Discount coupons have long been used by merchants and companies to market their products. Coupons have a lengthy history.

The whole concept of coupons first started in 1894 when the druggist Asa Candler gave out 'handwritten tickets' for a free class of Coca-Cola! This proved to be a successful venture and we're still drinking the secret black mixture even today.

Just the very next year, C.W. Post created the first grocery coupon by giving shoppers one cent towards the purchase of a new health cereal, Grape Nuts. And as they say, the rest is history. The discount coupon was born.

By the Dirty 30's, coupons became a household stable as an efficient way of saving money during the Great Depression. It helped many families survive through a very difficult time by putting more food on the table. Even today, for low income and middle income families, coupons can stretch the weekly shopping budget and put more food in the grocery cart.

You can read more on the history of coupons here: www.couponmonth.com

And according to this same coupon site, coupons are becoming even more popular with 76% of the American population using coupons. The average coupon was only worth $1 but in total it saved shoppers around $3 Billion in 2004. Companies and manufacturers offered up more than $300 Billion in coupons in the same year. This amounts to significant savings for the prudent consumer.

The first National Coupon Month was celebrated in 1998 and has continued each year since, raising the profile and highlighting the importance of coupons in our daily lives.

With close to 80% of shoppers using coupons, covering all the major age groups, it can add up to one powerful marketing tool. Coupons can be a very effective tool in reaching your targeted market segment and selling your products. One every business should take a serious look at and see if it's appropriate for their products.

Coupons can be used as a low-cost way of introducing your product into the marketplace. Giving out free samples or discount coupons can gather loyal customers who first try your product for free or at a discounted rate.

Building brand loyalty is the one of the hallmarks of a developing a successful product or service. Using coupons is one method of bringing your customers back for more, again and again. Over time, your products will gain the trust of the consumer.

One Company with a long history of using coupons is Dell Computers. Boosting sales and bringing shoppers into the stores looking for the latest and best Dell Bargain. It can prove to be a very effective way of marketing your products.

With the advent of the Internet, shoppers can now get many coupons online; including Dell Coupons. It can save you $100's Off the price of a Dell product. Similar to Dell, many companies and sites now use online coupons and discounts to market their products.

As the Internet expands, so too does the consumer base for your company's coupons, introducing a whole new audience to your products. Savvy marketers exploit this advantage to give their products a competitive edge in a very competitive world.

Offline or online, coupons can be a very effective marketing tool. It can build customer loyalty, move inventory very quickly, boost your sales and help you reach your targeted audience. It can be the ultimate marketing tool every company or business should consider using.

This author's articles have appeared on such sites as 'Thetechzone', 'Promotionworld' and 'Addme'. His main web site is 'Bizwaremagic' -- offering free Internet Marketing Guides on such Topics as RSS Guide, Spyware Removal Guide, Notebook Computer Guide, Opt In List Building Toolkit, and much, much more!