Everywhere you look these days there are coupons. No longer just in the Sunday newspaper, coupons can be found online, in special magazines, on receipts at the grocery store or the bank ATM. No matter what method you choose, coupons can be a sure-fire way to increase lube business or help cross market your lube shop with a carwash or detail center.

There are many ways to use coupons for advertising or marketing purposes. The most popular methods include direct mailings, value pack coupon mailings and "Clipper Magazine" type promotions and newspapers. Many lube operators are also developing their own unique coupon marketing programs and for the most part, are pleased with the results.

Tried and true methods

Take a look at some of the following couponing options available. Weigh the pros and cons and perhaps test a few methods to see what works best for your lube shop:

· Direct mail.

Ron Slone, district manager of the Hoffman Development Corp., which owns and operates 10 Jiffy Lube franchises and three full-service and 10 exterior carwashes in the Albany, NY, area has had good and bad experiences with various coupon programs.

"We are big on direct-mailings and we always feature our signature lube service," says Slone. "What we try to do with coupons is go back and forth between a dollar discount and a price point. One month we'll run $6 off and the next month we'll run it at $21.99."

Much to his surprise, Slone discovered there was not much difference in the response from the two special offers. Having done it for a year, they have not found one discount to be significantly better then the other, according to Slone. The company, which does its direct mailings about every six to eight weeks, has not yet tried using a `percent-off' coupon.

Bill Moody, owner of Lafayette, LA- based Ambassador Carwash & Lube Express, also uses the direct mailing technique on a quarterly basis and feels it doesn't always garner the best results. Moody uses Windsor, CT- based Advo, a full service direct mail marketing services company, and has been very successful using their Missing Child cards with a lube coupon on the opposite side. They normally offer $5 off a full-service lube with a free wash. However, Moody also notes that he has done a $2 off coupon and a $3 off coupon in the past with no return at all.

"You have to be careful with the direct mail. You can bombard people with it," says Moody.

He also warns that there may be some not-so-reputable direct mail companies out there and it is always best to ask specific questions about how they work. Direct mailings cost approximately three to six cents per copy.

· Discount envelope packs.

These are the local or national based large coupon mailers such as Val-Pac and Super Coups. Both Slone and Scott Swim, owner of Grandview Auto Wash, Grandview, MO, use this type of mailing in between their more lucrative methods in order to keep their names circulating.

· The cross marketing approach.

Grandview Auto Wash, which is selective in how it uses coupons, favors a cross-promotional approach, Swim says. They usually offer a discount on a lube service with the purchase of a carwash and vice versa.

Another way to cross-market between a lube shop and carwash is a method Hoffman's Slone worked out using the greeter cards customers receive when they pull up to one of the full-service washes. Hoffman's included a $5 off coupon for their signature lube service at the top of the greeter tickets.

Hoffman's started that particular coupon program about eight to 10 months ago and the company has seen a fairly significant redemption rate.

Moody, of Ambassador Carwash & Lube Express, also uses cross-promotional techniques in his couponing efforts by sending out monthly reminder cards for lube changes. Moody feels the reminder card is the best method for his lube because he can offer any type of discount on the cards, which usually means $2 off the basic lube service and a free wash.

Although his customers always receive a free wash with the lube service, Moody highlights it again on the reminder cards in order to keep them from forgetting the benefit.

· Door-to-door preferred customer plan.

In 1999 Moody started a door-to-door coupon campaign with the help of marketing firm Granton Marketing. Together Moody and Granton's local rep established a set of coupon bargains to offer his current and potential customers. The finished product was a large card with 20 different cut-out coupons offering such discounts as a free oil filter with the purchase of a wash and a free tank of gas with the purchase of a full-service wash. Total savings to the customer was over $200.

With the help of college students, the marketing firm sold the coupon cards door-to-door within a three or four mile radius of his business. The cost for customers was $20 per card.

The cost for Moody? Absolutely nothing. Granton Marketing pays for the materials, the printing and compensating the college students. Moody gets the lube and wash business from the customers. According to Moody, the coupon cards have worked very well for Ambassador and they plan to repeat the program again this year.

For more information, please go to www.carwash.com, click on the "Articles" icon and use the following keyword in an article search: couponing.