A couple of weeks ago, I tried an experiment with coupons. I put a coupon code for 10% off Action Solitaire in my email newsletter. Now this in itself was nothing new, I've done this many times before. I've never had particularly much success with such coupons in the past.
The experiment was that I added a bit more. In addition to the 10% code in the newsletter, I offered a 20% off code for people who have previously ordered either Pretty Good Solitaire or Pretty Good Mahjongg, and then a 30% off code for people who have previously ordered both products. But these coupon codes were not in the newsletter - they had to email me with their registration codes (as proof that they had purchased), and I would email them back the coupon code.
So the question was, would I get more orders from the 20/30% off codes or more from the 10% codes?
On the one hand, using the 10% code is easy, all you had to do was order and use the code you had already from the newsletter. The 20/30% codes were harder to get since you had to look up your registration code in the game and email it. And there is a school of thought that you are supposed to make things as easy as possible for the customer, anything you do to make it harder to order will result in less orders. Certainly the higher discount codes required much more work on the customer's part.
On the other hand, the 20/30% off codes offered a bigger discount.
On the gripping hand, you had to already be a customer to get the bigger discount. While my email list has a lot of customers on it, there are a large percentage of people on the list who haven't ordered.
So the results would be interesting. It has now been almost two weeks - although I'm still getting requests for codes by email, most of the orders should be in by now. What happened?
The results were that the 20/30% codes, the ones where they had to email me for their coupon codes, resulted in 10 times more orders than the 10% codes. Customers were quite willing to do more work for a bigger reward. (The 30% codes got 50% more orders than the 20% codes as well).
Note: if you don't know what I meant by "on the gripping hand", you haven't read enough science fiction.
Very nice info and good hint. I will use this technic when I release Runes of Avalon.
Though, if you read some marketing books or books about "influencing people" then you wouldn't be that surprised by results.
Posted by: Roman | February 22, 2007 at 04:13 PM
Thanks for sharing results, Thomas! I'd like to suggest a few speculative reasons why you'd get the 10x results...
1. People like having a conversation (however small and limited) with the guy who made the game they are playing.
2. Buying a game is a way of supporting the developer, so in some people's minds they are performing a good deed. Sending the e-mail to the developer means that the person who benefits from your good deed will personally acknowledge it.
3. People like the "I earned it" or "I am especially qualified" notion. I.e. if you just offered the 20/30% discount without the criterion of owning previous games, then less people would order. This is a little like the car insurance commercials that congratulate people for being good drivers. It might be less about pride or elitism--just noticing that an exclusive opportunity happens to match your situation makes that opportunity seem harder to come by.
-Erik
Posted by: Erik Hermansen | March 08, 2007 at 10:14 AM