Everyone loves a great deal. Some people are hard-wired to seek those deals automatically and without fail each time he makes a purchase.  In the restaurant and retail business, “couponers” are the people we speak of.  And let me say this: we love their loyalty and business just as much as the next customer’s.

This post is not about couponers.  It’s more about the greater coupon culture.  The dependence on the deal.  And the subsequent pegging of one’s brand.  If a restaurant’s coupons are so ubiquitous they pop in view like pennies on the pavement — what does that say about the establishment’s brand?

I started thinking about this after reading a restaurant blog about new restaurant startups I follow and an article about weaning customers off the deep discounts in the Nation’s Restaurant News.

Recently, we've even started offering more lucrative discounts to our most loyal fans via email. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of these deals.

I sometimes fear R.M.C.C. has a coupon-dolling dependency.  And I’d hate for us to have a reputation as a discount dining option — or just plain cheap.  For years, we issued 15% coupons to everyone who ordered takeout, rewarding them for some return business.  A majority of regular customers has become so used to the perk, a few of them get miffed if their coupon isn’t in the bag.  At times more disconcerting, some expect a flat 15% off each time they visit — coupon in hand or not.

Feelings on this phenomena are truly mixed.  By one account, we’ve scored a major win: each of those customers is not only a loyal follower of Red Moon, but also a frequent visitor.  Our doors are still open because of their collective impact on our cash flow.  That’s not lost on us.

Conversely, so many customers are in this pool of discount-only buyers that their effect on our bottom-line is surely not negligible.  Let’s come to Jesus for a second: anyone who didn’t know this already, let me break the news — restaurant profit margins are either absent entirely or quite slim, certainly less than 10 percent and many closer to the three to five percent range.  Need proof?  Just check out this roster of publicly traded big boys — if they can’t muster much more than that, how is this little guy doing much better?

Without much more than a gut-feeling and a little rudimentary number-crunching, I have decided to re-think how we approach coupons.

If anyone has any ideas of what works for them or better — as a consumer what you plainly feel about coupons and what that means to your loyalty for certain establishments, I’d love to know.

I hope to follow-up with a meatier blog about what our strategy going forward will be — how we will keep building on our tremendous group of loyal customers, luring in new customers and providing value on top of high quality, sought-after delicious food.

Last night at this time I posted a new (read: re-tooled, unexpired) set of coupons on Red Moon’s Web site.  This time I included something new — an experiment, really.  It’s a coupon regular customers can give to Red Moon newbies — a one-up on good old word-of-mouth advertising.

Click the image to download the "Refer a Friend" coupon yourself.

Here’s how it works: the regular writes his or her email address on the coupon.  He or she gives it to a friend who can then use it for a free appetizer on his or her first trip to Red Moon.  With that email address, I contact the referrer to thank the person and tell them I’ve got a free $5 gift certificate for them waiting at our front counter for use anytime he or she wishes.

I figured it was possibly too involved or confusing to work.  But I could be wrong.  Despite the fact that it was posted just late last night — a pair of guys this morning had the coupon.  I contacted their referrers and there are gift certificates waiting for them.   Hopefully the two guys who came in today liked the food enough to want to return — and I also hope I’ve created some warm feelings among the regulars who passed on the good word about Red Moon.

Any thoughts out there on whether this is a good idea?  Generous enough?  Any twists on this I could use in the future when this gets tired and stale?

It’s probably over-zealous to call this an “overnight success” — but in my world, these little triumphs are huge.  Here’s to hoping more friends refer their friends.

I’ve had a lot of fun over the last year or so trying to help my dad with the marketing of the restaurant.  I’ve developed a Web site, new takeout menu, Web coupons (Check these out for a Halloween freebie!), and tonight I put in an order for the latest batch.

I firmly believe that quality promotional materials can really set us apart from some of our competition without sacrificing any of the quaint charm mom and pop Chinese restaurants are known for.  And I save a lot of money by doing this all myself.  Lucky for my dad, it’s kind of a hobby.  Here’s what we’ve got:

The copy reads: "So you get fierce Red Moon cravings often? You are clearly not alone." (image altered for security)

This will be the newest takeout coupon that we typically throw in all of our takeout orders to encourage more frequent visits.  I’ve altered the artwork just a bit to stave off any copyright infringement — I did pay for that dragon art, after all.  But you get the gist.

The backside (not pictured) has a fortune cookie with an expiration date on the paper — the copy reads “Act Fast! Or the Luck Runs Out.”

Gift certificates -- we have them in $10 denominations -- the new ones will provide more options. (image altered for security)

These are some new gift certificates that will give the customers more options (We already offer these in $10 denominations.)  The new design is narrower, to fit better in wallets.  All of this stuff is also coming with a matte instead of a glossy finish — the Sharpies will work better that way.

I’m also going to go door-to-door to advertise some of our lunch catering and to hit some of the new office complexes in the area.  My dad and I agreed that while generous, these $5 gift certificates would be a great comp to hand out to potential catering customers.  Especially office gatekeepers.  With our price structure, we should be able to recoup food cost at a minimum when they are redeemed.

Lastly — it’s official.  Check this out:

Made myself a Red Moon business card -- you know, to be all professional and stuff.

By the way, I have been using an excellent printer out of California to whip these things up — at a great price.  If there are other small business people out there who want to know more, drop me an email.  I’d be happy to share my sources

Of course, when it comes to selling people on the Red Moon, nothing beats the food.  And I was reminded of that many times today, including by a customer who drove 25 miles from Woodbury solely to get some takeout.  Wow.  Isn’t that awesome?  I’ve always wondered why the mainstream food writers never really picked up on my dad’s cooking.  Well, there’s always time.