QuickChek Uses Social Media to Explain Coupon Strategy Change

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. -- In a sign of the times, QuickChek has turned to Facebook to explain a recent change in its coupon strategy to its customers -- or Q-sters, as they are often called.

According to the post on QuickChek's Facebook page, the company began offering free coupons with no purchase necessary. The intent was to thank its loyal fans, and to get its customers to try QuickChek's coffee.

"We know we have the best cup in the New York metro area, and if we can get you to taste it, hopefully you will be a loyal customer. Over the past year we have given away over 350,000 cups of coffee, helping to fuel commuters throughout our market. That is a significant cost, however, one which, for the reasons stated, we continued to offer," the company explained.

However, QuickChek hired a research firm to do some work for the company and that research included a question asking customers what they prefer, with respondents having the ability to choose several options.

"Why did we do this?… Well, quite simply, we do research constantly to insure we are offering our customers what they want and need, and we wanted to insure that 'free' was still resonating with our loyal customers," QuickChek wrote.

What the company found was that of the price promoted offers, "buy one, get one free" was preferred by 52.5 percent of the respondents, followed by 31.3 percent picking "value menu." Both "free with no purchase required" and "free with purchase of another item" came in at the 25-percent range.

"As you can see, the BOGO [buy one, get one free] was an overwhelming favorite. The research has been validated, and was conducted online with customers from all stores. While you may wonder why someone would prefer one option over another, we can't say. Again, people could pick multiple answers, and there were another five or six offers listed," the company added. "Armed with this strong research, we immediately changed the offer to BOGO. We are reviewing this, and potentially will mix in other offers (including free and free with another purchase) as well to satisfy even more fans. The BOGO coupons continue to gain strong redemption.

"There is no spin here, simply a statement of what occurred. Again, thank you to all for your very loyal and generous support," the post concluded.