Rebates

We’ve found that many marketers have recently gone to instant, in-store savings due to a number of factors, but largely due to pressure from retailers who grew tired of consumer complaints about the wait times and growing mistrust of the mail-in process. What they found, however, were a number of issues: 1. Since everyone gets the reward, it becomes very expensive 2. When you lower the value of the offer (to make the cost manageable), you get less sales and 3. You need to manage the submission of the coupons from your retailers, in terms of validation, security/fraud issues, compilation, reconciliation and payment. We can do all of that for you. There definitely is a place for both, and we’re now seeing A shift back to mail-in, likely due to all of the above.

What you need to do is determine your consumer value proposition to the cost of the savings to the consumer. We believe the best compromise may be our ‘near instant’ payment solutions, which offer consumers the full discount and pay them quickly once they mail in the submission. Since we validate in days, not weeks, with our RebatePal™ process, we can actually send a reward payment via PayPal® within 10 days of receipt. We can also create a fully customized American Express® branded reward card for your campaign and have a personalized card sent directly to a consumer’s home. It saves time, gives a better reward and carries your brand right through to their wallet. With wireless carriers and subscription services (like satellite radio), we can even
facilitate a credit directly to the subscriber’s account.

As you can see, there is lots to consider and much depends on your product, the value of your reward and where you are placing your offer, but the good news is that there are many more options open to you now.