Coupon Website Business Plan [Sample Template]

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Are you about starting a coupon website? If YES, here is a complete sample coupon website business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE.

Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a coupon website business. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample coupon website marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for coupon websites. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Why Start a Coupon Website Business?

In our age, websites that offer coupons and deals online are becoming very popular since the advent of mini laptops and smartphones.

Starting a coupon website is not as easy it sounds, but it is worthwhile to understand that it involves listing coupons and sales; you make money from paid advertisements on your site and from commissions earned when people click on the coupons.

Starting a coupon website is an awesome way to earn extra income, that’s if your hobby is shopping and finding deals online. A coupon website is easy to set up and also to manage.

Before starting a coupon website, it is very important that you read and read some more. You have to make the internet your friend and it is very important that you learn to mix and match. It is very advisable that you learn from an expert who has been in the industry.

A lot of people around us have been in this industry for a long time and they understand how things go in the industry. It will help you in the long run if you get a direct experience on how to mix and match coupons. You would be saving shoppers the countless numbers of hours they waste trying to figure out what they use in purchasing things when you are good at it.

You also need to create a substantial connection with a lot of vendors or sellers because it will be your duty to sell their goods. You can do this by joining local network functions, where you can get to know your potential clients potential clients.

Doing this should save you the problems, and troubles of running a trial and error coupon website. You will also need to draft a map for your business and this map is in form of a business plan. Here is a sample below;

A Sample Coupon Website Business Plan template

1. Industry Overview

With the advent of technology and the internet, coupon companies are known to promote discounts from participating businesses directly to consumers, while providing a valuable service for both groups. Retailers make more money by aligning with coupon companies to boost traffic in their stores. Individuals who buy those goods gain from direct cost savings for goods and services in the market.

Coupon companies themselves make money through direct sales, or may look to alternative sources like free giveaways. Coupons as we know it actually originated in the early twentieth century, it was a marketing used traditionally issued by CPG manufacturers to gain customers, provide consumers with a discount or rebate on various products.

The online coupon industry has actually taken over the online retailing market. Individuals trying to save money are now making use of various coupons to reduce the cost of their goods. Finding and collecting coupons has become a lot easier with the advent of online computing.

It has been estimated that 48% of U.S. adult Internet users redeemed a digital coupon for shopping in 2012, which is a very high conversion number. Also 97 million U.S. adults will access coupons via the Internet before mid2013, growing to 100 million in 2014. The Coupon market is very competitive and fragmented, but there are little or no barriers to entry as at now.

Websites like Google, Facebook, Groupon, and Amazon are the leading figures in the coupon market. A coupon is simply a ticket or document which can be exchanged for a discount or free items when buying a product. Coupons are always given out by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, and are used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions.

These financial saviours are often widely given out through mail, magazines, newspapers, internet, and mobile devices. It is also crucial to note that online coupons are digital or printable documents.

Most popular online coupons are discount coupons that give out discounts or gives out a free item; referral coupons that offer special discounts to third parties so that they drive more traffic to the retailer’s website; and click-through deals links that lead individuals to product deals upon clicking the particular link.

2. Executive Summary

Pulsedeals.com is an online coupon website that is based solely in the united states, but will offer coupons for a vast range of products such as groceries, fashion, electronics and kid’s items etc. Pulsedeals.com will be having its head office in the centre hub of Clarkstown, New York and we plan to expand as time goes.

We have managed to rent a good business building close to Austin’s Restaurant & Bar and we hope to use that advantage to our own benefit. Pulsedeals.com is a new online coupon company with the unwitting zeal and goal to expand our business to the major cities in the world.

We also hope to be household name amongst individuals and retailers. We also plan to run a 24/7 online coupon site, with effective and mind blowing services. We will be creating payment platform that will be highly secured for our clients and customers.

We have also made strong connections with leading players in the retail industry, and we have created a solid partnership with Wal-Mart Inc.

This will enable us go worldwide, while also helping them to retain their position as the number one retail giants in the world. We have also created incentives that will make sure that all our customers are given first class treatment irrespective of the products they buy or the part of the world they reside.

