Today I’d like to discuss another easy way to save money and get coupons for items you use regularly – writing to the manufacturer directly.

If there is a product that I really find useful or enjoy, I will send an email to the company to let them know what I think of it. If I have a suggestion regarding a product I would like to see or a possible improvement, I will mention that as well. Companies greatly value feedback from their customers, and spend a lot of money researching what people want. As a result, they often send follow-up letters to thank me for getting in touch, and often they will enclose coupons as a thank-you.

Additionally, if there is a product that I am unfamiliar with and would like to try, I will drop the manufacturer a line to see if they have any coupon mailing lists that I can be added to.

All it takes is a quick Google search to look up a company that you want to get in touch with and a minute to write a message. Most companies have contact forms directly on their website; there is even a list of such contact forms here. It doesn’t have to be a big time investment – the next time you’re writing emails, take an extra moment to send a note to a company that you like. In my experience, the small amount of time it takes to contact manufacturers has paid off with unusual, high-value coupons that I wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere – sometimes, I’ve even received free product coupons! Each photo in the post is of coupons I have received from manufacturers recently. As you can see, there are some fabulous coupons – even “frees” – for organic produce, sugar, and more.

Sometimes, a corporation will send something other than a coupon when you contact them. I recently wrote to a company to tell them that I enjoy their produce, and they mailed me a check for $5.00 marked “Customer appreciation” – you can imagine my surprise when that arrived! Other unusual items that I’ve received include a package of Kung Pao sauce and baseball caps.

But remember, companies have different promotions available at different times – just
because my neighbor writes to Brand X and gets a free coupon doesn’t mean that I will. When you contact a company, there is no guarantee that you will even receive a reply, let alone coupons; so don’t be disappointed if you don’t receive coupons from a specific company. Just by making the effort to put yourself out there as an interested consumer, you will find that brands frequently want to connect with you through promotions and special offers.

Companies love to hear what consumers think, and are often more than glad to forward their customers coupons to reward them for their loyalty and provide an incentive to purchase more products from them in the future. So don’t be afraid to express your interest – you might be surprised at what you find in your mailbox.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 5:51 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.