Has anybody accepted Competitors Coupons and how did it turn out for you? We have quite a bit of competition in the area and seeing as how our economy is in a recession, people are wanting to save money. They are cutting costs, favoring the cheaper pizza places over the more expensive. Or not ordering at all. I’v always thought the #1 way to dominate a market would be
Better Customer Service (out the door times, delivery times, etc)
Better Product
Better Prices
Now if we accepted competitors coupons and matched their prices, this should give no reason for people to order from the competition period. Of course there are always the people that will just prefer PJ’s or Pizzahut by default.
Even if we don’t make too much money in the process and are able to drain a few our of competitors dry and shut them down, it will equal more money for us in the long run…
I believe if there advertising dollars are getting you the sale its a pretty good thing for you. Unless its some unbelievable offer, I would take the coupon and the sale.
Depends on the market you are in. Are you prepared to take Dominos or Little Caesars’ coupons? There is no way we would as we are in the upper end of the gourmet pizza pricing. We can make exceptions to get people to try us but we would not make it an open policy.
Its hard for me to relate to price-based pizza but what I don’t like about taking competitors coupons as an open policy is that you are not necessarily building any customer loyalty. You will have price shoppers and they will just take the cheapest deal out there at the time. Who would ever pay full price when anyone can always find a coupon from someone to use.
Maybe as a temporary promotion it may be a good idea for you but I just don’t like it for gourmet pizza. Once you start slashing prices with low-end competitors it gets into peoples minds that they should not have to pay full price.
I do it. But the coupon is only good for a like pizza. If I have a gourmet that the chains don’t have, then the coupon is no good. I have taken a lot of Dominos customers this way. In fact, the owner of the local franchise was asking an employee if it was legal to do this!
I’d consider us a high quality pizza but not necessarily gourmet. We don’t have too many “exotic” ingredients. We use stanislaus products, sorrento cheese, we make our own dough… Our regular menu prices are a bit higher then the big 3… Our crust is infused with a herb blend, which makes our crust unique… We have some “odd” pizzas on the menu, featuring things like refried beans, and another one with mustard… I don’t consider them gourmet, just our “specialty”… So we are on the medium high end scale of a pizzeria… Our dining room is nothing fancy, nor upscale.
Our foodcost on their coupons would be extremely high but… its whats going into the bank that matters… I’d rather make $2-3 off someone then have them not order at all…
I guess its a pretty complex formula with lots of variables and the only way to see if it works is to make it available for “A limited time only”. I’v been talking about doing it for the past 5 years but keep chickening out… lol… I’v probably posted about it 2-3 times in the past…
Not that I’ve ever “officially” accepted competitors coupons(I will match them if someone says… “Dominos has xyz”. I offer a 16" large but will still offer that in place of their 14"). I will agree with Kris that no matter how hard you market this, you’ll never be overwhelmed with it. It may give people comfort about ordering your food, but it will not crush you with sales. Nothing to lose by trying it, and you won’t lose your shirt in the deal. Let us know how it works if you do it.
You could offer a specific discount for the competitor coupon, maybe. Something, like:
$3 off 16" or $2 off 12" of a fresh Nick’s Pizza when redeeming a local competitor’s pizza coupon
I know it’s not exactly the same, but you might get to get some favorable attention . . . and loyal customers can convert competitor coupons into their savings with no cost to you. HEck, that could be a news release worthy strategy whatever way you go.
Gotta keep in mind that many times, but obviously not all times, that someone is “price saavy” needs to have PROOF.
If I get someone coming into my store saying Dominoes has the X for sale for X without a coupon or flier, I’d call and verify.
The reason I share this is because many a day ago, when I worked for Best Buy…almost every time we had a price match situation, and called up on it to verify it, the price we were told was HUNDREDS less than what it really was…and we couldn’t honor the price…usually, we were less than they were.