I'm new in the business, and I was wondering if to built my clientele and return customers, if it would be a good idea to use a coupon. I have a wedding this weekend for 100 cupcakes. To show my appreciation I was thinking of mailing them a coupon for 20% off their next order whether cupcake or cake. Is this a good idea or could it somehow backfire on me? This would of course be a one-time use. TIA

I normally don't use coupons/give discounts for these reasons:

1. If you're giving a discount to someone who is already buying from you, you aren't gaining new customers...you're just charging your current customers less.
2. Discounts basically tell customers that your regular price is more than it needs to be.
3. Why give money away if you don't have to?

The only time I even consider giving a discount is for very large orders....very large! Or, of course, if I make a mistake and give a refund, but that really isn't a "discount."

Anyway, if you want to offer 20% off, make sure you have a 20% cushion built into your regular price so that you are still making money on the order.

Discounts and coupons should not be necessary unless you are trying to compete on price. If you need more business, I would take that 20% discount you were going to hand over to the customer and spend it on advertising instead.

I send all my brides a hand writting thank you note the week after their wedding. Almost all the them respond back with an email - this email lets me know how everything went (so far so good with happy brides). Once I know that everything went well I ask them to leave me a review and post a link in the email to a site that allows reviews to be left. Once the review is left I send them a 10% off coupon thanking them for the review.

I think 20% is a high discount.

If you're looking for feedback I recommend Yelp.com, it's a great source of independent reviews. Reviews on Yelp carry more weight than Facebook since you can't delete negative reviews on Yelp.

Wedding wire is a great website that allows vendors a free listing. This listing is one of the best listings there is, let alone the fact it is free. Brides can leave reviews on your listing there. I really like this website because it deals with brides and for me weddings are where the $$ is.

Another option is Google Places. Also free, also allows reviews.

The way you can make a coupon even more effective is to put a time limited date on it - so that it cannot be used beyond a certain time. This would mean that you could drive sales to your business if you specifically wanted to make more easter cakes or any other special occasion cakes. You could also use the coupon idea to have an offer for a standard cake for a special occasion (so not individually designed) - like Mothers Day, and if people would not normally order at this time, just build the coupon value into the price of the standard special offer cake to start with, so that you are in fact not doing it for much cheaper. People love to think they are getting a bargain. Just an idea!

I also don't do coupons, however I *do* have a loyalty program. The name of my business is Legacy Cakes and I call it the "legacy loyalty" program. I find that for my area and at my price point, people tend to come to me for their landmark event cakes but stick with less costly simple cakes from local delis/ grocery stores for run-of-the-mill events. I wanted to try to capture this business and get clients to come to me for all of their cake needs, so I offer a $10 voucher toward a future purchase after a certain number of orders ( the $10 usually amounts to 10-15% based on my average order cost). I agree that 20% is a very large discount to offer in this business.

Indydebi had a great program when she had her catering biz. For every bride who referred a new customer who booked her reception catering, the referring bride got a 5% credit on a future purchase. The way brides talk, a few brides had enough credits to get a free wedding cake. And Indy had several more events booked. The brides did all the marketing for her. Win-Win!!

I had postcards made with a picture of one of my favorite cakes on the front. I write a thank you note for every single order! It's a personal touch that sets me apart.