Steve Furness, senior economic development officer for Grey County, spoke on behalf of warden Alan Barfoot. "Working together like this is like rowing the boat in the same direction. Bruce Power brought together its suppliers and the unions. This is how the small businesses can get involved."
Stellina Williams, business investment specialist for Bruce County, outlined how the Coupon Country program works.
She said the website has been live for about six months and there are a number of coupons already posted.
"Businesses post their coupons for free," she said, "and that's the connection between the business and the shopper. People like discounts so they click on the coupon and not only get a deal, but also some awareness of the business and the products it offers.
"Everything you need is here; you just have to look for it."
Stellina Williams (left) and Danielle Mulasmajic pose with one of the ads promoting the new Coupon Country website
Williams said coupons are a driving force in commerce that connects people (and their wallets) to businesses.
"Ninety-three per cent of Canadians shop with coupons," she said, "and 44 per cent of those are using on-line coupons. Over 90 per cent of coupon redeemers say they will purchase from a retailer again after being offered a coupon, and over 50 per cent of shoppers say they would not have made a purchase had they not been offered a coupon in the first place."
While it's easy to create a coupon on-line, said Williams, the bigger trick is making sure people find it.
"To ensure your coupon offer reaches enough people, a well-planned strategy is crucial," she said. "Coupon Country has a strong strategy and creative marketing plan behind it; reaching customers through print and on-line advertisements, radio, social media and video."
Danielle Mulasmajic of Tourist Town Solutions, said the marketing plan will get a big push over the next two months, encouraging businesses to post coupons, and urging people to check the site.
Danielle Mulasmajic (left) of Tourist Town Solutions, discusses the Coupon Country website with Heather Shewfelt of Sleepers Bed Gallery in Kincardine, Monday afternoon at the website launch
Scongack then took to the computer and demonstrated how easy it was to post a coupon through
makeacoupon.ca.
Mulasmajic said a business can have three active coupons on-line at one time. Once the coupon is posted, it must be approved before it goes live, and that usually takes up to 24 hours, she said, adding that once the coupon is on-line, the business owner can see how many times people click on it, how many download it and how many share it.
"We hope to get more and more coupons loaded up on the website as we're heading into the Christmas season," said Scongack. "Bruce Power is pleased to support this initiative and we hope it will spin off through other social media platforms for the benefit of the tri-county area."
In answer to some questions, Mulasmajic said the customer downloads the coupon and prints it off in order to use it at the respective business. She said a mobile app is in the works and should be ready within a couple of weeks; that way, customers can E-mail the coupon to themselves and then display it on their cell phones when they shop at the respective business.
Danielle Mulasmajic (left) answers questions after the launch of the Coupon Country website at the Bruce Power Visitors' Centre, Monday afternoon
October 24, 2017
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