I too would like to see a coupon that can be locked for use only with a particular gallery and not globally for all my galleries.

A suggestion.

Would it be easier to code in gallery specific coupon codes if you made it so that those gallery specific coupon codes cannot have photos from other galleries.

If they want to order from 2 galleries, the coupon would just be "invalid". Resulting in the customer having to place 2 separate orders. One with only photos from the specific gallery so they can use the coupon, and another order for all other photos.

Just an idea.

Originally Posted by jchin I too would like to see a coupon that can be locked for use only with a particular gallery and not globally for all my galleries.

+1

Originally Posted by jchin I too would like to see a coupon that can be locked for use only with a particular gallery and not globally for all my galleries.

I agree on that. I do a lot of sports photography for high schools and would like to set a coupon to expire x days after the game. My hopes is parents would stop procrastinating and purchase through the season instead of waiting for the season to be over which by then, they usually have lost interest. But then again, my strategy could be all wrong.

DM

Smugmug,

I was ready to switch and you go and pull out the coupons. This has me so excited. I cannot believe it!

I think any pro who even wants to attempt to sell photos and doesn't come here is crazy at this point.

The only thing left (besides packages), is custom pro stickers on orders instead of the smugmug logo.

I'm getting Fancy with the coupons.

http://www.facebook.com/leightonoc?v...56&ref=profile

I'm also using different coupons so I can measure which marketing is working the best.

Originally Posted by holzphoto Smugmug, I was ready to switch and you go and pull out the coupons. This has me so excited. I cannot believe it! I think any pro who even wants to attempt to sell photos and doesn't come here is crazy at this point. The only thing left (besides packages), is custom pro stickers on orders instead of the smugmug logo.

You just made it easy for all of us to show up to work again today

Thanks for being here, and staying with us.

Hallelujah!! Huge thanks to you and the team.

Originally Posted by mbellot I wonder if there was an unintended "feature" added. This person seems to have been notified of an "at cost" sale even without a coupon. If it is, please don't "fix" it.

nope, this was intended. the only difference is that for orders that have no profit before coupons are deducted, we dont show the whole name/address of the customer.

THANK YOU!!!!!

Now, can we (us pro's) try to keep this thread on-topic? I'm looking for Business Discussions here and feature requests/questions elsewhere, please.

I don't know what best to do with coupons now that I have them!

Does anyone have experience using coupons in other businesses?
There is a local company that I use for canvas printing, Canvas Press, which seems to always have some kind of coupon running at any given time. I see this pattern a lot.
Also, is there any worry that if I put out a limited-time %15 off coupon, for example, that customers later on will always ask, "what's my discount"?
Do these things really make up their discount with volume?

Please share your experiences!

Originally Posted by Nimai Does anyone have experience using coupons in other businesses? There is a local company that I use for canvas printing, Canvas Press, which seems to always have some kind of coupon running at any given time. I see this pattern a lot. Also, is there any worry that if I put out a limited-time %15 off coupon, for example, that customers later on will always ask, "what's my discount"? Do these things really make up their discount with volume? Please share your experiences!

Coupons and discounts can work very well in this type of economy in all types of industries/businesses not just photography. But you need to create a sense of urgency by using an expiration date which is not that far away. Also, creating the feeling that this is a special deal just for them helps also. Nobody seems to mind if your specials/sales/discount keep running as long as they can save money. Sales with a theme and creativity seem to help also.

It's none of your customer's business what your deal is. If they ask you , your don't want them as a customer. :)

Good Luck!
Leighton

Originally Posted by leightonoc I'm getting Fancy with the coupons. http://www.facebook.com/leightonoc?v...56&ref=profile I'm also using different coupons so I can measure which marketing is working the best.

Awesome, great use of FB!

Originally Posted by leightonoc I'm getting Fancy with the coupons. http://www.facebook.com/leightonoc?v...56&ref=profile I'm also using different coupons so I can measure which marketing is working the best.

I went to your Facebook page, but I couldn't find your coupons.
I did learn, however, that we have a friend in common! How bizarre.

My print prices are pretty low - maybe too low - but I am in a fairly competitive market, so I'm trying not to price myself out of business.

