The Coupons Business Discussion Thread

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  • vegaguyvegaguy Registered Users Posts: 230 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2009
    Mox wrote:
    I posted a 15% coupon to facebook about an hour ago, and have already had an order! clap.gifclapclap.gif Thank you SmugMug!

    how'd you get the coupon to show-up on your FB page?
  • MoxMox Registered Users Posts: 313 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2009
    vegaguy wrote:
    how'd you get the coupon to show-up on your FB page?
    I took a screen grab, converted it to a jpg, and uploaded it from my hard drive like a photo.
  • AnneMcBeanAnneMcBean Registered Users Posts: 503 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2009
    I'm just wondering if there is any way to limit a coupon to 1 use per orderER? As in I give the same code to a lot of people (like printed on business cards), but limit it so "Sally" can't make 5 minimum orders, entering the code every time, therefore getting the discount 5 times?

    Nope, there's no way to do this currently. Sorry! How would you want to identify someone as unique? By email address?

    -Anne
    SmugMug Support Hero
  • BaldyBaldy Registered Users, Super Moderators Posts: 2,853 moderator
    edited December 4, 2009
    beetle8 wrote:
    Do I get a prize?<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
    How about a print credit? :D

    We had actually gone through the painful step of moving our maintenance window to the Monday before Thanksgiving for this feature, but then we discovered some issues that forced the gut-wrenching decision to delay a week and a half. That made for some indigestion over Thanksgiving.
  • timk519timk519 Registered Users Posts: 831 Major grins
    edited December 4, 2009
    AnneMcBean wrote:
    You do see orders placed with at-cost coupons show up in your sales history.
    this is a departure from how at-cost orders that don't involve coupons which are not tracked.

    Personally, I want all sales to be tracked so I know someone's bought something and can course-correct accordingly.
    • Save $5 off your first year's SmugMug image hosting with coupon code hccesQbqNBJbc
  • mbellotmbellot Registered Users Posts: 465 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    timk519 wrote:
    this is a departure from how at-cost orders that don't involve coupons which are not tracked.

    Personally, I want all sales to be tracked so I know someone's bought something and can course-correct accordingly.
    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.

    :D
  • Ann McRaeAnn McRae Registered Users Posts: 4,584 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    mbellot wrote:
    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.

    :D

    It aint broken mwink.gif


    it is indeed a new feature! as a result of coupons!
  • AnneMcBeanAnneMcBean Registered Users Posts: 503 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    mbellot wrote:
    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.

    :D

    Nice eyes! I don't believe the feature was unintended, so much as I was uninformed. I'm happy to see we've added something so many have long requested. wings.gif

    -Anne
    SmugMug Support Hero
  • UWsmuggerUWsmugger Registered Users Posts: 16 Big grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    Great ideas!
    dwterry wrote:
    Next up: Quantity discounts.

    - Discounts if total package purchase exceeds some dollar amount
    - Discounts if more than one copy of a specific print is purchased
    - Discounts if a subsequent print of the same image (same size or smaller) is purchased

    Perhaps a little complicated. But it would help me sell to families where often one large print is purchased for the head of the family and many smaller prints are purchased for the children or siblings.


    I would like to second these recommendations. In taking a lot of sports photos I know that parents would like to buy more than one of a specific photo to share with relatives, etc. This type of coupon incentive would be very helpful.

    Also, I have a concern that some customers will buy one photo and then get it copied at the local store. Hopefully, this type of coupon incentive would keep them honest as it would be cheaper to buy multiples and it would save them the trip, time and the work of going to the local store.
    UWsmugger :thumb

    Canon 7D & 20D;
  • jchinjchin Registered Users Posts: 713 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    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.
    Johnny J. Chin ~ J. Chin Photography
    FacebookFlickrSmugMug
    SmugMug referral coupon code: ix3uDyfBU6xXs
    (use this for a discount off your SmugMug subscription)
  • jchinjchin Registered Users Posts: 713 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    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.
    Johnny J. Chin ~ J. Chin Photography
    FacebookFlickrSmugMug
    SmugMug referral coupon code: ix3uDyfBU6xXs
    (use this for a discount off your SmugMug subscription)
  • mleemlee Registered Users Posts: 104 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    jchin wrote:
    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
  • drmoondrmoon Registered Users Posts: 13 Big grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    jchin wrote:
    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
  • holzphotoholzphoto Registered Users Posts: 385 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    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.
  • leightonocleightonoc Registered Users Posts: 49 Big grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    Fancy with the coupons...
    I'm getting Fancy with the coupons.