We have without delay purchased CRM software that will enable us have a direct relationship with our customers, and we hope to keep them satisfied and fulfilled.

Also, our team members are highly competent and dedicated to the company; they are also experienced in the retail industry and are prepared extra mile to offer mind blowing discounts to our customers. We have also gone the extra mile to ensure that our phone lines are available 24/7.

Pulsedeals.com is a standard coupon website company owned by Alex Moses, Frank Odin, Natalie Gordon, Daniel King, and Cecilia Watford.

These individuals who have known each other for a long while and can boost of having the same mind set and goals are the sole owners of Pulsedeals.com. The business will be managed by Alex Moses who has been in the coupon business for so long and was the brain behind the business idea.

3. Our Products and Services

Pulsedeals.com was established to make shopping easier for the citizens of America and we plan to make sure that we fulfil that promise by making available relevant coupons for a wide range of goods and products from top manufacturing brands in the United States and other countries of the world to our customers.

We will be providing steady coupons for goods like groceries, clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, jewellery, children’s toys, baby stuffs, home furnishings and home appliances et al. We hope to categorize them in the following format;

Electronics
Children
Beverages
Events & Tickets
Fashion
Weddings
Academics
Foods and snacks

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

Our vision at Pulsedeals.com is to build a business (coupon website) that can comfortably compete with huge coupon websites.
Our mission atPulsedeals.com is to build an online coupon company that will provide relevant coupons for a vast range of goods and products from top manufacturing brands and retailing giants in the world.

Our Business Structure

Pulsedeals.com was a business established to become a worldwide coupon company that can compete comfortably with the leading coupon businesses in the world. We can’t fulfill our dreams if we do not have the best hands in the industry.

We have made adequate preparation to hire people that are experienced, qualified, honest, customer centric and are very ready to build a coupon website that can be a household name in the retail world. Outlined below is the business structure we hope to start Pulsedeals.com with;

Company President
Human Resources and Admin Manager
Sales Manager
Investment expert
Information Technologist
Chief Accountant
Call Care Agent

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Company President

Oversee all other executives and staff within the organization.
Meet with board of directors and other executives to determine if company is in accordance with goals and policies.
Encourage business investment.
Promote economic development within communities.
Direct the organization’s financial goals, objectives, and budgets.
Implement the organization’s guidelines on a day-to-day basis.
Preside over quality control.
Hire, train, and terminate employees.
Develop and implement strategies and set the overall direction of a certain area of the company or organization.
Provide visionary and strategic leadership for the organization.
Collaborate with the board of directors to develop the policies and direction of the organization.
Ensure members of the Board of Directors have the information necessary to perform their fiduciary duties and other governance responsibilities.
Provide adequate and timely information to the Board to enable it to effectively execute its oversight role.
Direct staff, including organizational structure, professional development, motivation, performance evaluation, discipline, compensation, personnel policies, and procedures.

Human Resource and Admin Manager

In charge of overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
Tasked with defining job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
In charge of carrying out staff induction for new team members
In charge of training, evaluation and assessment of employees
In charge of arranging travel, meetings and appointments
Obligated to oversee the smooth running of the daily office activities.

Sales Manager

In charge of meeting the sales targets of the organization through effective planning and budgeting.
In charge of deciding strategies and techniques necessary for achieving the sales targets. He is the one who decides the future course of action for his team members.
In charge of mapping potential customers and generate leads for the organization. He should look forward to generating new opportunities for the organization.
In charge of brand promotion.
Tasked with motivating team members is one of the most important duties of a sales manager.
It’s the duty of the sales manager to ensure his team is delivering desired results.
In charge of not only selling but also maintaining and improving relationships with the client.
In charge of keeping the necessary data and records for future reference.

