Discount offering
sites are sites that build a community around people that
want to benefit from lower prices. They offer your
products and services at a significant discounts to their
members in return for bringing you customers.
If a certain minimum number of people don’t
sign-on to your offer, there is no deal.
How Do
they Work
This type of service
works by allowing you market your products or services to a
group of people at a significant discount. If a certain
minimum number of people don’t sign-up for the offer, there
is no deal. This service allows you to choose what you want
to offer as a deal, the discount you want to give and how
long you want the deal to last.
Each day, service
providers features unbeatable deals on the best stuff to do,
see, eat, and buy in your city. By promising businesses a
minimum number of customers, they secure discounts you won't
find anywhere else.
Potential customers
sign up with the service and maintain an account for free.
You (the vendor), open
your store at and create your deal. Choose what you
want to offer, the discount you want to give, and how long
you want the deal to last. Schedule deals to run whenever
you need more customers.
Once the deal is
active members are notified through social networking media
such as Facebook and Twitter, and email, etc. 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.
Customers walk in and
present their discount coupons, bringing you business when
you want it the most.
The service provider
will then send you payment for your share of the coupons
redeemed.
What Does
It Cost
Service providers make
money by keeping approximately half the money the customer
pays for the coupon. So, for example, a $40 product could
be purchased by the consumer for $20 and then the service
provider and the retailer would split the $20. That is, the
retailer gives a product valued at $40 and gets
approximately $10 from service provider for it.
Advantages
& Disadvantages
Advantages:
1.You
are not required to come up with up-front payment for this
service. Payment comes from potential customers.
2.Since
a minimum number of people must buy for the offer to be
valid, you are guaranteed paying customers. These
subscribers are not looking for “the perfect deal.” They’re
looking for the perfect excuse to try something new. These
type of services get them to your business, and you bring
them back again and again.
3.Customers
find out about great new businesses, and businesses get more
new customers than with any other form of advertising.
4.The
service provider offers one "group discount" per day in each
of the markets it serves. Hence, there is less competition
with your offer.
5. Businesses
can treat the coupons as quantity discounts as well as sales
promotion tools.
6.Buzz
will continue to attract new customers for months following
your feature because customers use social media such as
Facebook and Twitter to spread the word.
Disadvantages:
1.This
method is not suited to all forms of businesses. There are
certain businesses to which these services will not offered
including shooting ranges, abortion clinics and strip clubs.
2.Even
though you don’t have to come up with up-front payment you
give up a substantial amount to bring in new customers.
Implementing Discount Offerings
Note: There are many service providers on the Internet
that offers this type of service. We've chosen to
focus on those that are most popular and will bring you the
best return for your investment.
To
implement social networking choose one of the sites from
below and click on the logo which will take you to the site
where you can sign up for the account.
Population: 144,000,000
Amazon is the largest
online eCommerce site with over 144 million customers.
Amazon Local offers deals throughout the country.
Amazon customers spend 70% more money online every month
than the average Internet user. Amazon only charges a
referral fee.
Click on the icon
to sign up for the service.
Population: 35,000,000
Groupon was launched
in 2008 in Chicago. Groupon serves over 250 markets in
North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. It has over
35 million registered users.
Click on the icon
to sign up for the service.
Population:
46,000,000
Living Social was founded in 2007 and
launched in 2009. It serves over 540 markets in 25
countries, including North America, Europe, and Asia. It
has over 46 million registered users (or members). To date
members have purchased over 22 million deals
Originally started in
1996 and rebranded as Saveology in 2008. Started the daily
deals service in 2011. Reaches more than 4.5 million people
per month. Offers range from movie tickets and
batteries to vacation packages and car leases.
Click on the icon
to sign up for the service.
Population: 2,200,000
The company was formed
in New York. It serves 9 major markets including New York,
Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Miami, San Francisco, and
Washington, D.C. It has over 2.2 million members.
Each sale lasts a week
or until sold out and features the most sought-after
restaurants, top spas, luxury salons, exclusive events,
in-demand shows and concerts, and much more.
Jasmere sells
merchandise from upscale, though lesser-known vendors.
It offers discounts of 50-70% off the regular retail prices.
E-mail alerts are sent daily stating that day's deal which
lasts for 24 hours until the next deal starts.
Jasmere was founded in
2009 in Silver Spring, Maryland and has been featured in
numerous local TV news segments.
Jasmere has been noted
for its “anti-auction” feature, by which the price reduces
as more people purchase the item with all purchasers paying
the final price.
