A little old fashioned low-tech coupon clipping.

When can a coupon make your customer angry? Let’s ask Groupon.

Hot on the heels of their Super Bowl ad controversy, the online coupon giant made a major flub before Valentine’s Day. An FTD coupon they issued caused some customers to pay more for their flowers, not less. Oh, well. Can you really put a price on love?

Coupons work best if customer feels they’re getting something special, not hosed. If you come off as being cheap or petty, the customer — or potential customer — might think you’re trying to give them a hard time instead of a great value.

For example, take the curious case of Ted’s Fish Fry.

I love anything that’s fried, and when it comes to deep fried fish, Ted’s Fish Fry are the champs. I like saving money too, so this coupon of theirs caught my eye. Ten percent off? Cool! But it’s not so simple:

SUN – THURS ONLY

OK… can’t use it on Friday during Lent. But as if that wasn’t enough, they go on:

Not valid on Ash Wednesday

So what we have is the fish joint telling its Catholic customers, “Don’t expect a special deal on Friday. Or on Ash Wednesday either, you cheap bums.”

I’m sure that’s not what they intended, but maybe it’s time to switch to Bob & Ron’s Fish Fry…

marketing