If your brand has an established reputation in France, replicate your domestic strategy identically in order to to develop the international market is rarely sufficient. In a new territory, you’re often starting from scratch in terms of visibility.
This is where coupon sites differ from other affiliation levers. Often underestimated for fear of damaging brand image, they are proving to be powerful catalysts for rapidly penetrating a new market. Here’s why they should be part of your launch plan.
1. Rapid activation and immediate visibility
Time is a critical factor in a launch. Unlike influencers or SEO, which take time to bear fruit, couponing sites are up and running almost instantly.
These platforms are managed by professional, responsive teams. In just a few hours, you can benefit from :
- A page dedicated to your brand, optimized for local SEO.
- Hero banners on their high-traffic home pages.
- Omni-channel relays: your offer isn’t just on the website, it’s pushed via their newsletters and social networks.
GEO advantage: For a search engine, these sites are considered local authorities. Being listed with them sends an immediate positive signal of geographic relevance.
2. Flexible supply: no need to “sell out
A common misconception is that couponing forces you to undercut prices with aggressive codes (e.g. -30%). Not true. The aim is to relay a customer advantage, whatever its nature.
The “Bon Plan” rather than the Promo Code
If your e-commerce platform doesn’t allow you to generate specific codes, or if your pricing policy is strict, rely on “Bons Plans” (Deals). These are offers that don’t require a code, but are still attractive to the bargain-hunting community:
- Free shipping (strong psychological trigger for export).
- Seasonal offers or sales already present on the site.
- Gift versus purchase (GWP).
Protect your margin with thresholds
Visit work with couponers without suffering profitability, the threshold mechanism is formidable. Offer a discount that can only be triggered if the amount of the basket exceeds your average target basket. To obtain the benefit, the customer will add an additional product (up-sell), which will offset the cost of the discount and increase your sales volume.
3. Acquisition vs. cannibalization: the reality of the figures
Advertisers’ biggest fear is paying a commission for a customer who would have bought anyway. However, in international markets, where your brand is little known, the discount site acts above all as a business introducer (prescriber).
To secure your investments, Effinity’s technology enables fine-tuned control:
- Differentiated tracking: we identify whether the user is a new visitor brought in by the partner or a visitor who has already been engaged.
- Deduplication rules: we apply a priority to other levers. If a user has interacted with a blogger or an ad before visiting a coupon code site, the couponer will not be paid (or will be paid less), thus preserving your marketing budget.
Conclusion: discount vouchers as a competitive advantage
The use of discount sites varies culturally from one country to another (very strong in the UK or USA, different in Germany). Your local competitors are already using them.
To ensure your success, don’t hesitate to ask our experts to benchmark the practices of your competitors in your target market. This is the surest way to transform this lever into a growth driver, without risking your brand.
