New Daily Deals Platform - Looking For Partners/Contributors

Atomico

Hey OP,

What is the difference between your site and the usual daily deal suspects? If you could sum it up in a sentence or two, we are on page 3 of the thread and I still don't get it

Consider also that the reason why the daily deal sites haven't 'innovated' is maybe because there is no money to be made in doing so? What I mean is that sure there may be other ways of keeping merchants and consumers happy - that doesn't mean it will be profitable or even worth attempting.

Also I think the point being made is that if the thousands of people working in these daily deal companies (from the sales rep right up to the CEO and board of directors) haven't thought of something new that will change the game, how likely is it that you have?

I don't mean that in a disparaging way, just that it is unclear how you plan to inject new life into this massively saturated sector, which is clearly up against both buyer and merchant fatigue in fairness.

amcn1

jimmii wrote: »

We actually have had a good return rate from the people who took up the voucher offer. If there was something that would do more to encourage repeat custom would definitely be of interest.

Yes that's what we are building at the end of the day businesses want loyal customers and smart businesses are rewarding there loyal customers with the best deals

amcn1

Atomico wrote: »

Hey OP,

What is the difference between your site and the usual daily deal suspects? If you could sum it up in a sentence or two, we are on page 3 of the thread and I still don't get it

Consider also that the reason why the daily deal sites haven't 'innovated' is maybe because there is no money to be made in doing so? What I mean is that sure there may be other ways of keeping merchants and consumers happy - that doesn't mean it will be profitable or even worth attempting.

Also I think the point being made is that if the thousands of people working in these daily deal companies (from the sales rep right up to the CEO and board of directors) haven't thought of something new that will change the game, how likely is it that you have?

I don't mean that in a disparaging way, just that it is unclear how you plan to inject new life into this massively saturated sector, which is clearly up against both buyer and merchant fatigue in fairness.

Obviously I'm not going to shout out all the USP here , to sum it up is difficult but il try

People will never get tired of availing of deals , it's the type of deals that they can avail of is the issue

The idea for a consumer is to build a site around your specific needs wants etc

Creating a personalised daily deals site for consumers is the key ,

From a merchant point of view , there are and always will be loads of types of Businesses that the platform currently suits for example beauty salons ,

It's bringing in businesses that currently don't feel like the system works for them is the key , providing them with the structure to build several different types of deals to cater for there needs

. . .

So far two people have nailed saying they are interested in this type of project , if any one is interested please mail , there is no point in asking for the USP ( all of them) but of you like he concept that's a start

PaulPinnacle

amcn1 wrote: »

... there is no point in asking for the USP ( all of them) but of you like he concept that's a start

To be fair, I don't think anyone is asking for all of your USPs, they're asking for any.

You've said you've one major USP that is a game changer and that isn't yet live, so you're holding that one back. Fair enough. The issue there is that this is a major red flag. This USP either has technical/implementation hurdles that mean that even by sharing it you're at no disadvantage (which your stance suggests isn't the case) or else it's so easy to copy that you feel the need to retain first mover advantage to capitalise on it, which means that it's very easily copied and the minuscule boost you get from first mover will be eaten up by your much larger competitors in no time. Either way, it's a major red flag that there's no real advantage to your product/service and hence (or at least one of the contributing factors to) the negative reaction you've experienced to date.

At this stage, you're onto your... fourth? maybe fifth thread about this DDS? To date, we've not heard a single USP. That includes the one you've said is public and that the other sites have already copied on you. When met with negative comments, which in a sector of the market that is saturated and a black hole for advertising budgets where very very few have actually managed to find a successful business model is always going to be the case, you reacted defensively and slightly aggressively to the comments. That isn't what anyone would wish to see in a prospective partner or colleague. This might also account for some of the additional negativity you have since experienced. When asked to describe what makes you different, which has happened in numerous threads, you've been unable to present us with anything of substance. It normally comes back to this one USP that will be a game changer, but as that isn't on the table yet that's not an answer. You have a product already at the table and it's one you clearly do believe in and given your convictions I'm sure you work damn hard to ensure it is the best product it can be.

The above isn't an attack, it isn't a personal dig, it's an analysis of what has happened here on the forum over the last few days and where you find yourself today. Sit back for a few minutes, clear your head and think about what really does make you different to the others. Things that are coming down the road are irrelevant, so ignore them for the moment. Here and now, why should I use your DDS rather than any of the other DDS, coupon, moneyback or various other type of sites available to me (technically, I'd push a client to use them all that would allow the current deal level to be accepted if for nothing more than a little brand building and some [very poor to be honest] SEO benefits)?

