While nine of ten people are coupon users, the Entrepreneur.com article “5 Ways to Make Your Coupons Stand Out From the Pack” explains that the coupon market is terribly oversaturated, making it difficult to get your offers noticed. Here’s how you can improve the impact of your next round of coupons:

1. Leverage the psychology of discounts.  Truth is, most customers won’t bother to do the math. So frame your offer to make it look as valuable as possible at first glance. If you’re discounting a package worth $250, saying “Save $75” usually sounds better than “Save 30%” even though it’s the same thing.
2. Create Urgency. According to the article, 83 percent of shoppers make unplanned purchases when presented with a promotion. There are several ways to take advantage by creating a sense of urgency. Present the offer as a “12 hour flash sale” or a one-time offer. Or limit the number of redeemable coupons – like “first 50 customers receive 20 percent off.”
3. Provide a sense of exclusivity. People are more likely to jump on an offer that not everyone has access to (or so they think at least). Accomplish this with special promotions for your social media followers, loyalty club offers, and email or direct mail offers to select clients.
4. Personalize and individualize coupons. This can be difficult, but can also be tremendously effective. Use your computer system to get offers to current customers at precisely the right time. Set triggers to send them an offer when they haven’t been in for a while, or about the time they should be running out of lotion, or send them a discount for their favorite product. This makes it seem as though you’re paying special attention to each client.
5. Focus on coupon distribution. More important than anything else is getting the coupons into the hands of the right people. Email and social media are always solid options to keep current customers coming back. But if you want to reach more potential clients, you’ll probably have to delve into coupon packs or direct mail. The key to getting distribution right is testing. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Do test runs in different media and different areas, and stick with what works.

Click here to read the article from Entrepreneur.com.