Promoting a new discount culture

Set to establish itself as Malta’s hottest dot com, electricVouchers.com is the latest site expected to take Maltese and Gozitan consumers by storm. Established last year, the company is now being officially launched to the public. Sean Portelli, Sales and Marketing Manager speaks about the company’s operations in Malta.

Why did you choose Malta as a launch pad?
In Malta, the popularity of discounts, sales and vouchers amongst customers is a reality. People flock to outlets whenever a sale is announced. Also, newspapers, radio and television competitions are extremely popular. And let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to benefit from special offers and reductions at one’s favourite outlet, restaurant or entertainment venue? This is a reality that we wanted to exploit and as such, spurred the company to set up operations in Malta through the launch of electricvouchers.com
Why electricvouchers.com?
The objective was to have a name that is self-explanatory. That is, one that is easy to understand, remember and associate with discounts and added value for money. We thought that the combination of the words electric and vouchers would be a winning formula with all internet users in search of a deal. The image we’re trying to portray is also a young, dynamic and innovative one usually portrayed in advertising.
What is your ‘product’ offering?
The core concept of our operation is providing Maltese and Gozitan consumers as well as a potential of 1.2 million tourists visiting our country with value added deals. In other words, we seek to provide bargains. Thanks to a simple and free of charge access to www.electricVouchers.com, anybody sitting at a computer at home or at the office can browse through a vast range of discounted vouchers, print them through one’s printer and literally go out and redeem the discounts. It’s like printing money. Be it dinner at a restaurant, beauty or hair salons, clothing outlets, travel agencies and entertainment venues, electricVouchers.com will have an offer, that will save you time, effort and money.
Lately, we have been contacting businesses in order to promote their particular offers and discount vouchers on our website. Although we are at an initial stage, this new concept is already generating a huge interest both amongst the business and the consumer markets.
What’s in it for businesses using electricvouchers.com?
Indeed, unlike other customer-generating tools, electricVouchers.com, will prove beyond reasonable doubt it’s power to produce more business than any other advertising medium. Thanks to its simplicity, the site is bound to experience a lot of popularity amongst a wide range of consumers ranging from teenagers, students, housewives, tourists and basically anyone who enjoys access to internet. Therefore, it is very important for businesses to understand and appreciate the advantages they can enjoy thanks to an alternative means of advertising through the internet. Businesses must appreciate the fact that today; internet is fast gaining ground amongst an ever-increasing consumer base. Busy schedules and hectic lifestyles hinder consumers from shopping around for bargains and best value added products or services unless they can do so from the comfort of their home or office.
Therefore, besides a new and innovative concept of extremely cheap and effective advertising, we are offering businesses a 24-hour internet advertising presence and an opportunity to increase their sales through extremely attractive discounts. Moreover, we are also offering international exposure since www.electricvouchers.com is an international franchise and discounts will be available for redemption by an approximate 1.2 million tourists visiting our island. The system also allows for accurate monitoring so that we can provide businesses with tangible information on the effectiveness of their offers. The site will also be linked to a list of Malta’s most prominent websites thus ensuring further coverage.
What success do you envisage for electricVouchers.com?
Apart from a substantial investment to promote the site on the traditional media such as newspapers, television, billboards, radio, e-mail and SMSs, the simplicity with which consumers come to enjoy the benefits of the vouchers available is the key to the success of this venture. The portal gives easy and effective access to valuable offers and discounts that are readily available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and serves people when they are ready to make a purchase. Moreover, all vouchers displayed on our website represent an opportunity to get better value for money through a wide range of discounts and offers on a variety of products and services. All they need to do is choose the bargain/s they are interested in, print it through their printer and go and present it at the respective outlet. It’s like literally printing your own money!
How do consumers benefit from the offers on the site?
It’s like enjoying a one-off sale from your favourite outlet any day you want. Consumers accessing the site will find a menu with a list of different establishments such as restaurants, home furnishings, sports and leisure outlets, jewellery shops, clothes shops, computer shops and more. Clicking on one of them, the browser will list a sub-category of all outlets listed under the selected section and the respective offers and discounts they are offering. Customers will only need to choose the ones that tickle their fancy, print the voucher of their choice and present it when they pay for their bill. They will automatically be entitled to an attractive discount.
Moreover, to give further added value, customers visiting our website will also be offered the opportunity to win fantastic prizes on a monthly basis simply by accessing our site and forwarding the discounts to their family and friends. In fact, each voucher passed on to a friend by e-mail from the site will double up and a panel of judges will adjudicate the winners according to the most creative e-mails sent. To enter these monthly competitions, members simply need to forward any voucher accompanied by a creative e-mail message without incurring charges to access electricVouchers.com and without the need to subscribe. It’s a valuable opportunity that we’re offering and from which we are maximising on the so called "word of mouth" advertising.