When Crocs wanted to increase their sales they used analysis of known behavioural attributes to gain an understanding of their customers and decide on a strategy for contacting them. The resulting decision was to send digital – instead of traditional printed – coupons, to their target audience of consumers between the ages of 18 and 50.

‘Crocs customers are on‑the‑go, very active individuals,’ said Jay Custard, global on‑line marketing director at Crocs Inc. ‘Being able to connect with them in a meaningful way via their mobile device allows us to create a valuable shopping experience and to have a one‑on‑one dialogue with our customers’.
Posters were placed in 185 Crocs retail locations throughout the United States posing the question: ‘What is a foot’s bestest friend? Find out and save 15 per cent off today! It is as easy as one, two, three. . .’. The store number and a short code followed, with customers being invited to text CROCS and the Crocs store number to 63103. They would then receive a 15 per cent off coupon by immediate text reply to their mobile phone. The coupon was redeemed by showing it to the cashier at the checkout.
Store associates were trained and motivated to support the programme, spoke with customers about the mobile coupon, and encouraged them to stay opted‑in to receive further communications and discounts from Crocs.
Crocs has discovered that mobile marketing is an extremely efficient and effective way to engage consumers, with engagement and enthusiasm both being described as ‘off the charts’– 94,000 requests for coupons were received during the first month of the campaign.
‘Mobile helps us reach our customers, regardless of their location, and provide them with valuable, useful information,’ said Custard.
Going forward, Crocs plans to offer additional coupons and information via SMS to customers, as well as using the mechanism to drive traffic to retail locations and its website.
Further, there are plans to use advanced mobile tactics such as sending targeted messaging to consumers based on anything from its 

Questions

1. Given that the posters were located in their stores, how could crocs be sure that they were not just giving money away to people who were going to buy from them anyway?

2. How could they track how many coupon redeemers were new customers and how many were returning buyers?