Cooperative coupon advertising of tax services.

• Author: Weaver, Maureen S.

Cooperative coupon advertising is a cost-effective form of direct mail marketing used by many of today's tax professionals. It can help a practitioner gain new clients, referrals, and name recognition.

Cooperative couponing is based on the principle of sharing advertising costs and envelope space with other local businesses, such as restaurants, doctors, dry cleaners and automotive centers. Inside the envelope are coupons representing dollar and percentage discounts to cost-conscious readers hoping to save money.

Although word-of-mouth referral is a more traditional form of marketing for most tax professionals, cooperative direct mail is developing its own following, based on its cost-effectiveness and consumer popularity. Statistics show that coupons are in demand by street-savvy consumers who want a shortcut to savings. According to a recent study by Chicago-based Frankel & Company, more than 99% of American households use coupons in their everyday shopping patterns for products and services. Of this group, more than 94% use direct mail coupons.

Tax consultants and CPAs are tapping into this market by adding cooperative direct mail to their marketing plans, because it affords them flexibility, specific targetability and return that generates income.

Why use coupons?

Yellow-page ads and solo direct marketing through mailing lists work, but they can be costly. Radio advertising is costly and time-consuming. Cooperative direct mail, often a lower-cost choice, can result in new tax preparation clients, referrals and small business clients. Also, the practitioner does not have to worry about typesetting, design, copywriting, printing, postage and mailing--all this is included in the price when dealing with a cooperative couponing marketer.

A practitioner might initiate a cooperative coupon advertising program by mailing approximately 30,000 to 40,000 coupons annually to targeted local communities in the practice's geographic area. Even if there is only a 1% response, clients may keep coming back year after year, and refer others to the practice. It may take only a very few new clients to break even. Cooperative couponing also saves time over conducting direct mailings.

Timing is everything

An important component to successful cooperative couponing is knowing when to mail coupons. A practitioner can learn from trial and error, or just target February and March for major mailings. Mailing with more than one company, in overlapping geographic...