Many online, retail and direct mail companies offer discount coupons, rebates, cash backs etc. to lure new customers. Some companies offer free promo codes as well. How do these codes work?

Let us assume there is a company X. As part of its promotional offer to attract customers, X announces a free X promo Code.

How it works?
The Company X gives out its free promo codes when a customer opts in for some mailing program of this company or is buying its product for the second time or the third. Most often, these codes are given to repeat customers.

In the case of X, these codes can be used during the check-out process on its website, kiosk or a restaurant. Since it is a free code, the customer may get a product or service absolutely free.

Where can I get these codes?
• You can get these codes from almost every consumer product or service company. If you use internet very often and are an entrepreneur, you can get these codes from sites that sell their domains. For example, GoDaddy or Namecheap often come up with such schemes to lure their customers back.
• If you go to coffee shops regularly, you might be given a free code that you can use.

So the next cup of coffee may be absolutely free for you.
• Cab aggregators like Uber use this tactic very often to get new customers. It works this way. For example, Uber would publish a small ad in one of the newspapers targeted towards its intended customers. The message would require the people interested in this offer to send a sms to the company. As soon as this message reaches Uber, the sender gets a code which is composed of digits and characters. This is the promo code that you get on your mobile phone. In most cases, the customer will have to use this code within a few days of him receiving it. At the time of booking a ride, the customer punches the code in the Uber app, and after completion of the ride, the driver does not bill him anything.
• Another way to get a free promo code is to refer your friends, contacts, relatives etc. to different online companies or retailers. Initially, you may get a discount code, but when you are regularly sharing the contact details of your acquaintances, you become eligible for a free promo code.

Good to know
In most cases, the free promo code that you get works for just one time. This code may be self-destructing so after a few days, it may destroy itself on its own. So here is a word of caution to all the young people out here – use this code well within its expiration period.

You cannot use free codes for more than one time. Also, the code that you get may be applicable to just a single product or service.

The down-side of having free promo codes is that the service or the product that you get may not be up to the mark. But it’s still definitely worth a shot!