Investment expert

In charge of managing external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
Tasked with modelling demographic information and analyse the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
Tasked with identifying, prioritizing, and reaching out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
In charge of supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s need s, and communicate with clients
Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
Tasked with developing all customer contact and information
Represents the company in strategic meetings
Aids increase sales and growth for the company

Information Technologist

In charge of managing the organization website
In charge of continuous update of our coupon website
Strive to make sure that our payment platform is secured 24 / 7
In charge of installing and maintenance of computer software and hardware for the organization
Tasked with managing logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS (point of sale) systems
In charge of continuous upgrade and maintenance of IT systems
Handles any other technological and IT related duties.

Chief Accountant

In charge of preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
In charge of financial forecasting and risks analysis.
In charge of developing and managing financial systems and policies
In charge of administering payrolls
Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
Handles all financial transactions for the company
Serves as internal auditor for the company

Call Care Agents

Makes sure that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In centre, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
Stay alert for any new information on the company’s products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries
Handles enquiries via e-mail, chat and phone calls for the organization
Distribute mails in the organization
Handles any other duties as assigned my the line manager

6. SWOT Analysis

A coupon website is not just a business of the future, but a business which have been proven to be very lucrative when done well, which is why we were very careful about our SWOT Analysis. It didn’t take us time to employ the services of Penchant Consultants, a renowned HR and Business Analyst with experience on the retail industry to help us conduct a sincere SWOT analysis and also and us with the desired strategies and way we can use to grow Pulsedeals.com.

Explained below is the SWOT Analysis done for Pulsedeals.com by Penchant Consultants;

Strength

We at Pulsedeals.com have created a well cemented business connection with well known retail giants in the world like Wal-Mart Inc. and Shoprite et al. This according to the SWOT Analysis will serve as our strength and advantage against our competitors. We have also provided a well designed, easy to assess website that can attract customers.

Weakness

Being a new entrant in the retail industry or the coupon won’t be an easy step. This according to our SWOT Analysis will be our major weakness. We at Pulsedeals.com believe we have got what it takes to overcome this weakness with good marketing strategies that will help us offer free and enticing coupons to our customers immediately we open our doors for business.

Opportunities

The opportunities open in the coupon industry is rather unlimited. With the world recovering from recession and the advent of technology, individuals are hoping to buy quality goods cheaply and retailers are striving to become the world retail giants. We hope to make use of this opportunity and many other opportunities that will come up as time goes and our business develops.

Threat

According to our SWOT Analysis, our major threat is the coupon websites in the industry and the probability of the world economy going back to recession. We believe in our strength and the opportunities we have, and we hope to use them.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Trends

Living and surviving has been made easier for us humans with the advent of the Internet and technology. They are now used in our everyday life, from paying fees down to buying our groceries. The coupon industry will keep growing as long as we humans keep having needs that need to be satisfied by manufacturers and retailers.

The world population is steadily on the increase and our homes will keep expanding, while we keep striving to feed our immediate households. We may not always have the time to do the shopping and even if we do, we would always hold on to any opportunity that will make things less expensive for us. This is how the coupon industry becomes relevant and important in our world today.

8. Our Target Market

Pulsedeals.com being a coupon website that will offer relevant coupons for a wide range of quality products such as electronics, computers, groceries, fashion, home appliances and kid’s items our target market will cut across individuals who can old enough to be able to pick up a tablet or a smart phone to browse the internet. Listed below are our targeted audience at Pulsedeals.com;

Households
Students
Working class individuals
Corporate companies
Sports men and women
Young people
Old and willing adults
People on all works of life

Our Competitive Advantage

Pulsedeals.com was established as an online coupon company that will make shopping easier and cheaper for our prospective customers. We plan to do this even within the very vast retail market and the unimaginable competition on the coupon industry.

The coupon industry is indeed very competitive, but we believe that the services we will be offering, excellent customer culture, marketing and sales plan, secured payment portal, and enticing customer incentive programs will be like no other in the industry.

Our solid connection with players that matter in the industry worldwide will serve as a competitive advantage for us. We also have the benefit of a workforce that have worked in the retail industry and are very connected, and are willing to use their connection to pave the way for Pulsedeals.com.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

Sources of Income

As we must have stated many times, Pulsedeals.com is an online coupon company established to offer relevant coupons for a wide range of products to a vast range of customers in the world. This business was also built to survive on the funds it will be generating and we hope to achieve that. We have no plans of always sourcing for funds to expand our business, because we believe that with what we will be offering, we will be gaining in threefold.

