59 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
59 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Crush it with daily deals. This is crazy.

by TheBigBee
46 replies
This is a super scaled down (hype free) version of an eBook I intend to sell soon.

DISCLAIMER: I HAVE ABSOLUTELY ZERO INTENTION OF MARKETING IT ON WARRIOR FORUM, OR LETTING ANYONE ON WARRIOR FORUM KNOW HOW / WHERE TO PURCHASE IT. I SOLEMNLY SWEAR. SO THE TROLLS WITH "OPINIONS" CAN SAVE THEM. READ ENOUGH BOOKS, DOWNLOAD ENOUGH DATA, ANALYZE THE PLATFORMS AS I HAVE. BETTER YET, WORK FOR GROUPON AS A SALESMAN AS DID FOR 7 MONTHS BEFORE YOU TROLL.

THIS IS ACTIONABLE AND FREE INFORMATION ANYONE WITH ENOUGH IMAGINATION AND INTELLIGENCE CAN UTILIZE TO PICK UP THE PHONE ON MONDAY AND MAKE $1,000.

I welcome you guys' thoughts.

Daily Deals are Huge. The key problem with the model is that the merchants:
  1. Cannot schedule them when they'd like. They're at the mercy of Groupon, Living Social, Amazon Local.
  2. The daily deal sites own and control the e-mail lists (data).
  3. Merchants walk away with 25 cents on the dollar (avg).
Solution:


Use a combination of something like Betwext, and use the Closely platform to enable merchants to it themselves. This solves all those problems. They get their own list of proven deal buyers, they schedule their own deals, and they walk away with more money as with a $10 offer on a daily deal site, they would have made $5, with you they make $8. You split the $2 with Closely (charge separately for texting). The cool thing about Living Social and the gang is that they show you exactly how many deals have been sold for a given business. You can use this as leverage to build up the value of charging them up to $1k to set everything up. If a guy has sold over 200 deals on day one, push; "keep those customers for life."
#$25 #crazy #crush #daily #deals #make #today #tomorrow
  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    This sounds good but what is the service you are referring too betwext? How are you going to take payments for the sale of the coupons?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747461].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    Also where are you going to get the list from?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747482].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author umc
      Betwext is an sms provider, so he's proposing to do this via text message. The question about where he will get a list is probably the most important.
      Signature

      Simple "pay what you want" life coaching services online.
      Get out of your own way in business. It's personal. Click Here

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747493].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Originally Posted by thomasmps View Post

      Also where are you going to get the list from?
      Simple.

      Post a great big poster asking people to text their e-mail address to 555-555-5555. Download list from Betwext and import it to Closely. Train the merchant to give out a simple flyer to every customer who redeems a Groupon instructing them to text their e-mail address. On this flyer be honest with customer; "Groupon is hosing us, I'd rather give you 50% myself next time." What customer is not opting in?

      Keep in mind that you are running the deals for the business owner. They should not have to do a single thing except make sure Groupon customers get a flyer.
      Signature
      FILL IN THE BLANKS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747628].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author misterme
        Originally Posted by TheBigBee View Post

        Simple.

        Post a great big poster asking people to text their e-mail address to 555-555-5555.
        Like a billboard on a highway? Post where? Sorry for the confusion. I'm trying to understand if using Groupon, for example, taps into a large database of possible new customers, then posting this great big poster is your suggestion for an alternative way to speak to a crowd outside of the business' already existing client list? Or do you mean put up a poster in the business to ask its existing patrons to give their email addresses?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750032].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author SteveSki
          I have been trying to hook up with Groupon here in Australia but they just ignore me. But Living Social runs my deal several times a year but after the first deal they called me and said the only way they would continue to run me again was if I gave them 100% of each voucher they sold... I happily agreed because each person they send me generates at least $500 in profits.

          I do pretty good with building my own list and getting on the phone calling each person up and inviting them into my portrait studio but it's so much easier when LivingSocial sends me another 100 people without me doing anything!

          Cheers,
          Steve
          Signature
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750086].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
          Originally Posted by misterme View Post

          Like a billboard on a highway? Post where? Sorry for the confusion. I'm trying to understand if using Groupon, for example, taps into a large database of possible new customers, then posting this great big poster is your suggestion for an alternative way to speak to a crowd outside of the business' already existing client list? Or do you mean put up a poster in the business to ask its existing patrons to give their email addresses?
          Sorry that you were so confused, I posted minimal details as I was sure 99% of you would flat figure this out. However, I see my 3 year old son learns better from story telling, so I am going to be generous with my time and help you understand in the context of a story...