Atomico

amcn1 wrote: »

Obviously I'm not going to shout out all the USP here , to sum it up is difficult but il try

People will never get tired of availing of deals , it's the type of deals that they can avail of is the issue

The idea for a consumer is to build a site around your specific needs wants etc

Creating a personalised daily deals site for consumers is the key ,

From a merchant point of view , there are and always will be loads of types of Businesses that the platform currently suits for example beauty salons ,

. . .

So far two people have nailed saying they are interested in this type of project , if any one is interested please mail , there is no point in asking for the USP ( all of them) but of you like he concept that's a start

That's all very vague and doesn't answer the questions in my post (and everyone else's questions either). Imagine an investor, how happy with / confident in your proposition would they be, based on your responses.

Nobody here is going to 'steal' your ideas, with respect it is extremely unlikely there is going to be anything ground-breaking here (for the reasons I discussed in my last post), and you stand to gain a lot more by sharing your ideas and getting feedback - that is the whole point.

It's bringing in businesses that currently don't feel like the system works for them is the key , providing them with the structure to build several different types of deals to cater for there needs

As the poster mentions above, you're not thinking critically here (or there is no evidence of it). Why do you think there are certain businesses for which daily deals are not really suited? Could it be that the margin just isn't there?

Take an electronics product with a razor-thin margin. To get people interested in the deal, the price has to be lowered to a price that is compelling enough to reel enough people in to make the deal worthwhile. However, neither you or the merchant can make much on such a deal, since the margins have been completely eroded.

It works for things like beauty salons because the margin is there. Same with activity weekends, luxury products, etc. But that market is well and truly wrapped up and plundered many times over by the big guns - so again we are back to 'what are you going to do differently'?!

amcn1

Our current USP is the partial payment for deals that we offer this has major benefits to both the consumer and business ,

No DDS is currently doing or has used this system it's the first to come to Ireland on the daily deals market and is a very strong USP we currently offer , this is the first one we are going with then more to come once we launch our second full site

I think the last post hit the nail on the head yes there is businesses with tight margins electrical products etc these businesses need exposure and require crafting of good deals incorporating high margin products in to make the deal profitable , I know I'm being vague on this but I'm glad you pointed it out , we are working on this , the set up of our system though allows us to cut our commision rates for such businesses , groupon etc can't due to there model that they run and tbh they don't care about doing it either

What do you make of our first USP

Bandara

amcn1 wrote: »

Our current USP is the partial payment for deals that we offer this has major benefits to both the consumer and business ,

No DDS is currently doing or has used this system it's the first to come to Ireland on the daily deals market and is a very strong USP we currently offer , this is the first one we are going with then more to come once we launch our second full site

I think the last post hit the nail on the head yes there is businesses with tight margins electrical products etc these businesses need exposure and require crafting of good deals incorporating high margin products in to make the deal profitable , I know I'm being vague on this but I'm glad you pointed it out , we are working on this , the set up of our system though allows us to cut our commision rates for such businesses , groupon etc can't due to there model that they run and tbh they don't care about doing it either

What do you make of our first USP

Maybe im missing something here but as a retailer I absolutetly hate that USP, am I right in saying that, say for example I'm selling my product on your site for €40, you are going to charge the consumer an initial fee of (for example) €5 and they pay the remaining €35 when they come to me to buy the product, eat the meal etc? Or have I picked it up wrong ?

All I can see there is a huge benefit for the Deal company as they are getting their admin fee up front, and I'd suggest that a vast number of people will not follow through on the deal as they've only ventured a fiver and they are far more likely to let that go than they would be I'd they paid the full €40 like a normal deal site.

I'd certainly have a serious issue with the intentions of the deal site and their commitment to a my business. And id see very little point in running such a promotion with a far larger chance of defaulting by the buyers.

If I'm wrong with what my understanding is of your proposal I apologise. I'm finding it a bit difficult to understand it.

ImDave

Speaking as someone with a good bit of experience in marketing, and also someone who owns a small business which runs social deals from time to time, I can't see an interest in your proposal from either the consumer or retailer perspective.

What you are essentially doing is charging a retailer €5 for advertising their product/service at a heavily discounted price. The big bonus of social deals are non-renewed vouchers. In my experience (which may be different to other businesses/industries) unused vouchers tends to be in the region of 30%. This portion helps equalise the margin cut of the deal price. With your business model, this is not possible. Secondly, what I like about social deals is the lump sum payment which can provide useful cash flow. A retailer receiving €20/30 or whatever completely intermittantly won't feel the same or have the same effect from a cash flow perspective.

