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We all know that the main purpose of invoices is to collect payment, but have you given any thought to using invoices as business promotion? Including promos with your invoices can be a great way to bring back existing customers and even attract new customers.

An invoice promotion can be as simple as printing “Bring this invoice with you on your next visit and receive 10% off” on your current invoice form. Return customers and clients are the meat and potatoes of small business; this gives them an additional reason to come back. Encourage them to come back promptly by including a date or specified time frame in your promo, such as “… until June 15th, 2021”.

Another approach is to add a coupon promo to your invoice. You can either print this at the bottom of the invoice as a “tear-off” promo or have the coupons printed separately and include them with the invoices.

Besides offering customers a certain percentage off their next purchase, you might use a coupon promo to advertise particular specials, either products or services that are currently on sale, or a “buy two, get one free” promotion. The advantage of using promos with invoices that can be “torn-off” or otherwise easily separated from the invoice is that your current customer or client might pass them along to someone else, giving you a chance to win a new customer.

If you want to focus your promo on bringing in new customers, you might try something such as a “bring-a-friend” discount. You could even offer the original customer who brought in the promo coupon or sheet a certain discount on products or services if he or she brought a friend into the store, and a higher discount if he or she brought two friends in.

The exact promotion you use with your invoice is only limited by your imagination. Anyone with a computer and printer can easily design a coupon or promo sheet that can be attached to an invoice. As you’re sending out an invoice anyhow, why waste such a potentially valuable promotion opportunity?