Groupon is a popular new website that sends subscribers in each city a daily e-mail that contains one heavily discounted bargain from a local business.
Launched in 2008, Groupon has more than 3.7 million subscribers who receive their daily e-mail offers. More than 3,000 businesses have signed on to offer these deals.
Groupon works a lot differently than just sending out your own coupons or putting your coupon in the newspaper.
1. Your business doesn’t send Groupon a dime. If Groupon subscribers want an offer, they must pay for it in advance on Groupon’s website. Groupon then takes a cut of this payment, typically 50% – and you get the other 50%.
2. The offer isn’t valid unless a predetermined number of coupons are sold in a 24-hour period. In addition to email, Groupon also uses social media like Twitter and Facebook to get the word out about your offer.
Businesses that have used Groupon have reported a very large influx of business, not only on the day of the offer, but with repeat business from Groupon offer redeemers who then come back.
Here is an example of a Groupon offer that ran in Tampa.
It shows you the deal, the discount, the savings, the time left to buy and how many people have bought it. It lists highlights of the offer and shows a photo of the business.
Groupon also writes a description of your business.
Some tips for using Groupon successfully and preventing the experience from becoming too costly or overwhelming.
Do the math. It’s typical for businesses to offer discounts of 50 percent or more to Groupon customers. Then Groupon takes about half of what you make from the offer. Can you afford to sell a product or service at this discount? (It can be worth it to get new customers to try out your business.)
Set a limit. You may want to specify the maximum number of coupons you want to sell. Your Groupon offer may lead to more business than you can handle.
Be careful about including your phone number. If you give a phone number in your Groupon offer, you may be swamped with phone calls. You might want to use an online reservation system instead.
Use sparingly. Offering coupons too often can cause customers to shop only when they have one.
Groupon has some informative videos about how your business can get more customers.
As of this writing, Groupon is in these cities
Albuquerque Atlanta Austin Baltimore Boston Charlotte Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dallas Denver Detroit Fort Worth Fresno Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas LA LA-Inland LA-Orange County Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis / St Paul Nashville New York New Orleans Oklahoma City Omaha Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland Providence Raleigh/Durham Salt Lake City San Antonio San Diego San Francisco / East Bay San Jose Seattle Sioux Falls St. Louis Tacoma Tampa Toronto Tucson Virginia Beach/Norfolk Washington DC Washington DC- NoVa Washington DC- Montgomery County
credits:
inc.com
groupon.com
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