Marketing Your Business Through Daily Deals

I have recently signed up for several of the Daily Deal sites ... like Groupon and Living Social.  There are always interesting "deals" to be had.  I have yet to sign up for a deal... yet.. but I came close.  :)  


I wondered if these Group Coupon sites are "good" for businesses.  I explored a couple of reviews and here is What I Learned This Week....  


It can work but you have to be careful and thoughtful.  And.. they work better for some types of businesses than others.  


These sites partner with merchants to offer consumers incredible savings.  While the business owner is only making 25% of the profits (the sites typically take 50% of sales) he/she would normally earn for a typical sale but they are willing to take this short-term loss to boost cash flow, advertise (inexpensively), find new customers and bring old customers back.  To make this work, merchants should carefully design the deal to appeal to new customers and build customers relationships.  You can profit if you only promote underutilized service, products, days of the week or times of the day. 


Finally, a study, conducted at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business by associate professor Utpal Dholakia, polled 150 businesses that did Groupon deal offers in the past year.  The study found restaurants and education companies fared the worst, while salons and spas were the most successful.


Before you sign up for this, do your homework!