I have gotten a lot of print sales this weekend after creating some coupons. Which is terrific news! But, it's eating into my profit margin considerably. In addition, I have had a few sales where I've been upside-down, and I've owed money.

So, I'd appreciate having a conversation about how to price products and use coupons in such a way that... well... works. It's difficult to use the "Set Prices" screen to accurately understand how a coupon, and SmugMug's commission, will impact profit margins. There is a lot of math involved.

Shy of raising prices and lowering coupon values, anyone have any ideas? Let the collaboration begin!

Originally Posted by duds My print prices are pretty low - maybe too low - but I am in a fairly competitive market, so I'm trying not to price myself out of business. I have gotten a lot of print sales this weekend after creating some coupons. Which is terrific news! But, it's eating into my profit margin considerably. In addition, I have had a few sales where I've been upside-down, and I've owed money. So, I'd appreciate having a conversation about how to price products and use coupons in such a way that... well... works. It's difficult to use the "Set Prices" screen to accurately understand how a coupon, and SmugMug's commission, will impact profit margins. There is a lot of math involved. Shy of raising prices and lowering coupon values, anyone have any ideas? Let the collaboration begin!

I just made a feature request for a pricing template system in a new thread because of what coupons can do to the bottomline. If you want to discuss pricing look at the feature request and if you like the idea give it a vote or two.

Originally Posted by drmoon I agree on that. I do a lot of sports photography for high schools and would like to set a coupon to expire x days after the game. My hopes is parents would stop procrastinating and purchase through the season instead of waiting for the season to be over which by then, they usually have lost interest. But then again, my strategy could be all wrong. DM

This is exactly what I want to do as well! I'm disappointed that I can't specify which gallery a coupon is attached to. I just made one that will expire at the end of this week for 10% off pics from a basketball tournament. I wrote up the coupon specific for the tournament, but technically anyone placing an order for any picture on my site can use it. Hopefully this is something that can get changed. I don't want discounts on everything just specific galleries.

Originally Posted by action-pics I'm disappointed that I can't specify which gallery a coupon is attached to. I just made one that will expire at the end of this week for 10% off pics from a basketball tournament.

I'd be happy if we could just restrict the coupon to a certain Sub/Category. I usually group like galleries in categories or subcategories. Just to keep folks from getting a discount off other categories would be nice. That seems like that would be way easier to implement than restricting a coupon to certain galleries - it would be difficult to select which galleries it would apply, particularly if there is more than one. At least with a category or subcategory, you are only selecting one parameter to restrict a coupon.

As it currently stands, there seem to be just too many scenarios that could result in a net profit of less than zero. I would like to be able to give out coupons being assured it wouldn't zap all the profit. I guess just the Percent Off is the only option - making sure the percentage is less than the profit margin.

I would also like to see a "credit" that applies only to downloads. That way, folks can get something for free that can't in any way result in an out-of-pocket expense.

Originally Posted by tundracamper I would also like to see a "credit" that applies only to downloads. That way, folks can get something for free that can't in any way result in an out-of-pocket expense.

Yeah, I was thinking that it would be great to be able to offer discounts on certain TYPES of products. For instance "10% off all prints larger than 8x10" or "10% off Metal Prints" or something like that. This would be a great way to market new products... and, the way many of us currently have things priced, the profit margin is just too small on certain products to offer a discount.

I'm beginning to think that the "set prices" screen needs some serious adjusting for Pros... That needs to be a much more useful, flexible, and capable tool for setting prices, and one that allows us to consider how coupons will affect our bottom lines. Right?

"I'm beginning to think that the "set prices" screen needs some serious adjusting for Pros... That needs to be a much more useful, flexible, and capable tool for setting prices, and one that allows us to consider how coupons will affect our bottom lines. Right?"

That's the answer right there. It would be ideal if the pro pricing screen allowed coupons to be set at the product level (just add another column - as though that is so simple ). Not sure about the logistics of making the pricing screen and the actual coupon design page work together. However, then it would give flexibility AND the ability to go ahead and show what affect the sale would make on profit.