The 30k, 60k and 90k maintenance services for newer cars are—of course—extremely important, but they’re also a) pricey, and b) time-consuming. It’s fair to say that most consumers regard these vital services as annoying chores.

It was therefore interesting to see a coupon that attempted to neutralize the emotionally negative response. Instead of offering an explicit discount, the coupon offered use of a free rental car for 2 (!) days with the purchase of one of these service bundles. Why was this coupon compelling?

• It wasn’t competing merely on price. In fact, it never mentioned price.
• It was offering something pleasant. “Don’t wallow in boredom for 4 hours as we perform a host of services on your car. Try out a new car, take care of errands, do whatever you want. You can even come back the next day, if you’d like.”
• It was attempting to solidify a long-term relationship. If a customer takes them up on their offer for 30k service, how likely will they be to take up the offer at the 60k interval? Arguably, very.

Their coupon strategy was to identify a negative associated with their service (consumers being stuck waiting in a lobby) and replace it with something positive (try out a new car) and thereby make the customer experience painless as possible. Can you think of anything potentially sub-optimal with your customer experience, and use a special offer to neutralize it?

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