HDM coupon book helps shoppers
New Town Gallery is one of the local Historic Downtown Millersburg businesses benefiting from the HDM coupon booklet.
Always the enterprising types, the business members of Historic Downtown Millersburg set about trying to craft a way to entice more people to shop downtown.
Nine months ago, they came up with the idea of compiling a coupon book featuring as many local downtown businesses as possible, presenting savings so visitors could find value and savings while shopping and touring HDM.
“Initially, we wanted to make something that we could give to tour groups when they came into town on busses, but it quickly evolved into something day travelers and even locals can use to find savings,” HDM executive director Judy Lamp said. “We felt that it gave people one more good reason to come to Historic Downtown Millersburg aside from the many great shops, businesses and eateries we already have.”
Lamp said the idea spawned from members working on the HDM event schedule, and they wanted something to add to the visitor bags that present all the merchant stops in Millersburg.
She said the idea of placing coupons in the bags was a popular notion, but everyone was simply sticking an odd assortment of coupons into the bags, making it look unorganized.
“All of a sudden, we thought we needed to combine all these different coupons into something that would make it easy to handle, convenient for people and easy to throw in your purse,” Lamp said.
The coupon books suddenly became an attractive addition to the bags and have since grown to larger proportions and became a stand-alone promotion.
Lamp said the have placed the coupon books in all the hotels in town, and they are also available at the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau, where chamber director Tiffany Gerber said they are overjoyed to be able to provide something of value to visitors.
“It was a great idea and we’ve seen a lot of people take advantage of the savings,” Gerber said. “And it’s not just tourists who are using them. We’ve had local people stop by and pick one up, so the savings aren’t just tourist-related.”
Lamp said HDM threw the first coupon book together quickly to make it available to people for an event in the downtown area earlier this year. She said they are now in the process of creating a second coupon book that will be even bigger and better.
She said the hope is that by having more time and recruiting more businesses to add to the book, they can create something that will get people talking and provide more savings for shoppers and visitors to HDM.
“From tour groups, bus groups, visitors coming in for the day to shop or to stay overnight, we believe it’s important to provide people with something that they will remember and might entice them to come back again,” Lamp said.
The booklets are also available at Berlin Grande, which ties together two very marketable communities in Holmes County.
Lamp said the recent Jeep Jamboree in Holmes County told the merchants everything they needed to know about the success of the coupon books.
“So many of those Jeep people were carrying and using them,” Lamp said. “It was neat to see, because it was good for them, and it was nice for our participating businesses.”
Lamp said each merchant provides the coupon of their choice, submits it and the collection is made into a 2-1/2-by-6-1/2-inch booklet. She said with mor time they would love to see more businesses respond.
She said she expects the coupons to change through each of the various printings, so that should keep them fresh and inviting for shoppers who visit Millersburg often.
“If you use a number of them, it adds up pretty quickly to some great savings,” Lamp said.
Lamp added that the books can also provide value to locals who shop and eat in HDM, and that seeing the community of HDM businesses working together to create something that entices people to visit Millersburg rather than just their shops was wonderful. If it continues to grow, the coupon book should present even greater value next spring when the second edition comes out.
The coupon books are free to anyone who requests one.