          It's Tuesday, and "Jim's Pizza's" daily deal has been sent out to hundreds of thousands of people in his area. Jim is surprised to see that 400 people have bought his $10 for $20 deal. Jim prepares for the big rush, and hopes that many of those 400 people will convert to long term customers.

          Jim is a smart cookie, his friend Bill has already helped him map out a strategy to keep most of those customers. On the day the Groupon runs, Jim wakes up, and picks up a poster from the local printer that says; "Groupon customers, thanks so much for coming. Text your e-mail address to; xxx-xxx-xxxx to receive amazing deals like this every week." Then on the poster Jim also includes a notice in big bold letters that assures people he will never send unsolicited marketing material. Mary comes in. She's a college girl, and she wants to redeem her Groupon. The sign caught her eye, but, she didn't quite act. So, as is the necessary with Groupon, you must announce that you are there to redeem one, before it is redeemed. So Mary goes to the register and says; "I have a Groupon." The employee has been briefed that morning to immediately hand these Groupon patrons a business card sized flyer and tell them; "we'd love to have you back, and do these more often." Or something to that effect.

          Of the 400 Groupons Jim has sold, he is able to train his staff to work them and has received 200 Opt Ins. Jim's friend Bill will be responsible for using the Closely platform to a) market to those opt-ins, b) have those opt-ins "go social" and share to Facebook, Twitter, etc.

          Using the Closely platform, Bill - with Jim's permission markets the following deals which turn out to be HITS in Jim's college town.
          • Rainy Day Deal; It's a sun shiny day, but Bill and Jim sell forty $10 for $20 on a rainy day deal. Jim's net cut is $8. But, it's even more because Jim just paid the fixed costs he'd be losing when it rains in advance.
          • Monday Deal: Monday's are the slowest days of the week in the pizza business. But college kids buy cheap. So as was the case with the Rainy Day deal, Jim sells a Monday only deal and is able to trim at some of his fixed costs on Monday, and relies on appetizer and drink sales to balance it all out.
          • Birthday Deal; Bill, on behalf of Jim puts out a 100% free birthday deal which the whole list redeems, and then shares. It's simple, they come in with their ID on birthday for a free meal.
          • Special Events Deal: Special events can kill some restaurants and do great for others, Jim's Pizza is on the losing end, so he looks at the calendar and begins to attack the special events 1 by 1.
          I hope this clears up your confusion and empowers you to pick up the phone each day as Groupon delivers fresh leads to your inbox. You can be "Bill" in this case, and build up a hefty little auto pilot income with just 30 restaurant clients.
          Signature
          FILL IN THE BLANKS!
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750130].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author misterme
            Originally Posted by TheBigBee View Post

            Sorry that you were so confused, I posted minimal details as I was sure 99% of you would flat figure this out. However, I see my 3 year old son learns better from story telling, so I am going to be generous with my time and help you understand in the context of a story...
            That's very condescending of you. Wish you the best.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750214].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
              Originally Posted by misterme View Post

              That's very condescending of you. Wish you the best.
              As were your questions. "Billboar...." lol
              Signature
              FILL IN THE BLANKS!
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750294].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author John Durham
            Originally Posted by TheBigBee View Post

            Sorry that you were so confused, I posted minimal details as I was sure 99% of you would flat figure this out. However, I see my 3 year old son learns better from story telling, so I am going to be generous with my time and help you understand in the context of a story...
            Wow, guess I breezed by this. Totally not cool.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7754348].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author Sys4
              Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

              Wow, guess I breezed by this. Totally not cool.
              This is why they made the edit button. Cool would be removing that slight* from his post - it takes away from his valuable information. Just a suggestion...

              *I say, "slight", but I can see a case for hasty writing and poor choice of words. Most people, my self included, find a good illustration ("story") helpful in a learning environment. But still, I'd edit/remove it to prevent misunderstandings or hard feelings.
              Signature
              SYS4 - White Label Web Design
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7754867].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    Well that my friend is very important, that's one of the reasons groupon can stay around because most small businesses don't build a list.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747523].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    Without marketing education these small biz owners will not be able to build a list and use it properly. On top of that they wont know how to handle the customers properly in order to get repeat business.

    If a small biz knew how to build a list and market to it, then it wouldnt need to pay a third party to sell coupons for them. They probably could use a platform to make the payments go smoothly but that sure isnt going to be the 20 percent the op is talking about making. Plus there are some daily deal wp and FB plugins that integrate with paypal,cc so if a biz is doing ocassional low volume daily deals themselves then they dont need anything else.

