So, you’ve realised the power of unique, personalised promo codes. You’ve also realised the impracticality of creating all of the personalised promotions you need by hand. Now it’s time to start looking at tools.
We understand the pain of product comparisons. It always seems like there’s a feature you have overlooked, or a pricing variable that you don’t understand. Don’t worry — we have you covered.
Here, we have put together a list of what you need to look for in a good personalised promo code engine, and provided a product comparison of the leading solutions on the market. Let’s get started!
Factors of success: unique codes, automation and analytics
One of the most common pain points among brands using promotional codes is code misuse. This can result in potential loss of profit margins. As such, the ability to generate single-use codes is a must. Codes should also be unique so that brands can create codes that are highly personalised and based on customer data gleaned from your CRM. In an era where consumers not only appreciate but expect personalised offers, this should also be high on your priorities list.
Launching and managing promotional code campaigns can be a tremendous drain on your time, energy and resources. So, you should look for a tool that affords you great opportunities for automation so that you and your team aren’t buried beneath an avalanche of admin and code creation.
A good promo code campaign should be responsive. You need a tool that will track your results and provide you with comprehensive yet easy to interpret analytics. These will allow you to track the progress of campaigns and A/B test different codes and combinations so that you’re always in the driving seat.
You should also consider whether you can get by with an off-the-shelf solution or something that’s bespoke and built around your needs.
Voucherify
Voucherify is an API-first, cloud-based promotion management platform. Established in 2015 and run by a small team in Poland, Voucherify has positioned itself as a one-stop shop for digital brands with their sights set on growing customer loyalty.
Voucherify has the ability to create unique, single-use promo codes and aims to make personalisation of rewards simple. With 2 million coupons generated monthly and 1 million redemptions across 48+ countries, they offer an easy-to-implement solution for brands with an impressive 99.9% uptime.
It offers not only personalised vouchers but fully customisable loyalty programs as well as multi-level referral promotions. It also allows for cart level promotions and digital gift certificates.
Voucherify have built their brand around simplicity. As such the platform is ready to use “out of the box” with a host of integrations for email, SMS and live chat. What’s more, because the team behind Voucherify is relatively small, users enjoy a personalised level of support that will likely be appealing to business owners who grapple with new technologies.
There are also pre-built widgets for distribution and redemption, or tech-savvy users can even create their own.
All told, Voucherify is a comprehensive and easy-to-use platform.
Talon.One
Talon.One markets itself as “The world’s most flexible Promotion Engine”. Another API-based platform, Talon.One purports to be able to help brands build targeted promotional campaigns in mere minutes.
With an impressive array of users around the world including National Express, Delivery Hero, Airfox and Getsafe, Talon.One is already trusted by an array of established brands of all shapes and sizes.
The way Talon.One works is simple enough. Data like customer profiles, activity and third-party data is fed into the engine via the API while custom attributes can be used to create unique and highly targeted promotions. These can then be used to prompt outgoing emails or CRM updates with randomly generated unique single-use promotional codes.
With full coupon, discount and referral functionality, users can create a suite of personalised promotions, and rule validation and fraud prevention capabilities insulate users from risks often associated with promo codes. There’s also a suite of API features including API analytics and webhook logs.
There are three pricing tiers: Starter, Professional and Enterprise. So, whatever your needs and budget, you can find a solution that works for you. And with free business support as well as a personal integration manager at no extra cost, this is another appealing tool for businesses.
RevLifter
RevLifter understand the importance of personalisation in the coupon space, and their branding has a strong focus on delivering just that. The London-based startup was only founded two years ago but has already garnered a star-studded list of users including EE, Puma, Europcar and Curry’s PC World, to name but a few.
The brand has a strong focus on targeting cart abandonment through the use of highly personalised incentives. It leverages AI-powered technology to deliver 1:1 personalisation. It offers 3 products: Rev Page (personalised deals pages), Rev Convert (pop-up incentives) and Rev Rewards (personalised e-gifts).
RevLifter’s business model revolves around understanding the client’s goals and building solutions and strategies around those — this in and of itself is appealing for many businesses. Data is captured, timings and goals are agreed upon, and then campaigns are built and launched. Comprehensive reporting allows for detailed analysis and optimisation.
Indeed, the process comes across as more like working with a digital marketing agency than an “out of the box” SaaS. This will be refreshing for retailers who want to focus on the job of retail and have little time to devote to their promotions. However, it may be frustrating to those who value their autonomy and like to be able to learn the functionalities of new platforms at their own speed.
Magento
Magento is one of the most widely used and trusted comprehensive ecommerce platforms on the market. With a range of solutions to suit businesses of all kinds, it should come as no surprise that Magento’s platform has the capacity to generate and distribute unique randomly generated coupon codes.
Coupon codes can be used whenever a set of conditions, defined by the user, are met. For example, codes can be validated for limited periods of time. Batches of coupon codes can be generated and formatted automatically, which can then be exported (or deleted) with ease, giving users complete control. On top of this, integration isn’t an issue at all.
The size and ubiquity of the brand means that not only is there always support when you need it, but there’s also a sizable community of Magento users on hand to offer support. And the analytics tools are as comprehensive as you might expect from the brand. If you’re already using the platform, it can’t hurt to try some experimentation with its coupon generating functionalities.
Uniqodo
As the name suggests, Uniqodo has the specific aim of helping businesses leverage unique single-use promo codes. This API-first tool enables users to create, manage, distribute and track promotional codes.
Developed in 2015, the platform’s ultimate goal is to eliminate the traditional logistical and technical pain points associated with promo codes. They’re trusted by many businesses — their user-friendly tool has a number of high profile champions including Boots, Avis, TUI and Simply Be.
With a focus on easy operation and integration, Uniqodo also offers an advanced discounting functionality which can be added to any eCommerce site. Validation rules and data-driven discounts can be easily integrated into your promo code campaign for a range of criteria-based promotions which offer virtually unlimited scope for the kind of personalisation customers crave. The tool also has a comprehensive and easy-to-use suite of analytics and allows for A/B testing to target specific groups and facilitate Conversion Rate Optimisation.
The Uniqodo team pride themselves on an agile and proactive approach as well as individualised support based on the unique needs of users. There is a range of price points with varying redemption allowances and functionalities. However, all levels have access to a dedicated Client Success Team. These features combine for a highly comprehensive package, which could suit your business’ needs well.
Find the right solution for your business
No matter what solution you choose, as with any technology, it’s important to thoroughly research a service or product you’re thinking of investing in. Ensure you’re outlining the outcomes you want to achieve with the new technology so you can align your research to those goals.
Aligning these goals will be entirely dependent on your business’ needs. For example, an online fashion retailer looking to increase customer loyalty will have to use a different promo code strategy to an online travel retailer looking to target shopping cart abandonment. Make sure that the tool you use provides you with the most effective way to achieve your business goals, both in the short-term and long-term.
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