    http://www.facebook.com/leightonoc?v=app_2347471856&ref=profile

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

    Nautical & Travel Photographer

    http://leightonPHOTO.com
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    holzphoto wrote:
    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 :D

    Thanks bowdown.gif for being here, and staying with us.
  • jmphotocraftjmphotocraft Registered Users Posts: 2,987 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    Hallelujah!! Huge thanks to you and the team.
    -Jack

    An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
  • bwgbwg Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,119 SmugMug Employee
    edited December 5, 2009
    mbellot wrote:
    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.

    :D
    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.
    Pedal faster
  • NimaiNimai Registered Users Posts: 564 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    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!
  • NimaiNimai Registered Users Posts: 564 Major grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    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!
  • leightonocleightonoc Registered Users Posts: 49 Big grins
    edited December 5, 2009
    Nimai wrote:
    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
    Leighton

    Nautical & Travel Photographer

    http://leightonPHOTO.com
  • beetle8beetle8 Registered Users Posts: 677 Major grins
    edited December 6, 2009
    leightonoc wrote:
    I'm getting Fancy with the coupons.

    http://www.facebook.com/leightonoc?v=app_2347471856&ref=profile

    I'm also using different coupons so I can measure which marketing is working the best.
    thumb.gif Awesome, great use of FB!
  • dudsduds Registered Users Posts: 176 Major grins
    edited December 6, 2009
    leightonoc wrote:
    I'm getting Fancy with the coupons.

    http://www.facebook.com/leightonoc?v=app_2347471856&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.
    Matt Dudley
    Matt Dudley Photography
    Nashville child photographer
    Twitter: @mattdudleyphoto
    Facebook: facebook.com/mattdudleyphotography
  • dudsduds Registered Users Posts: 176 Major grins
    edited December 6, 2009
    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!
    Matt Dudley
    Matt Dudley Photography
    Nashville child photographer
    Twitter: @mattdudleyphoto
    Facebook: facebook.com/mattdudleyphotography
  • zooexplorerzooexplorer Registered Users Posts: 15 Big grins
    edited December 6, 2009
    duds wrote:
    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.
  • action-picsaction-pics Registered Users Posts: 31 Big grins
    edited December 7, 2009
    drmoon wrote:
    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.
    Randy
    Sportshooter Member
    ***********************
    D3, D700, 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 VR, 50 f1/8, 200-400 VR f/4, 300/2.8 VR, 400 f/2.8 VR, 85 f/1.8, TC-14E II, TC-17E II, Sigma 15/2.8 Fisheye, SB-900 (2), SD-9, SB-600, AB800 (2), misc. other stuff
  • tundracampertundracamper Registered Users Posts: 11 Big grins
    edited December 7, 2009
    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.
  • dudsduds Registered Users Posts: 176 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2009
    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?
    Matt Dudley
    Matt Dudley Photography
    Nashville child photographer
    Twitter: @mattdudleyphoto
    Facebook: facebook.com/mattdudleyphotography
  • HarrisPhotographicArtsHarrisPhotographicArts Registered Users Posts: 149 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2009
    "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 :D ). 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.
    Don Harris
    Harris Photographic Arts
    http://www.harrisphotographicarts.com
  • jchinjchin Registered Users Posts: 713 Major grins
    edited December 7, 2009
    Or maybe simply adding a column that would show the profit %-margin given the price we've set. At least we will know that a certain price would be a loss sale if we gave particular percentage coupon out.

    For example, if it show we are making a 20% profit, then we know for this item a 25% off coupon would mean we are taking a loss on the sale of this item. At least we'll know. Could something like this be simply implemented?
    Johnny J. Chin ~ J. Chin Photography
    FacebookFlickrSmugMug
    SmugMug referral coupon code: ix3uDyfBU6xXs
    (use this for a discount off your SmugMug subscription)
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