    I would rather come in and offer them real marketing solutions, and if upon discovery we decided that a daily deal makes sense then do it. Rather than coming in cold and saying "lets do a daily deal as the solution"

    "Yeah buddy, so you are only going to charge me 20% but Im only going to be able to market to my own customers. With Groupon and LIving Social I pay more but I get my message out to a larger pool"

    Obviously you could also build your own list of people who want to participate in daily deals but then the marketing costs would dictate a pricing structure similar to the other guys. On top of that those people who are daily deal groupies tend to be harder to turn into loyal customers because they are by nature deal seekers.

    As a stand alone business model for a newbie to try and make a name for himself in the local market I give it a D-
    Signature
    Promise Big.
    Deliver Bigger.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747584].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler View Post

      Without marketing education these small biz owners will not be able to build a list and use it properly. On top of that they wont know how to handle the customers properly in order to get repeat business.

      If a small biz knew how to build a list and market to it, then it wouldnt need to pay a third party to sell coupons for them. They probably could use a platform to make the payments go smoothly but that sure isnt going to be the 20 percent the op is talking about making. Plus there are some daily deal wp and FB plugins that integrate with paypal,cc so if a biz is doing ocassional low volume daily deals themselves then they dont need anything else.

      I would rather come in and offer them real marketing solutions, and if upon discovery we decided that a daily deal makes sense then do it. Rather than coming in cold and saying "lets do a daily deal as the solution"

      "Yeah buddy, so you are only going to charge me 20% but Im only going to be able to market to my own customers. With Groupon and LIving Social I pay more but I get my message out to a larger pool"

      Obviously you could also build your own list of people who want to participate in daily deals but then the marketing costs would dictate a pricing structure similar to the other guys. On top of that those people who are daily deal groupies tend to be harder to turn into loyal customers because they are by nature deal seekers.

      As a stand alone business model for a newbie to try and make a name for himself in the local market I give it a D-
      PLEASE NOTE THAT I WASN'T ASKING FOR A GRADE, RATHER SHARING HOW I TURNED USING SOMEONE ELSE'S SOFTWARE INTO $1500 ON TWO SALES. GROUPON DELIVERS FRESH LEADS TO YOUR INBOX DAILY. Get to work instead opining. Prove me wrong. If you need coaching PM me.

      You're selling the piggy back. I would go out and encourage business owners to run daily deals to specifically deploy this strategy. First, you should know your data. Additionally, the Closely platform is LEAGUES above anything out there. You can set up your businesses deals one time and schedule them to go out via email, Twitter, and Facebook.

      You're giving real value for minimal work.

      I made 9 calls last week and got 2 sales.
      Signature
      FILL IN THE BLANKS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747646].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
        Originally Posted by TheBigBee View Post


        I made 9 calls last week and got 2 sales.
        What exactly did you sell and for how much?
        Signature
        Promise Big.
        Deliver Bigger.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747781].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
          Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler View Post

          What exactly did you sell and for how much?
          Opened email. Saw deals. Called merchants. Demo'd Closely via Join.me. Got one set up fee for $500, another for $1k.
          Signature
          FILL IN THE BLANKS!
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7748248].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
        Originally Posted by TheBigBee View Post

        PLEASE NOTE THAT I WASN'T ASKING FOR A GRADE, RATHER SHARING HOW I TURNED USING SOMEONE ELSE'S SOFTWARE INTO $1500 ON TWO SALES. GROUPON DELIVERS FRESH LEADS TO YOUR INBOX DAILY. Get to work instead opining. Prove me wrong. If you need coaching PM. .

        BIG B, heres the thing , when you come on here asking for an opinion and people give it to you then dont come back and say you werent looking for a grade. Thats my opinion and you asked for it. Im not trying to prove you wrong nor do I need coaching from you. I understand the model very well or I would not have commented in the first place. :confused:

        Its obvious now that you are preselling for the ebook and are more interested in pushing this daily deal thing rather than getting real opinions. People around here like to help but appreciate honesty, dont blow it by being insincere.

        If you really got 1k from someone just to set up the program, congrats , you are a better salesman than most people here. You obviously like the model so Keep up the good work.
        Signature
        Promise Big.
        Deliver Bigger.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7748338].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
          Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler View Post

          BIG B, heres the thing , when you come on here asking for an opinion and people give it to you then dont come back and say you werent looking for a grade. Thats my opinion and you asked for it. Im not trying to prove you wrong nor do I need coaching from you. I understand the model very well or I would not have commented in the first place. :confused:

          Its obvious now that you are preselling for the ebook and are more interested in pushing this daily deal thing rather than getting real opinions. People around here like to help but appreciate honesty, dont blow it by being insincere.

