Utilizing Groupon

In this crazy world of internet based promotion and social media, small businesses have more access to their customers than ever before.  Whether it is through creating a Facebook page or building a Twitter profile, businesses can relay information to their most loyal followers faster and more effectively than ever.  One thing that had been put to good use through conventional social media methods was the use of coupons.  Introducing coupons through Twitter or Facebook has been a somewhat common practive for many small businesses that took advantage of the programs.  My father, who as I've mentioned previously owns a dry cleaners, offered exclusive coupons to Twitter and Facebook followers upon adapting the technologies for his business.  While this is an effective method of offering price promotions to your consumers, there is a new avenue that small businesses can take that has become a national craze:  Groupon.

Groupon is a deal a day type of site that offers great discounts for local businesses in different regions.  The company offers one Groupon per day in each of the markets it serves. The Groupon works as an asssurance contract using ThePoint's platform: if a certain number of people sign up for the offer, then the deal becomes available to all, if the predetermined minimum is not met, no one gets the deal that day.This reduces risk for retailers, who can treat the coupons as quantity discounts as well as sales promotion tools. Groupon makes money by keeping approximately half the money the customer pays for the coupon.  So, for example, an $80 massage could be purchased by the consumer for $40 and then Groupon and the retailer would split the $40. That is, the retailer gives a massage valued at $80 and gets approximately $20 from Groupon for it. And the consumer gets the massage, in this example, from the retailer for which they have paid $40 to Groupon.

This is a great tool to acquire new customers, make some money, and just generally spread your name.  Also because Groupon is a growing website, it looks very progressive for a small business, and consumers like to see small businesses that are with the times and on top of the latest technologies.  Overall, Groupon is a great avenue for small businesses to take and offers a myriad of opportunities to grow your success.