Online Group Couponing Services
I am a BIG bargain fan. Even online – I always Google for a promo code before I hit submit on my shopping cart. As a marketer, not only do I love a good coupon - I love the direct response aspect of proudly presenting the coupon that brought me to a location I may not have visited otherwise. It tells the retailer or restaurant that their marketing worked, because here I am purchasing the product!
So – I was an early promoter of Groupon.
However, as other companies have developed and replicate the Groupon model, there is a mixed reception.
Recent articles on the topic consider whether these deals create a culture of bargain-hoppers. If you are concerned about one-hit wonders, use the service to target slow periods in your business. A restaurant with slow lunch times in the off-season could offer a coupon that drives lunch traffic and expires prior to peak season. A retail custom stationer could offer a holiday card deal in the summer months.Business owners that plan this way and wait patiently for the appropriate time for an offer to drive business tend to enthusiastically endorse this marketing tool.
Tips for Group Couponing Success
1. Note on the coupon itself whether the bearer has done business with you before. This is the easiest way to survey without slowing down the transaction. You can review the slips later to track new traffic versus existing customers. These deals offer an opportunity to introduce your business to new people and offer a nice “thank you” deal to existing customers.
2. Track the number of redemptions. You need to provide a great deal to encourage people to pay upfront for your offer. You share the revenue of the pre-paid coupon with the service that markets the offer for you. If this feels like too much for you, track the redemptions. Consider the number of redemptions to the number sold. Consider the percentage of new people to your business in the redemptions. Look at the bigger picture to get the full story at this marketing program’s conclusion to determine your campaign’s success.
3. Create a staff incentive contest. If an enthusiastic staff greets and serves your group-coupon-bearing customers, it will make an impression on the consumer. Create a contest to make the program worthwhile for the staff. Wait staff may be disappointed when a successful restaurant promotion brings them smaller tips than a full-price meal. Offer an incentive for the employee with the most coupons in a set period of time. In retail, offer incentives for the most units upsold (gently). Whatever your business, determine an opportunity to keep your staff engaged in the goal to make a great impression on the new customers to bring them back!
4. Offer a postcard with your social media channels as a takeaway. Include on the handout that you will promote future specials, coupons and online group coupons through your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Googe places, etc. accounts. If you hand them the information on a good quality postcard, they are more likely to remember to link/like/follow you when they are in front of their computer. A QR Code on the card offers a high-tech solution for encouraging consumers to connect directly with you.
UPDATE – October 13, 2011: WBZ-TV Boston reported today on group couponing businesses from the point of view of the new customer in their story Companies Can Not Keep Up With Demand Created By Groupon. One customer was told it would be months before she received her custom-ordered item that she expected in 3 weeks. Another mentioned that the dining experience at a restaurant would not be the same.
When integrating an online group couponing product (now too many to list – I now get offers from Amazon, too) – develop a plan to deliver. The revenue provides a short-term win to your bottomline. However, if it hurts existing customer relationships and doesn’t establish good new ones, it may not work for your business in the long run. Unless you prepare your business to provide exceptional customer service throughout the redemption period.