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The Largest 'Offline Marketing' company is....

by Jimian
9 replies
... GROUPON!

Maybe you never thought about it, but do you realize GROUPON is an 'offline marketing' company... How so?

They target local brick n' mortar businesses like restaurants and service providers such as spas, [hair removal is the best-selling service on Groupon] massage therapists, painters, personal trainers...

... offer to drive thousands of people to the biz owners, consult with the biz owner about their biz, put together compelling web copy, and then
through the power of email marketing (using their list, 'list-building'), they push a button and millions of people get the message... and visit the biz owners websites. Voila!

(And on top of it, they charge ZERO up front fees!)

Now THAT is one awesome Offline Consulting Company if I ever saw it.However, even they
can't always deliver to the customer. Sometimes, things just don't work out, and few people buy. Even when they DO buy, it may not work out.

Case in point; I bought a dental Groupon for $49.00 It came with X-rays, cleaning, and/or teeth-whitening. The same day that I called, they said they had an opening.

Wow. That never used to happen before.

I couldn't make it but they had an opening the next day. Wow again. You used to have to wait weeks for an appointment.... And the place was nearly empty when I got there.

So as I'm getting my cleaning, the dental hygienist and I start talking "Groupon."

How's it working? I ask.

"Not so great. Few could afford to 'purchase' any other services they offered. Not even to
book another "cleaning" appointment 6 months later." the hygienist explained.

Wow, I thought. And they did such a good job with me. Took like 2 hrs, explained everything...told me I need "deep scaling" (which I knew) and later booked an appointment for. (Okay, so they got ME.)

Later I spoke with the head Doctor about their website, etc. but they had just hired some online dental marketing firm to drum up business.

One thing that stuck with me as I left... Earlier the hygienst said, "I think marketing on the net is the way to go... because it's 'non threatening.' "

"Non-threatening." ... I think she's right in that sense.

JIM
#company #largest #marketing #offline
  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    I would only agree with your statement, IF you adapted it a little bit.

    Groupon is the largest "offline marketing" company that is operated primarily in the online space...

    That satisfies me more... Especially since before the Internet, all marketing companies were offline marketing companies, and there are some really large marketing companies out there that make Groupon look like a pimple on an elephant's butt...
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    • Profile picture of the author jimbo13
      This is just my opinion but I don't think Groupon are a marketing company.

      Marketing is about positioning.

      All they are is the Worlds largest discount store.

      A newly opened restaurant nearby signed up to Groupon and had a special offer of meal for 2 for £20 instead of £60

      So the place was busy. But it wsn't busy the next week. Or the one after that because as far as anyone is concerned they should not have to pay more than £20 to eat there.(£10 per head)

      You simply end up associating the venue with the price you paid.

      Oh, and by the time you get home you have 10 other e-mails from Groupon telling you to go somewhere else.

      That's what these little businesses need to understand.

      I am not their customer but Groupons customer. Groupon don't care where I go. They couldn't care less if that restaraunt go bust.

      But if a Marketing company went in they wouldn't just say slash your prices 70% would they?

      They would work out a strategy to position that restaurant in peoples minds as a £30 per head place.

      Like I said, that is just my opinion.

      Dan
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  • Profile picture of the author BryanShearer
    Groupon is all about marketing, specifically branding. It is not a discount store at all, it is just a place for businesses to increase their brand awareness in the local community by offering an insane deal for one day. They are basically taking the loss now to build future business.

    Groupon is a huge marketing company with tons of salespeople who know what they are doing. They have grown so fast and it is because of their sales force, plain and simple. Got to love their business model.
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  • Profile picture of the author MaxReferrals
    Yeah, Groupon are real offline geniuses.... They turned down Google's $6 billion offer.
    The two owners might have made as much as $600 million and $1.8 billion, respectively.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan Shaw
    Groupon is good although I have never used their coupons.

    There's another one, Living Social that has started up.

    I say we should start our own!
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    • Profile picture of the author High Horsepower
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      • Profile picture of the author Dexx
        Originally Posted by High Horsepower View Post

        I'm not sure what Groupon teachers the business owners when they sign up, but the experiences I had was boring. I've purchased several Groupons recently.

        Not one of the businesses had done anything to make me feel Special. No follow up marketing, No discount coupon to get me as a repeat customer, No nothing, what a waste of money. Typically the business has to give a Minimum discount off their regular prices of 50%. So if a meal cost normal $50, Groupon sells it at a discount of $25. Now Groupon takes Half of the $25 ($12.50) so the business owner nets $12.50 himself for a $50 meal. What a joke.
        Sounds like an opportunity for a savvy offline consultant to make their introduction based off their experience with such companies *cough*

        ~Dexx

        PS - Wouldn't the Yellow Pages technically be the "largest" offline marketing company?
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      • Profile picture of the author ahlexis
        Originally Posted by High Horsepower View Post

        I'm not sure what Groupon teachers the business owners when they sign up, but the experiences I had was boring. I've purchased several Groupons recently.

        Not one of the businesses had done anything to make me feel Special. No follow up marketing, No discount coupon to get me as a repeat customer, No nothing, what a waste of money. Typically the business has to give a Minimum discount off their regular prices of 50%. So if a meal cost normal $50, Groupon sells it at a discount of $25. Now Groupon takes Half of the $25 ($12.50) so the business owner nets $12.50 himself for a $50 meal. What a joke.
        And then Groupon doesn't even pay that $12.50 per head all at once, they make the biz owner take 3 payments to get their money!

        There's a blog out there explaining how one coffee house, after doing a Groupon deal, literally could NOT make payroll the next month because of their Groupon experience! The owners had to dig into their personal savings to make payroll.

        So for the biz owner, Groupon can easily become an epic fail.

        I say a Groupon'd biz owner is a prime candidate for a Warrior who KNOWS HIS STUFF to come in and educate them about how to use technology to market and leverage the power of lists and internet marketing WITHOUT LOSING THEIR SHIRT in the process! Risk reversal strategies never had such an easy target!
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  • Profile picture of the author John Pawlett
    I am in the process of finishing off a site that is similar to both Groupon and Living Social. I'm just waiting for the programmers to finish up.

    I am focusing on highly targeted local traffic from social media so when a business does add a coupon they will get a near instance return on their investment without giving away the farm.

    I will also be setting up an affiliate (type) system for warriors to be able to sell the service and make a good chunk of money from it.

    This all came about by using Groupon and been completely underwhelmed by their service.

    I think they should have taken the $6B and run, it's a business model that does work for now but I have my doubts to the longevity! (This is one of those sentences that I will look back on in a year or two and it will either make me look like an idiot or a clairvoyant)

    Interesting thread that has already given me some ideas to implement in my model.

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author johninmn
    Some say you have to look at the cost of doing a Groupon as an advertising expense. Yes, you will most likely lose money or break even, but it is doubtful you will have a windfall.

    Not to be mean, but it is the coffee house's fault for losing their a** on the Groupon deal. You can set a limit as to how many Groupons you will sell before it is sold out.

    My big question with Groupon is how beneficial is the "advertising" of doing such a deal. Reports suggest-like in the post above- that only bargain hunters are buying the Groupons and are not returning as repeat customers. They are simply moving on to the next Groupon.

    There is actually, a very unique style Groupon business out there. It is called "The Customer Advantage." No affiliate link here, just Google it. (If you want my affiliate site, just PM me.) It combines Groupon with MLM. Now I hate MLM too, but it works in this case. It is the same MO as Groupon, but The Customer Advantage shares it's part of the revenue with it's patrons.

    Just my 2 cents.
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