Turn Your Couponing Skills into a Career

Every time you walk through the grocery store, you are unknowingly interacting with dozens of types of professionals’ work.  The obvious ones are farmers and the graphic designers who make the pretty packaging that helps you spot your favorite products at a glance. But did you know that even the prices you pay were set by people who do just that for a living? Yes you can consider couponing as career!

Pricing consultants and marketing specialists who understand sales and coupons are integral to the retail shopping market.  If you are good at intuiting what works for both consumers and stores, you can make big money.

Since you are on ChaChingQueen, you probably already know the basics of how to save and even make money using store sales and coupons.  To level up your couponing experience into a regular job that utilizes your knowledge of how stores operate and how savvy consumers make choices, here are some things to consider. 

You Know Their Customer

You know all about the store’s customers because you are one of their customers.  More importantly, since you bargain shop, you are the most challenging customer to target.  Since you can help a store attract someone who thinks like you, you will give that store a huge advantage.

Chances are you already know that you have the most opportunity to save if you are willing to be flexible with what you buy.  Buyers who have the option to purchase or not are called elastic consumers. 

Those who must make a certain purchase, either because of real circumstances or rigid preferences, are called inelastic consumers. Most consumers fall somewhere in between, especially in the grocery store.

There are brands and items a consumer will not waiver from, but other things that consumer is willing to skip or substitute.  As a coupon expert, this tends to be your forte.  A coupon has no value if you will never use the item that you could pay only pennies for. 

On the flip side, if there is a product that gives you serious value, you are likely willing to forgo the cheaper alternative of poorer quality.

You Can Think Like A Business Person

If you are interested in a career in couponing, realize that you can think with a business mindset.  You already do the math to calculate what is a good deal. You also do the math to decide what is worth your time, and what is worth investing your money in.  That’s what living frugally is all about. 

Tips For Couponing as A Career

If you are interested in a possible career in the art and science of consumers, consider adding these four things to your repertoire.

First, when you shop think about how the store is doing what it’s doing.  How is the store organized?  Where are sale items placed? How are prices displayed?  Paying attention to the techniques retailers use to influence shoppers will help you understand their business. It may help you avoid your own spending pitfalls.

Second, understand that the consumer and the retailer both have to win for the system to work.  Shoppers won’t shop where prices are consistently too high.  Stores can’t stay open if they don’t make enough money to make it worthwhile. 

If you pursue a marketing job, your best skill will be to balance the needs of your customer, the store, and the store’s customers. That way both feel like they’ve won. 

Third, expect to do some math. There are some fairly complex math formulas to figure out how to set the value of a coupon. The retailer wants to ensure they get the best overall value from their customers.  You are already doing tons of math all the time as you run your household. 

If you want to earn money as a professional in the world of coupons, look into some easily accessible online classes to help you get comfortable with the bigger formulas that the bigger retail players use.  A class like ProPrep’s Math 2940 will have you speaking and running the numbers like a pro.  Hint: you can do this.

Fourth, since you really are already immersed in the world of consumer pricing, give yourself credit.  Keep track of what you save and how you do it.  Now add those accomplishments to your resume.  You’ve earned it.

In Conclusion: Couponing As A Career

If you love couponing, then you can turn it into a career. The toughest part may be simply knowing it’s possible.