A discount campaign should be treated like a launch.
Before publishing it, check the economics, eligibility, customer experience and measurement.
1. Define the objective
What is the promotion supposed to do?
- Acquire new customers?
- Increase AOV?
- Clear inventory?
- Reactivate customers?
- Improve conversion?
If the objective is unclear, it becomes difficult to judge whether the discount worked.
2. Define eligibility
Write down:
- eligible customers
- eligible products
- minimum spend
- usage limits
- start date
- end date
- first-order conditions
- exclusions
Do not rely on the person who created the code remembering the rules later.
3. Check the economics
Calculate contribution before and after the promotion.
Then estimate how many incremental orders are required to justify the discount.
Revenue is not enough.
4. Test combinations
Test the promotion with other active offers.
Check the final customer price.
Do not assume the intended rule is identical to the checkout outcome.
5. Test the journey
Test:
- mobile
- desktop
- guest
- logged-in customer
- qualifying cart
- non-qualifying cart
- excluded product
- mixed cart
6. Check distribution
Where will customers receive the promotion?
- Email?
- WhatsApp?
- Creator?
- Affiliate?
- Paid ads?
- Homepage?
The distribution channel should match the eligibility rule.
7. Decide success metrics
Track:
- redemptions
- incremental orders
- AOV
- discount cost
- contribution
- new customers
- repeat purchase
- channel
If you cannot measure the campaign, you cannot confidently decide whether to repeat it.
8. Audit after launch
Compare planned vs actual:
- discount cost
- order volume
- AOV
- new customers
- contribution
- unexpected usage
This is where leakage often becomes visible.
Referbro's Discount Coupon Enablement Checklist is useful before launch. The Discount Leakage Detector can then be used as a post-campaign audit.
The best discount campaign is one you can explain economically after it ends.