Listed below are few services we will be offering to gain or get funds:

Provide Electronics coupons
Provide Children related goods coupons
Provide Beverages coupons
Provide Event& Tickets coupons
Provide fashion goods coupon
Provide Wedding related goods coupons
Provide Academics related products coupons
Provide Foods and snacks coupons
Charge clients for online advertising
Charge program fees
Provide bulk sales
Affiliate programs

10. Sales Forecast

Pulsedeals.com is business we believe will be very standard and we’ll documented. We have made sure that everything dots and commas are being accounted for in this online coupon company. We hope to have a well renowned chief accountant who will serve as the business internal auditor. He/she will be hired based on experience, knowledge and competence. Pulsedeals.com is not a problem enterprise but a new development that will shake the coupon industry from its roots.

We have taken our time to estimate the income we will be generating in the next three years, to show that we are diligent and zealous. This sales forecast was estimated strictly what is based in the industry, and on the accurate data gathered during our extensive feasibility studies, market survey and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. We hope to use everything without our reach to achieve these goals. Here is the sales forecast for Pulsedeals.com;

First Year-: $200, 000
Second Year-: $400,000
Third Year-: $750,000

Note-: The sales forecast of Pulsedeals.com was done based on what we believe was obtainable in the coupon industry and with the prayer and belief that there won’t be any threats or barriers in these years.

Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Pulsedeals.com is a business that has come to take over the coupon market and we are investing so much in our sales and marketing strategies. Our sales and marketing strategy will be focused on advertising and gaining outstanding services for our customers, which is where our diverse connection in the retail industry will come to play. The business world is all about forward ever and backward never.

We hope to make use of available opportunities to make sure our sales and marketing strategies get to our required audience. Our sales team will be hired based on what they can bring to the company and we hope to create our online presence immediately without delay of long stories. We will make sure that our marketing strategies have direct messages and not gibberish that we are accustomed to in this modern age.

Listed below are the few strategies we hope to use at Pulsedeals.com;

We plan to inculcate our retail partners in our advertising strategies
Advertise our business on international magazines, satellite TV stations and radio stations
We plan Leverage on online forums to attract customers to our online store
We also plan to start with free coupons I other to attract customers
We will also list our business on yellow pages ads
We will also make use of Direct marketing

Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We all at Pulsedeals.com understand that we cannot reach our desired height if we don’t create the perfect publicity and advertisement. Pulsedeals.com is a business that we hope will be the leading coupon brands in the world come the next ten years. Our dreams are huge and we have set down plans to achieve it, and our publicity and advertising strategies are very important to urge us forward.

We plan to be very straight and versatile with these strategies, and we have created a huge budget that we believe will give us the required results. Nothing pays like having to run a side business where the money is guaranteed and in Pulsedeals.com, we are very aggressive and serious to maximize our income and dominate the market. Listed below are the basic strategies we hope to use for Pulsedeals.com;

We will place our adverts on all available publicity platform available to us (international and local newspapers, magazines, radio and television, business websites and blogs)
We will also sponsor relevant community programs like cycling, green activities etc.
We will create a domineering presence in the Internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Google+, Badoo, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote our brand
We will be mounting our Bill Boards on strategic locations in any city we find our self
We will print and distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
We will entice our retail partners to inculcate us in the or advertising

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Presents have considered everything including our pricing in our extensive research, which is the amount of money that we will be charging our supposed clients. After we got an idea of what the pricing would be like, we then started checking with other competitors to see what they charge. This was very important since the coupon industry isn’t a monopoly.

It is critical to note that pricing is one of the key factors that gives leverage to online coupon company, it is normal for consumers to visit coupon websites that offer cheaper and astonishing coupons, which is why the big fishes big player in the industry like Facebook will continue to attract loads of consumers. We hope to make our prices competitive and flexible to be able to challenge comfortably for a right in the industry.