I know where you are coming from with trying to improve an existing offering OP, and some of the best businesses out there have come about as a result of this approach, but I don't believe this is the one for you.

PaulPinnacle

amcn1 wrote: »

What do you make of our first USP

Personally, I can't see any benefit here for the business (other than providing them with an additional option, but one with no obvious benefits in many cases) to speak of.

They'll suffer a huge uptake in unclaimed offers, as the €5 means that the 'cost' of not completing the deal is much smaller to the buyer. What happens to this €5? I assume this is kept as an admin fee by your site? If that's the case, you get all of the benefit and none of the risk, making it a win win for you and causing, justified, cynicism in the retailers.

When the user isn't buying the deal upfront and may never actually go through with completing the deal, with zero reward for the business should they not go ahead, they'd be far better off in placing that deal on a voucher/coupon site (well, multiple sites to get far more coverage and digital footprint) rather than doing it with your site. Sorry, but that's a simple fact.

PPR2013

Speaking as someone who has both run a deal and run a deal site (not in Ireland) I have an excellent grasp on this area.

It is very hard to offer something new to Merchant - When I ran a deal In Ireland I approached six different deal companies - All had differences -

You are correct in saying some hold a % for 3 month after a deal expires however I was offered

50% immediately with the rest after 30 days
50% immediately with rest when the deal expired
80% immediately with 20% with the deal expired
90% after a week and the remainder with 60 days

I was offered additional free exposure in National and local papers & Local Radio.

There are so many of these sites out there that it is genuinely hard for a new one to be different in any great way. I would see you €5 to hold the deal and pay the rest to the merchant as a negative due to the difference in redemption rates.

Speaking as someone with industry experience the general consensus 12 month ago was that the market would evolve into a flash deals environment but personally I think that like any new online venture eventually all the little guys will vanish and leave 3/4 main players.

The cost per acquisition can be high and with commission rates ranging from 10% to 50% it is currently a race to the bottom. Too many of these sites leads to more people using aggregaters who in turn will charge you a commission.

I think you missed the boat on this one.

tricky D

amcn1 wrote: »

YES THAT IS CORRECT WE ARE AT THAT STAGE AND ARE HAPPY TO ENTER AT THAT BUT NO NOT AT THE TYRE KICKING STAGE WITH NO BUSINESS PLAN OUR WEBSITE HAS LAUNCHED ALREADY

This is particularly worrisome imho for a prospective partner or financier.

jimmii

tricky D wrote: »

This is particularly worrisome imho for a prospective partner or financier.

NOT AT THE TYRE KICKING STAGE WITH NO BUSINESS PLAN

to me this reads as they do have a business plan?

Trojan

^^ me too.

But, I think Paul nailed it quite a few posts ago.

I don't see this OP learning & reacting positively to the really great feedback given here, and for that reason, I'm out.

tricky D

jimmii wrote: »

NOT AT THE TYRE KICKING STAGE WITH NO BUSINESS PLAN

to me this reads as they do have a business plan?

Got it.

My kingdom for a bit of punctuation.:)

jimmii

tricky D wrote: »

Got it.

My kingdom for a bit of punctuation.:)

Double negatives FTW!

Fries-With-That

Hi Adian,

Forgive me if I've missed it on your various threads, but what is the name of your deals site ?

Regards,

Fries.

relaxed

Fries-With-That wrote: »

Hi Adian,

Forgive me if I've missed it on your various threads, but what is the name of your deals site ?

Regards,

Fries.

Indeed, if we got to see the website we would have a much clearer picture of what its about.

relaxed

amcn1 wrote: »

2. second one "Pocket Now" deals

example daily deal for hair €35

you pay €5 now to secure the deal( receive voucher) direct on the website

you pay balance to retailer when redeeming voucher

this USP has several advantages from both a business and member point of view

this is ONE of our USP that stands out from yes ANY other daily deal site out there , now back to me looking for people who are interested in this type of project . . .

But whats unique about it? what if the competition just follow suit.

Look at Ryanair for example, long ago their USPs were not dealing with travel agents, charging per bag, charging for desk checkin etc.

All that happens is Aer Lingus and all the rest just followed suit over the years.

If you start with €5 upfront and €30 on the day then if the competitor starts losing market share maybe they will just follow suit.

