JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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Just curious what other people think about this ad on CU:
I like Groupon as a consumer. It's not great for the businesses that use it, but it's a loss leader that hopefully drives traffic for them.
It's the first time I've seen it on here. I actually think it's relevant to the community and am glad to see other forms of monetization on CU. People should make money by delivering value. There's value there.
Anyhow, I am curious about other opinions? Irrelevant, could care less, care?
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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We used groupon and have found it to be super effective so far. I don't know if I signed anything that would hurt met legally if I said exactly how it worked financially... The point remains though, it is pretty expensive but you can actually prove paying customers through your door, not impressions, not visits but actually customers and that is pretty powerful. Most businesses would pay 10 bucks to get an old customer back through the doors or get a new one in for the first time.
There are some things I would change (THE COPY, THE COPY, and THE COPY) but all and all I wouldn't say it is bad for the businesses that use it.
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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Friends in other cities had been raving about it for awhile so I was really excited when it came here. I have yet to have a positive experience with Groupon so I don't know, I guess I'm not the target audience.
First was a Groupon for Phia (the salon I go to) that I didn't find out until I bought 3 could not be used by existing customers. I was able to return them immediately which was nice, but WTF? Uh, thanks for not appreciating the people that already spend a lot of money there. Since I'm not going to punish my stylist by not going there anymore, the only thing I can really do is never buy any more product there. The second experience I had was buying a massage Groupon only to have the charge reversed on my cc a few days later without any explanation. They couldn't have sent an email? I sent an @reply on Twitter and did not receive a response that way either as to why it was reversed. I was really looking forward to it!
Other than the salon (which I think is insanely overpriced as is), I wouldn't buy one for a place I already go to - same with fudha, Dine Originals, and all the other places you can get those discount coupons (I really wish they'd stop calling them gift certificates!!). So I guess it's more for people who don't already support local businesses and want to try them out?
Walker
The KLD / Downtown
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JonMyers wrote >>
It's the first time I've seen it on here. I actually think it's relevant to the community and am glad to see other forms of monetization on CU.
Today's the first day it's been up. You've got a good eye. ;)
We're experimenting with both Groupon and Fudha this week to see if their affiliate/referral programs make sense for us to utilize.
Either way, I agree with you that they're both great services for consumers who are always on the lookout for good deals. Glad to hear that it's worked well for Tigertree. I'm hopeful that it's worked out well for other small/local/independent businesses as well.
JonMyers
HCMC ✈
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Walker, yeah I think Groupon has an interesting business model and they've raised a ton of money. $35 Million so far.
With the cash in the bank, I don't think they'll be going anywhere for a while if they continue to deliver this type of value to small business as described by TigerTree:
Groupon overview:
mrsgeedeck
Castle of Lions
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So far I've tried both Groupon and Fudha, and I'll admit, I've had a better Fudha experience than Groupon. Similar to somertimeoh, I contacted Groupon with a question about my account (via email) and never received a reply back. I so appreciate that the coupons on Groupon are more diverse, but in many cases I've found it too salon/spa heavy.
Tigertree
771 N. High St.
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Also it works just like gift certificate, at least with us. If you want to spend more than the 25 bucks you are obviously welcome to but I don't know what makes it different than a gift certificate for us.
We thought about the existing client, purpose of advertising.... stuff too but thought of it like cell phone companies (thanks to Guy Kawasaki) and didn't want to piss off existing loyal clients by giving new clients a cheaper buy in so we tweeted the hell out of it the day we were up to make sure our customers knew. Even let a few log in to the store computer day of.
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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A gift certificate (to me) is as good as cash and in your case TT it sounds like that's what it means to you, but others like the Phia thing it might as well have been a coupon you're paying for the right to use.
ETA: It's just now occurring to me that this thread was probably meant to be some kind of techy discussion with social media types. Sorry :(
maverickguy
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I thought Groupon was Hot when it first came online. Evidently some others did as well as the group buying market has become much more crowded. What I dont care for is how an organization soo into social media can get away with spamming so much. Would would think all their social media strategists and web geeks would frown upon that sort of thing...I guess not.
http://americasnewsnow.com/does-facebook-give-spam-passes-to-some-of-its-advertisers-like-groupon.html
myliftkk
Columbus, OH
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Looks like Groupon's future is fading at the speed of a Bachman candidacy:
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-more-bad-news-for-groupon-sales-team-files-class-action-suit/
In a filing in Chicago federal court this week, former salesperson Ranita Dailey confirmed she will be lead plaintiff on behalf of Groupon employees who seek to recoup overtime that the company allegedly failed to pay. The suit claims that Groupon violated federal and state labor law, and demands three years of back wages and punitive damages for hundreds of employees....
After months of being the toast of the startup world, Groupon has hit a rough patch lately. In August, the company lost 50 percent of its web traffic from its June peak, while traffic for rival deal site Living Social rose 27 percent, according to Experian Hitwise. Also last month, a federal judge in San Francisco permitted a tour operator to proceed with a merchant class action lawsuit over alleged false advertising. Meanwhile, this week, Google (NSDQ: GOOG)—which offered to buy Groupon for $6 billion last winter—expanded its daily Offers program to five new cities.
The new class-action suit, originally filed last month, doesn’t contain detailed allegations, but does include a bimonthly pay stub that shows Dailey worked 106 hours at a base rate of $15.62 an hour. During this time, she received 19.75 hours of overtime pay and $478 in commission.
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