Payment Options

Pulsedeals.com is a business for every citizen or individual in the world that can buy what he or she needs in the Internet. We plan to create payment options that will suit our customers right from the coasts of Africa up to the beauty of Europe. We plan to make available what we can to make our customers comfortable and create a plain chance for them to get their goods in cheap and excellent forms.

Pulsedeals.com being an Online business, we will be providing online paying options that will suit different cultures and individuals of the world. We plan to make available the following payment options;

Payment via cards (credit cards, debit cards, smart cards etc.)
E-banking
Mobile banking
Other electronic payment procedures

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

We all at Pulsedeals.com understand the reason why coupon companies are relevant and important in the world. We hope to offer the best service, while also taking over the global industry. Our workforce and our solid networks will provide us with the nitro to catapult is to the top. These are the areas we expect to spend our start up fund;

The Total cost for Registering Pulsedeals.com – $750.
The budget for obtaining licenses and permits – $1,500.
Our budget for marketing, publicity and promotion expenses for Pulsedeals.com Free coupons $25,000, Marketing and publicity budget $128,000, and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
Cost for hiring Consultant – $3,000
Price for Computer Software (Accounting Software, Payroll Software, CRM Software, Microsoft Office, QuickBooks Pro, drug interaction software, Physician Desk Reference software) – $7,000
Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,500
The payment of rent for warehouse facility for 12 month at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $98,000
Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
Operational budget for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $90,000
Our budget for Start-up inventory (gathering of coupons) – $300,000
The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, fax machine, cabins, tables and chairs et al): $4,000.
The cost of Launching our website : $3,000
The cost for our opening party: $5,000
Miscellaneous: $10,000

Going by the detailed cost analysis above, We will need an estimate of $684,330 to start Pulsedeals.com successfully.

Generating Funding/Start up Capital for Pulsedeals.com

Pulsedeals.com is an online coupon company that is established and financed by group of investors. These individuals have the genuine mind set to create a powerful business that will be well known in the entire world. Since Pulsedeals.com was established to become a global business, it will be financed by the founding owners who will be willing to accept more investors in the next one year of establishment. These are the ways we hope to generate our start up fund;

Raise part of the start – up capital from the owners (Alex Moses, Frank Odin, Natalie Gordon, Daniel King, and Cecilia Watford.)
Apply for loan from my Bank
Invite other interested investors (when the time for expansion comes.)

Note: we have been able to raise $500,000 ($100,000 from our founding owners) and we are almost through with the sever process of obtaining a loan facility of $200,000 from our bank. Every process to acquire this loan has been put in place and every paper have been filled and submitted.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

Pulsedeals.com is a global business that is not restricted to the United States alone; we hope to expand greatly to all the ends of the world. We plan to start this expansion when we have generated a corporate identity and created a brand awareness that will shake the entire coupon industry. We will exercise our expansion budget when the time comes.

We at Pulsedeals.com will make sure that we constantly engage in continuous capacity building of our workforce; we will not relent in training and re – training of every of our employees. We also plan to create good incentives that will keep them with us and not just only that, but give their best to the business. We have made sure that our workforce will remain the best in the coupon industry.

We at Pulsedeals.com will also make sure that we create the right foundation, structures and processes for our staff. We will ensure that their issues and welfare are well taken of. Pulsedeals.com is a business built on tryst, goodwill and understanding.

Right from our founding owners, we believe we have the mind set and culture to remain relevant and also encroach into the retail business. Our good connection with the big fishes in the retail industry will also go a long way to ensure that we remain relevant in the industry.

Check List/Milestone

Business Name Availability Check: Completed
Business Incorporation: Completed
Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
Application for business license and permit: Completed
Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
Leasing, renovating and equipping our facility: Completed
Generating part of the start – up capital from the founder: Completed
Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
writing of business plan: Completed
Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
Recruitment of employees: In Progress
Purchase of the Needed software applications, furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
Establishing business relationship with banks, financial lending institutions, vendors and key players in the industry: In Progress