Hi. You know there are a few web-sites that list a bunch of coupons.
I'm actually starting a business of the same sort, but it's more
community based.  So in fact the "coupons" appearing on my web-sites
will be paid for by the businesses in the community, but are free to
use by the visitors.

I would like you to please give me some interesting and innovative
ways in which I could get the most out of this system.  For example,
one of my own ideas so far has been that for people to have access to
some coupons, they would have to answer a short questionaire provided
by the business offering the coupon.  This way, I am providing the
business info about its customers as well.

What other interesting ideas can you think of, or have you seen
implemented elsewhere?

Thank you.

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Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 25 Apr 2003 20:39 PDT

Hi! Would you be interested in general business promotion trends
instead of just online coupons?

---

Clarification of Question by amirehsans-ga on 26 Apr 2003 19:00 PDT

Well, as my business is 100% Internet-based, only online promotional
ideas similar to my example are the type of things I'm looking for. 
See there are some things you can do online, which you can't do in a
newspaper.  That's exactly what I'm looking for, and my own example is
one demonstrating that.

Hi! Thanks for the question.

You might want to try the following online promtional gimmicks for
your website.

a.) Contests
http://www.cincinnatiarts.com/presentations/webpromo/contests.html

"Online contests include essays, original recipes, ideas, trivia
challenges, and other promotions that rely on a significant degree of
skill to win. The Internet makes these promotions especially
effective, and easy to implement."

"Types of Online Promotions"
http://technologyexecutivesclub.com/arttypeofonline.htm

b.) Promotional Savings Packages
"Offering bundles of tickets or special savings packages from multiple
organizations, as well as nearby businesses. These can easily be
promoted on the web on all the sites involved to maximize exposure."

http://www.cincinnatiarts.com/presentations/webpromo/cross-promo.html

c.) Loyalty Marketing
"Examples include "frequent flyer points" types of programs, as well
as others activated through a series of tie-in programs. MARKnETING
manages these types of programs through any of several online partners
who specialize in continuity incentives. Although email is widely used
to communicate such loyalty programs, cost efficiencies are further
maximized by delivering the MARKnETING client’s loyalty messages
across their free linked, affiliated or partnered network(s) of Web
sites."

http://www.markneting.com/loyalty_marketing.htm

d.) Affiliate Marketing
"Simply put, affiliate marketing is a way to get paid for referring
your customers, and visitors to other web sites that offer products
and services. This is how companies such as PayPal and Stamps.com were
built. These companies pay you for placing a link in your emails, or a
banner or link on your web site. Whenever someone clicks through and
signs up for the product or service offered, you earn a commission."

http://www.auction-sellers-resource.com/affiliate/basics.shtml

e. Online Tie-ins

Search terms used:      
online web retail promotion marketing 
          
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
          
Thanks for visiting us.           
          
Regards,           
Easterangel-ga           
Google Answers Researcher

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Request for Answer Clarification by amirehsans-ga on 03 May 2003 14:09 PDT

Hi again.  Thanks for trying to asnwer my question, but none of the
ideas and links you included were "innovative" and "unique" "Online"
ideas.

Part a, Contests, is a popular thing that every web-site does. 
Part b, Promotional Savings Packages are things not really suited to
online technologies, and I didn't really see how the url provided,
 
http://www.cincinnatiarts.com/presentations/webpromo/cross-promo.html
 
Told me how to use them in an online setting.

Part c, Loyalty Marketing, is something we've seen in AirMiles and
other such programs, and require installing special databases and
software on merchants' cash registers, which cannot be implemented
easily through a single web-site.

Part d, Affiliate Marketing, is to promote other web-sites, but I
don't see how it is related to online coupons.  Besides, it's been
used on many web-sites for a long time and is not innovative anymore.
 
And part e, Online Tie-ins, you didn't include any information on it.

To Summerize, although your answer include some of the most
extensively used online marketing ideas, they are not really
innovative and most of them do not suit my purpose: online coupons
distribution.
 
Please provide me with a few "really Innovative" ideas that exactly
serve my purpose.  Thank you.

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Clarification of Answer by easterangel-ga on 04 May 2003 00:52 PDT

Hi and thanks for asking a clarification before providing a rating!

I have now taken note of your request and in the process of
researching regarding this matter. I will come back with more
information.

Thanks!

---

Clarification of Answer by easterangel-ga on 04 May 2003 21:04 PDT

Hi again! 

In terms of existing ones on the net, I have found the following
inventive distribution of online coupons.

Permission Marketing
http://kcsmallbiz.com/2001/february/EP1_0201.htm

Coupon Search Engine
http://www.hotcoupons.com/
http://valpak.com/index.jsp
http://www.valupage.com/Entry.pst

If you desire a few original ideas, here are the things I could think
of:

1.Coupon Multi-Level Marketing
- A person signs up with your program then he gets a few (example)
coupons. But whenever he gets anybody (like his) to sign up he gets
more coupons. Like any MLM  program you can make it up to at least 5
levels wherein the original subscriber gets at least one from each.

2. Weekly Subscription Coupons
- This is a variation of the permission based marketing technique. You
could give members a regular coupon of their choice. Example once a
week you distribute these coupons to them once a week. But they must
subscribe and  continue to do so on particular online newsletter or
e-zines related to the coupon.

Ex.
a. ESPN Newsletter - sporting good coupons
b. PC Magazine - Coupons on tech gadgets

3.Banner Coupons
- If they click on a banner ad on your website, they will receive a
coupon.

4. Coupon Poll- A variation of what you were thinking. Instead of a
long survey use a poll. Users are asked what type of Coupon would they
want this week. The most voted for coupon type will be the coupon next
week. And only users who voted for that type of coupon can avail of
the coupon.

I hope you find these ideas helpful.

Thanks!

I wish you had grasped the idea in the first time, it was a bit late
when you posted the clarification, but your ideas were good. Thanks.