In response to this online coupon sites are springing up & plenty of consumers are getting awesome deals at restaurants, hotels, dental offices, horseback riding lessons, & plenty of other categories that they otherwise would not have taken advantage of. But because of the lure of a DEEP, GREAT, DISCOUNT consumers are signing up for a every day e mail with information on the "Deal of the Day" & are sharing the deals with their friends & the viral explosion grows every day.
If you listen to the national media, they are in extreme economic crisis. This is the story they spread today & every day, year after year. So this instills fear, concern, & conservative spending habits after it is beat in to our heads day after day across all mediums. Plenty of people now use coupons that never have before & not out of necessity but because of the fear & concern that the economy could worsen.
There are lots of opportunities for companies to get their message out to the masses with this type of program for FREE or so they would have you think. These programs can be a shot in the arm for a business or it could be the beginning of having to always discount their product or service. The typical program is that you (your company) offer your product or service at 50% or more off your normal cost. Then they sell "vouchers" for $50 meal for only $25 and the $25 that the program collects then splits it 50/50 together with your company effectively giving you 25% of what you would have normally gotten from a customer who found you on their own.
Looks like a lovely deal and it can be for some companies. I have always been of the opinion that not all programs work for all businesses in every market. A cautious evaluation of the program, their expectations and your expectations, is important before doing ANY program discount or traditional marketing or online marketing.
Success is measured in lots of ways for different programs. It is important to understand how to track results for programs like Groupon, Living Social, Bargain Bee, Seize the Deal, I-Deals, etc.
Keep in mind these companies are selling what consumers perceive as a Gift Card. They are not interested in marketing or trying to sell a "voucher for $500 off your purchase of $1500 or more". They are not selling coupons they are selling gift cards. Selling the consumer a Voucher with rules & conditions that they must spend extra money to reap the benefit of what they have already bought defeats the purpose of these programs.
If you want new customers to come in for a special offer there are several key factors you need to consider:
1. Will this be a time thing or are you planning on doing this over & over?
2. Do you have the ability to "up-sell" one time they come in to redeem the discounted offer?
Is your staff trained to properly make this happen?
3. Do you have a goal or limit on how many discounts you want to issue?
4. Is the offer stunning but still valuable?
5. Will your portion of the funds collected from the program cover your hard costs associated with the offer?
6. How much do you need to "up-sell" per redemption to make this a profitable program?
7. Will your staff properly track the program so you can see the actual result of your participation?
There is not thing or media outlet that will work for every business. These online coupon sites are great for consumers I myself buy from them regularly. Sometimes they are great for the company . The key to using these programs successfully is ensuring you have the proper tracking mechanisms in place, the proper staff that can up sell, & realistic expectations.
There are lots of variables to any promotion or promotion program. Companies ought to plan out their strategy for the year & see where this might fit in to their overall plan. In the event that they don't have a plan, their business is down & this is a knee jerk reaction, they may get short term results but suffer in the long term because of not having a plan.
If you listen to the national media, they are in extreme economic crisis. This is the story they spread today & every day, year after year. So this instills fear, concern, & conservative spending habits after it is beat in to our heads day after day across all mediums. Plenty of people now use coupons that never have before & not out of necessity but because of the fear & concern that the economy could worsen.
There are lots of opportunities for companies to get their message out to the masses with this type of program for FREE or so they would have you think. These programs can be a shot in the arm for a business or it could be the beginning of having to always discount their product or service. The typical program is that you (your company) offer your product or service at 50% or more off your normal cost. Then they sell "vouchers" for $50 meal for only $25 and the $25 that the program collects then splits it 50/50 together with your company effectively giving you 25% of what you would have normally gotten from a customer who found you on their own.
Looks like a lovely deal and it can be for some companies. I have always been of the opinion that not all programs work for all businesses in every market. A cautious evaluation of the program, their expectations and your expectations, is important before doing ANY program discount or traditional marketing or online marketing.
Success is measured in lots of ways for different programs. It is important to understand how to track results for programs like Groupon, Living Social, Bargain Bee, Seize the Deal, I-Deals, etc.
Keep in mind these companies are selling what consumers perceive as a Gift Card. They are not interested in marketing or trying to sell a "voucher for $500 off your purchase of $1500 or more". They are not selling coupons they are selling gift cards. Selling the consumer a Voucher with rules & conditions that they must spend extra money to reap the benefit of what they have already bought defeats the purpose of these programs.
If you want new customers to come in for a special offer there are several key factors you need to consider:
1. Will this be a time thing or are you planning on doing this over & over?
2. Do you have the ability to "up-sell" one time they come in to redeem the discounted offer?
Is your staff trained to properly make this happen?
3. Do you have a goal or limit on how many discounts you want to issue?
4. Is the offer stunning but still valuable?
5. Will your portion of the funds collected from the program cover your hard costs associated with the offer?
6. How much do you need to "up-sell" per redemption to make this a profitable program?
7. Will your staff properly track the program so you can see the actual result of your participation?
There is not thing or media outlet that will work for every business. These online coupon sites are great for consumers I myself buy from them regularly. Sometimes they are great for the company . The key to using these programs successfully is ensuring you have the proper tracking mechanisms in place, the proper staff that can up sell, & realistic expectations.
There are lots of variables to any promotion or promotion program. Companies ought to plan out their strategy for the year & see where this might fit in to their overall plan. In the event that they don't have a plan, their business is down & this is a knee jerk reaction, they may get short term results but suffer in the long term because of not having a plan.
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