"The $10 Coupon Fail." Or, "Marketing Lesson Number One."

I'm not one for sitting down on a Sunday morning and clipping 25-cent coupons out of the newspaper. Besides, those of you who follow my blog know that I don't get the newspaper any more.

I don't go out of my way to look for deals, because I'm a buyer of convenience. If I see something I want, I get it. Like the Keurig coffee thing I just bought. I never drink coffee. I despise the taste. But I figured it would look good in the kitchen, so I bought it.

After all, I could use it for iced tea.

If I see a deal on one of these dime-a-dozen deal-of-the-day sites for a restaurant I frequent, I'll usually bite. If giving my email address gets me 20% off a single item at Bed, Bath & Beyond -- I'm in.

One such deal I came across the other day was for the red sauce chain, Maggiano's. The promise of a $10 coupon for joining their email list caught my eye since I occasionally visit the prepared-in-a-factory, served-on-a-plate Italian joint.

Seconds after submitting the email address I use for such in-box cluttering promotions, an email arrived with a link for my $10 coupon. As I started thinking about the heartburn the pomodoro sauce was going to induce, the excitement of the moment turned into a marketing person's nightmare.

My ten bucks off suddenly turned into an unexpected error -- and a great topic for a blog post.

If I remember correctly, rule number one of marketing is: "Test. Test again. Then keep on testing." Testing should not only include different creative, different offerings and different hooks, it should also includes testing the technology behind the promotion.

Maggiano's made me hungry for the deal. I gave up my email address. I fulfilled my end of the bargain. But no coupon for me.

I'm not going to lose any sleep over my loss. I would be if this were one of my company's promotions that went awry. The last thing any marketing person wants to do is turn off prospective customers. Which is why that number one rule of marketing should always be followed.

Technology fails, so stay on top of it and make sure it's not impeding the success of one of your promotions.

After all, the only heartburn you should have is from the pomodoro sauce, not from listening to customers complain about their missing coupon.

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