Using Groupon for marketing purposes?

dare2dream

Hi,
What is your experience using groupon as part of marketing/promo etc. for your business?
What other sites are similar to Groupon in Ireland?
Thanks for any info.

sandin

It depends on your product really.

We've used one of the sites and have done very well. We added a lot of customers and it is up to us to get them to return.

I would always treat it as part of the marketing budget and ensure that the voucher customer gets as good a service from you as any other customer.

Ignore any demand for 50% commission - like any advertising service, it is open to offers and deals at 10%-20% are quite widespread and 25% is the max you should pay.

Do note that their commission is ex vat whereby unless you are selling books, your sales price includes vat.

three main sites

Groupon
GrabOne (part of independent newspapers)
Living Social

Personally I'd avoid living social as they treat merchants and customers like crap, harass you constantly and will become very very annoying.

dare2dream

Thank you...very helpful.

jimmii

When we opened we used grabone for exactly that purpose. We had little spare cash for marketing and used it to spread awareness that we were trading! From it we have generated a few regular customers so it was definitely worth it. From the direct sales from the vouchers we even turned a profit due to the fact that people seemed to always pick the high margin items and the percentage of people who didn't redeem them. I think we had a couple of hundreds voucher sell so it worked out really well in getting people into the shop and it worked even better for getting people on to the website I think we got just under 600 unique visitors coming via Grabone so it was good to get our site out to a little bit of an audience.

IRE60

I've posted on the boards before on this.

There are huge studies in the US on this and all seem to have different conclusions. The one point i see is the over simplification of the promotion. Voucher=cash- return visitors.
But there are a myriad of variables that have to taken into consideration and all will have some influence on the success/failure of the promotion.
To that end here's a link to a Discount scheme calculator to begin to get a feel on the numbers behind the promotion.
Its easy to use just adjust the numbers to suit your costs/revenue/etc and see the bottom line of the promotion.

http://www.ilevel.ie/media-blog/digital/daily-deal-and-coupon-calculator

C

dare2dream

Very interesting...thanks for sharing

uck51js9zml2yt

don't use groupon. they will fleece you. there are other providers which are better and pay you even if the voucher isn't redeemed
make sure you cover your costs. you can't operate at a loss.. ..ever

The Pontiac

Braydon Tasteless Noblewoman wrote: »

don't use groupon. they will fleece you. there are other providers which are better and pay you even if the voucher isn't redeemed
make sure you cover your costs. you can't operate at a loss.. ..ever

I thought Amazon operated at a loss for years as a strategy to build up a customer base/online presence?

dare2dream

Tatranska: I take it you have had a bad experience with Groupon then? Would you mind sharing?
What other sites do you recommend based on your experience?

jimmii

Braydon Tasteless Noblewoman wrote: »

you can't operate at a loss.. ..ever

Operating at a loss and being worth billions is so in right now though!

uck51js9zml2yt

No personal experience with them but I know businesses who have.
Groupon only pay on redeemed vouchers. So if you sell 100 @ €10 but only 75 sell, you get 750 not 1000. If your price is based on selling 100 then you are automatically operating at a loss. Breakeven point isn't met.

Other firms give you a cash payment up front upon sale and the balance on redemption. They also take less of a cut.

Read this http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219257 and her blog..its worth taking the time.

Have you a proper website? Using wix or weebly wont cut it. People will judge you on its quality. You don't have to spend a fortune but you should get a quality one. Have you a social media presence. In google places you can offer people a discount voucher. Facebook can be used to offer a voucher.
If your business can afford to operate at a loss ,grand. All you need to do is tell your creditors you cant pay them because you made no money selling under cost.

If you're going to do it, choose a provider, work out your costs, set a maximum number of vouchers and make sure your T&C's are set in stone regarding expiry dates etc...and don't let the operator railroad you into signing up. check out the fine print and do the maths. All they want is a sale and don't have your welfare at heart.

Just remember, unless your something special, the majority of your vouchers will be bought by people looking for a good deal until the find the next good deal.

Hope this helps.

dare2dream

Thank you, very informative article on entrepreneur.
I am currently doing research for a business idea that has not got off the ground as of yet, no website as of yet and Weebly was one consideration.

Great info - thanks!