The daily deal extravaganza may have finally met a plateau but online coupons are still alive and (sometimes) well. With the proliferation of digital couponing, new branches are developing, particularly aggregators like RetailMeNot.com. So as marketers are building discount strategies, consumers are able to arm themselves with more information, broader access and targeted finds.

Let’s face it, email has gotten sloppy. In a fight to stand out from unsolicited spam, you would think marketers would be using all the latest technologies and taking an optimized approach to converting emails to sales. But, as you can see from your own inbox, many marketers are either on auto-pilot and use one voice for all people, or are confused about the length, frequency and voice so they just end up missing the mark on all three.

My local gym is always running some kind of crazy discount for enrollment. And I can always look at this month’s (or week’s) promotion and blow it off, knowing another deal is coming. It’s hard to know, from a price-conscious standpoint, the best time to make a long-term commitment because they’re constantly repackaging the same discount, or even out-bidding themselves for my business. In a similar instance, I bought concert tickets with a loyalty-based “early bird” discount, only to find out that a deeper discount was advertised to the general public just a month later. Really? Are we expecting consumers not to notice or react to our marketing misgivings? And are we brands really expected to keep up?

The appeal of automation makes sense: in a time where marketers are held to high standards and spread thin across an increased workload, anything you can set and forget is a welcome time saver. What companies didn’t predict, though, was how much time is attached to establishing automation. And while there are risks involved in automation’s perceived easy button, companies are still embracing it in droves. So how do marketers keep from blowing it?

Try leaving home without your mobile phone. Odds are, it’s uncomfortable. These little computers haven’t just edged their way into our daily routines, they have become our tether to the outside world. Marketers, well aware of the value of reaching people literally in their pockets have responded with a resounding strategy to move the sales needle: one offs!

As published by Direct Marketing News