatically with the next update.
period

Specify the term of your coupon. Depending on the deposited value, these coupons are displayed in YourAPP.

Please use the item availability in the item master, because only with this option a redemption before and after the running time is prevented.
Headline and text Add a heading in English and German and add your desired text.
photo

Upload the desired image for this news in the resolutions shown so that it is always optimally displayed on different end devices and with different interface rates.

Note on uploading graphics

The upload of photos and images for the eSolutions is carried out in the listed resolutions and quality levels in the format 16:9 with the file type *.jpg or *.png. The standardization of the images serves the fast and suitable publication of the information on different platforms and media. The different resolutions and quality levels serve the different resolutions of end devices, as well as the reduction of data traffic, in which only the optimal image is transmitted to the respective end device. Further notes in the chapter Image processing with eSolutions.

With each upload, the images are checked for the specified parameters.

If a parameter does not match the specifications, you will be notified accordingly. In this case, please correct the corresponding entry and upload the image again.

Format example...

(The Webshop 2.0 and the eMENU only use image level 3 in the browser version).
locations

Select the locations that are relevant for this entry.

Note: If /users do not have these location(s) "geliked", this news will not be displayed.
Delete

Delete a news item using the trash can icon in the list view.

Please verify your intention to delete using the following dialog. If this news is linked in other modules, e.g. the start screen, you will be informed accordingly.

item & QR-Code

Enter the free item number of the item that you want to post automatically when you redeem the coupon. Then choose GenerateQR Code.

If you would like to offer an item at a reduced price with a coupon, please create it again with a reduced price and link it to this coupon via the free item number.

If you would like to offer several items with a coupon to choose from, please create a recipe item with a corresponding query and link it to this coupon via the free item number.

System behaviour with APP when scanning the QR codes

If YourAPP is installed, you will be redirected to the app:

  • Android: Redirection to the installed app is attempted automatically and "directly".

  • iOS: A banner is displayed instead of a direct redirect. The user then accesses the app via the Display button.

  • If it cannot be clearly determined whether the app has already been installed, the user is redirected to the relevant app store (Google Play or Apple App Store), as with the in-house order procedure.

For registered users only

Specify whether your coupons are available for all users, or only for registered /users of YourAPP.

ratings

When you open an existing news item, the Reviews section is displayed. Here the number of the current Likes, as well as those of the evaluations can be indicated. This information is also displayed directly in the table view:

Example mobile and desktop view

To redeem, the QR code is framed with an animation...

The animation enables its operators to detect illegally copied (photographed) coupons. The animation colours are based on your CI settings. Example:

Further topics:

From the user's perspective in YourAPP

Redeeming a coupon in YourAPP via the shop

Further topics:

Item data with eSolutions

Image processing with eSolutions

SOT with coupons

Back to the overarching topic: Content & Reviews