Marketing Sherpa is a research site that I subscribe to for a number of reasons. It's $600 a year or so but worth it for me.

One of the recent studies they published has real relevance for most physicians looking to recruit new patients. The entire study is only available by subscription but the information it contains is simple.

o $50-Off Coupon generated 170% more revenue than the 15%-Off Coupon.
o $50-Off Coupon had 72% higher conversion rate.

“It turned out that the dollar-off coupon was a better way to position offers because the perceived value is higher for our customers. The ‘defined amount’ that you get turned out to be a much more effective incentive. Going forward, we are going to use the dollar-off [tactic] to drive more sales.”

Decker adds that eliminating the prospect of the recipient having to do some percentage math to figure out their savings also was a likely factor.

“The dollar-amount was simpler. And it was clear what the offer was from the second the person looked at. They didn’t have to think about it, and I think that has relevance.”

Interestingly, the slight copy difference in the subject line didn’t affect the open rates nearly as much as they did conversions. The $50-Off Coupon” got a 20% open rate; the 15% Off Coupon did almost as well with 19%. Also, the clickthroughs were nearly identical -- the 15%-Off coupon produced a 33% rate, while the $50-Off came in at 32.4%.

The 15%-Off Coupon did generate an average order size that was 44% higher . For that reason, Decker says, marketers who value average-order size due to their customer niche may want to duplicate the test to see if they get the same lift. Based on revenue, however, choosing between the two going forward was a no-brainer for Decker.

“In a down time or an up time, the finding would be applicable. But it has been especially beneficial to find something that works better when things are looking [economically] scary down the road.”