Great, cheap coupons just got easier

Buy Now Northwest, a marketing website of the Coeur d'Alene Press that offers customers local goods and services at half-off the normal price, unveiled its new website Friday.

So far, so good.

The goal of the Buy Now Northwest operation is to encourage consumers into trying new things, to visit new businesses, to discover what new products and services fit their tastes and lifestyles. Eventually such exploration builds relationships between the consumer and the business, increasing the customer base of a business exponentially.

Buy Now Northwest is making significant improvements to its website, buynownorthwest.com, and relaunched the site Friday.

"We've made this site much more user friendly," said Account Executive Jacob Myong. "The customer experience has become much more efficient and less time-consuming. We are happy with the changes, the businesses are happy with the changes, and the customers are happy with the changes."

New Media Manager Mike Alexander is confident about where Buy Now Northwest is going.

"For everyone who has ever used Buy Now Northwest, we have a new and improved one," said Alexander.

With the new site, all purchases are electronic, so customers can print their certificates at any time. Consumers can also use their smart phones to redeem a certificate.

"It will be a much easier process to retrieve and print certificates," Alexander said. "The world is a rapidly changing place and one of our roles is to help the customers and business owners connect the dots in this digital environment."

Possessing a strong local edge with local representatives at business owners' fingertips sets Buy Now Northwest apart from other gift-certificate sites like Groupon, LivingSocial or Thrillist Nation.

"As a local business, we have a good pulse for customers and we can help them think outside of the box for their advertising campaigns," Alexander said.

Myong believes local businesses are the best candidates to fuel local business efforts, too.

"The major difference between us and Groupon is that we are more intimate and provide face-to-face customer service with single-representative account management."

As an online vehicle, Buy Now Northwest can quickly disseminate information through ads and digital certificates to a local or mass audience, depending on the scope of the business.

"For a business it will dramatically increase a customer base by bringing people through their door instantly," Myong said. "Businesses can call us and participate right away. We can get you up and live in a matter of hours."

Myong can be reached at jmyong@cdapress.com or 664-8176 Ext. 3113.