What if grabone for example, with deep pockets, decide to only charge €2.50 upfront and €32.5 on the day, where does that leave your unique selling point?

cgriffin

OP has got some excellent feedback from some quite wise posters here. I genuinely hope this is appreciated but some of the replies would suggest that perhaps this is not the case.
Anyway there does seem to be a fair bit of a resistance from people to the idea of paying a small admin fee and the balance in-store when availing of the offer.
I actually think this might not necessarily be a bad idea as long the platform is well developed and managed. If the customer has 90 days to avail of the deal they should receive regular email or text alerts until the deadline date has expired.
Similarly the merchant should receive regular updates on how many coupons have been purchased, how many still need to be redeemed and get alerted when the coupons have expired.
The daily deal company should basically provided the merchant with a log in facility where they can view all this information
This way there is full transparency for all parties and the merchant can plan better on a stocking or appointments basis.
From my understanding it seems like if coupons are not redeemed it does not cost the merchant anything.
It certainly favourable when compared with looking for a direct response to an advertising campaign. In this situation one will agree a price, pay for it but have zero comeback if they get a poor response.
The other matter that needs to be considered is if they are receiving direct payment it can assist them in avoid online merchant fees which has been a hidden cost many a business have failed to think about agreeing such campaigns.
People are right though this is not a USP. It can be copied by anyone.
Someone recently told me it now costs Groupon over 10 Euro to acquire a customer. It would be interesting to know what they make on average from a customers first purchase and the percentage of customers they retain for repeat business.
I would suggest that the OP gets a couple of carefully planned survey together. One for merchants and one for customers. Survey over 100 people in each category and use this information to help you come to a decision on the best way to proceed (if to proceed at all)
No matter what you will have to generate traffic in order to have any chance of succeeding. Can the OP explain the strategy for this?

F35

<snip>

I'm sorry OP, but if you're afraid of your "idea" getting stolen then you're obviously not committed enough to it in the first place.

"Work like there's someone working 24 hrs/day to take it all away from you.” – Mark Cuban

Fries-With-That

Hi Adian,

Having viewed the site, I have to say I like its simplicity.

However, I think you need to go back or get someone else to go back and read every word on each page.

When I look at a website, especially a website that is designed to entice me to spend money, I look for professionalism.

I would imagine that the first page most prospective customers visit is the how it works page.

I found 3 simple annoying grammatical errors on this page, and the use of language and punctuation needs to be revised.

It may be my age, but I believe if you want to be taken seriously especially when dealing with a faceless entity that entity has to exude professionalism,sadly the how it works page does not.

A quick overall critical view from a prospective client.

When I click on the link 'how it works', I get taken to a page titled 'How to use'.

If you're telling me how it works, tell me how it works, not how to use your site.

The 'contact us' link doesn't work.

The words you and your are misused, capital letters appear in places they shouldn't be.

I also noticed that on one of the deals the conclusions drawn are incorrect.

Edit, check, edit, check, then check again.

My honest opinion at this stage is that you're trying to do everything yourself. If that's the case you're spreading yourself to thin and the quality is suffering.

Ask for help from family or friends.

I like the idea, but I think you may have brought it to market before its ready to sell.

Regards,

Fries.

ironclaw

Hang on, is this the OPs site?

jmcc

Looks like it. It also seems to be built on a white label deals site software website.

http://www.dailydealbuilder.com/

Regards...jmcc

sandin

I can see where you are coming from, but the execution is all wrong.

What is lacking in this country is a site with details of discounts / coupons etc that is free to use.

A bit like bargain alerts on boards, but operated by a company rather than users adding the coupons / deals.

Have a look at moneysavingexpert.com - operated by Martin lewis and load of tips and coupons, many of which are affiliate links and then because he has a huge number of users, he gets premium price for advertising and also sells slots to companies that want to promote coupons.

A lot easier to set up. a lot less expenditure needed and a lot more potential.

Very easy for one committed person to do and allow for growth over a 2-3 year period.


But your idea and concept at present simply is of no interest to either the business or the consumer.

relaxed

jmcc wrote: »

Looks like it. It also seems to be built on a white label deals site software website.

http://www.dailydealbuilder.com/

Regards...jmcc

Reminds me of the one about the goldrush, the lads that made the money were the ones selling the shovels...


Lots of lessons in this type of thread, for those who read between the lines.

Axwell

Thread closed at the request of the OP.

Apparently the domain was shared in private with some posters who then publicly posted it.