The Face Behind Townvoucher.com

Mercedes Mussard chats to Sascha Cutura, the founder of Townvoucher.com, to find out more about the website.

Sascha Cutura of Townvoucher.com

How did you start townvoucher.com and what motivations did you have?

I had the idea for Townvoucher at a time when Colchester had lots of empty shops during the recession. The most shops closing down were small independent traders who usually don’t have a big budget for marketing to attract new customers.

Did you take any inspiration from similar sites?  Or have you found since starting the site, businesses have tried to follow your lead?

There were many sites for voucher codes to use on websites of the big High Street retailers. Based on that I came up with, the idea to create a website for small, local businesses only. No big retailers are allowed on the site as our aim is to support the ‘shop local and buy local’ ethos.

How and why did you choose the design of your website?

The design and structure has changed over the last years several times; a bit here and bit there to react on customers’ and business partners’ feedback. Now we are planning a redesign which will give the page a bit more modern styling.

Are you quite selective with the types of brands you have, do you generally contact brands direct or do they usually apply on the website?

We invite all local businesses to join the scheme, but we will exclude the big High Street brands. We don’t want to support the big companies who have a marketing budget for their promotions. The small business need to be supported in order to protect our town from becoming a ‘clone town’. Townvoucher.com is a great opportunity for new businesses to get their name out to the local community and to attract new customers, all by offering a discount voucher.

Townvoucher.com

What incentives are there for businesses to join and how would they benefit from being part of Townvoucher.com?

I’m calling all small, local business owners to join the scheme as it will encourage the local community to shop local before looking somewhere else. Adding a voucher on Townvoucher.com is free of charge. With over 6,000 newsletter subscribers and over 30,0000 monthly website visitors we have established a platform that works great for businesses wanting to promote their offers. We are actively promoting the scheme in and around Colchester to give our partner businesses the best results.

What is your favorite thing about the website?

The best about the site is that you don’t have to sign up or have to pay a membership fee to enjoy the discount offers, as you do on many other voucher and deal websites. I believe it is wrong to have to pay for offers and deals.  In my view it should be simple and straightforward for customers. Find an offer you like, print the offer and simply redeem it.

For people that have never been on your website what can they expect?  And what do prospective customers need to do to make the best use of Townvoucher.com?

Townvocher.com is Colchester’s number 1 discount voucher scheme. If you are looking for Colchester offers, Townvoucher.com  is the place to go. With more than 150 local businesses signed up, Townvoucher has a very good mix of discount offers. Even when you are on the move, our iPhone app is another great way to enjoy  the  offers. If you fancy a deal, use Offers Around Me and you will find all offers around your current position. Then just show the offer on the screen at the business pay point to redeem.

In order to stay up to date with the latest Colchester offers, customers can find Townvoucher on Facebook, Twitter or online.