what would be your most successful coupon
Free 2-Liter with the purchase or ANY 16" Pizza.
large unlimmited toppings and a large cheese for 19.99
Wow, people in your area must be really desperate or little competition . . . lol
2 LG 2 TOP & 2 LTR $20.
Remember, the word free is very powerful. It is better to give a product than reduce the dollar.
I have a free med 1 top w/purchase of any xl pizza. My cost is only about $2. My discount rate is much more. The value to the customer is $10.
The location and clientel is going to be different in many locations. Historically, the most popular pizza coupon is going to be a “topping pizza”. Not a signature one.
I have found that the price point is more important at times than the item. Hit the price point and work your special from there.
Bubba
I’ve stayed away from discounting any pizzas period, but rather just adding sides as “value” added appeal. i.e. XL 1 Topping and Caesar salad for $20 plus FREE Breadstix. I’ve never had any great return on any “general” mailing or advertisement but then again I am in a very competitive market in Southern California. We are in the premium/gourmet niche so heavy discounting would not be in line with our business model.
November was a really bad month for us – probably the worst in a couple years – and so we are going to try a different tactic to hit a different price point. Something like $18 XL with one topping plus breadstix for $1. Basically they are just getting the XL with a free topping and the side is optional for $1 (which covers the cost). I’m hoping the lower price point will attract more redemptions. People are cutting back in general and maybe “just” ordering a pizza and no sides is what they are looking for to reduce expenses.
We are more expensive than most places, but our potions are bigger and we use more expensive ingredients. It seems that most people do not take that into consideration when comparing prices and in these times we are trying to adjust tactics without coming across as a discounter. Hopefully coupons that discount our product to our “direct niche” competition’s (not the cheapos) full price point will help. We will see.
Pizzapirate, I have the exact same situation as you and did the exact thing that you’re proposing… I started couponing at a lower price point that matches our competitors regular prices (with bundled offers.) I’m even at the same price point that you want to try out.
November was UP 14.4% for us 
Why would they be desperate? What are trying to say?
Large 1 topping pizza, breadsticks, small salad, 2 liter $19.99
64% markup
3 medium, unlimited topping pizzas for $21.99
We had that promo about 4 months back.
We ended up calling it the ghetto special (between us, obviously, not to anyone), because people wanted everything but the kitchen sink on them, and the drivers never even made a tip sending them out, and it almost always seemed to be undesireable areas that used this coupon.
I can understand why PJ tried to say 5 toppings rather than unlimited, but they got hit by customers who said it was bait and switch, so they had to go back to honoring unlimited.
Have you ever tried to eat a pizza with double sausage, double bacon, double onions, double canadian bacon, double pepperoni, pineapples, and jalapenos with barbecue sauce and extra cheese (yes, that was a typical order)? OMG…you can’t hardly cut it it comes out so wet!
I’m SO glad our store doesn’t do that coupon right now.
My best coupon is when I do saturation mailings to get new customers in the door. I do a coupon for a free order of bread sticks, free 2 liter, and a free topping when they purchase a large 16" pizza. I get a very high return rate and the customers add on wings and other food the majority of the time. The average ticket is usually around $21. I’ve never gotten below a 5% return rate using this offer. I often see a 15% return rate.
Its just not much of an offer so I’m surprised its such a good seller for you. Shoot, if I thought it would fly around here I would do it too.
My best coupon is:
Spend $5.00 get a Free Car Wash ($5.00 Wash)
I own a car wash next to my pizza shop. I love to get customers in the habit of using both businesses.
do you think the word FREE is a must in your coupon…ie free 10" w/ purchase of x amount of dollars spent vs a bundle package…i’m seeing a rise in return when FREE in coupon…any thoughts
If you are asking about strictly coupon redemption, absolutely FREE is the magic terminology.
But your coupon wording also has a great deal to do with your overall marketing plan, and that particular coupon’s intended target market.
At its most basic level…
For example, if you are trying to reach new customers, then FREE will be highly effective, because it reduces some of the perceived risk the customer sees in trying your product.
But if you are designing a coupon for your regular customers, to attach to box tops for example, you can offer a less discounted offer. That may be a FREE item, like a 2 liter, or it may be a $19.99 family meal. In this case, you are reminding the customer that you not only have great food, but you offer great value! The focus hear is usually a key price point, or free item that has a high perceived value, but not great food cost. And your family meal is hopefully a combination of high markup items, that allows you to offer great value, and still make acceptable markup.
At any given time, your marketing could include a combination of many offers all intended for different targets.
The two that have been consistant for us for 10 years now are:
Free pint of Ben and Jerry’s with a 16" pizza
$5 off when you buy two 16" pizzas