          If you really got 1k from someone just to set up the program, congrats , you are a better salesman than most people here. You obviously like the model so Keep up the good work.
          I SWEAR I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER EVER TRY TO SELL ANYTHING TO ANY WARRIOR HERE. Let me be very clear. I know exactly who my target market is, I know exactly how to get to them.

          Regarding setting up the business and getting $1k. It's a math problem sir. If I see a business has sold 390 Groupons, it doesn't take a genius to walk a merchant through the math. "Mr. Merchant, only 20% ever come back. You've got 390 chances to rope them in, here are the different ways we can approach this; (rainy day deals, alternative financing, etc.)."

          I deal in value, period. Data, facts, numbers. So, regarding being a better salesman, all it took was 1 hour of straight up and 100% transparent math. If he had sold 9 Groupons, I would have charged him $50 to set it up.

          Let me RE-QUALIFY this again. I WILL NEVER EVER MARKET ANYTHING TO ANY OF YOU. You all are focused on selling to each other in this closed ecosystem. I intend to "smarten up" and "open the market up."

          When the eBook is done. EVERY WARRIOR INTERESTED SHALL PM ME FOR A FREE COPY.
          Signature
          FILL IN THE BLANKS!
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7748406].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Sys4
      Originally Posted by Eddie Spangler View Post


      I would rather come in and offer them real marketing solutions, and if upon discovery we decided that a daily deal makes sense then do it. Rather than coming in cold and saying "lets do a daily deal as the solution"
      You seem to have missed the point, as this thread is about targeting businesses that are currently using daily deals and offering them a better daily deal option - and has nothing to do with what you "would rather" do.

      You're not coming in "cold." You're contacting people who obviously have already been sold on the daily deal concept and are IN the process of learning the shortcomings of the daily deal model they're CURRENTLY using. You are simple offering an option free from the downside they're NOW seeing with Groupon, LivingSocial, ...
      Signature
      SYS4 - White Label Web Design
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750472].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
        Originally Posted by Sys4 View Post

        You're not coming in "cold." You're contacting people who obviously have already been sold on the daily deal concept and are IN the process of learning the shortcomings of the daily deal model they're CURRENTLY using. You are simple offering an option free from the downside they're NOW seeing with Groupon, LivingSocial, ...
        I could not have articulated that any better myself.
        Signature
        FILL IN THE BLANKS!
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750482].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author BillyParadise
        Originally Posted by Sys4 View Post

        You seem to have missed the point, as this thread is about targeting businesses that are currently using daily deals and offering them a better daily deal option - and has nothing to do with what you "would rather" do.
        I went back and re-read the OP - it was not clear that this was a "post-groupon" strategy. So don't bitch at the bitchers. The op shared 1/4 of an idea, missed one of the most important details, and is complaining about peoples' comprehension.

        nice idea, not original, but the attitude stinks.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750562].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Sys4
          [quote=BillyParadise;7750562]
          Originally Posted by Sys4 View Post

          You seem to have missed the point, as this thread is about targeting businesses that are currently using daily deals and offering them a better daily deal option - and has nothing to do with what you "would rather" do.
          /quote]

          I went back and re-read the OP - it was not clear that this was a "post-groupon" strategy. So don't bitch at the bitchers. The op shared 1/4 of an idea, missed one of the most important details, and is complaining about peoples' comprehension.

          nice idea, not original, but the attitude stinks.
          Yes. It was clear.

          Here... I'll post the germane part of the OP:

          Originally Posted by TheBigBee View Post

          The cool thing about Living Social and the gang is that they show you exactly how many deals have been sold for a given business. You can use this as leverage to build up the value of charging them up to $1k to set everything up. If a guy has sold over 200 deals on day one, push; "keep those customers for life."
          Yes. The OP could have been clearer and more tolerant... but it WAS there... and why kick a gift horse in the mouth...
          Signature
          SYS4 - White Label Web Design
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750593].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Amstardam
    when is your ebook coming out?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747786].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    The key to those daily deal sites is the fact they bring in new (though IMO crappy) customers. Any business can make their own email and SMS lists and I agree 100% this is what a lot of offliners should be offering their clients and IMO a lot already are.

    But it doesn't replace daily deal sites. When you do a daily deal (I wouldn't personally due to the costs) you are renting their list basically. It is about all the new people on their list coming to you. Which you then should get to sign up for your list to continue marketing via email, text, and social media.
    Signature
    Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7747987].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      The key to those daily deal sites is the fact they bring in new (though IMO crappy) customers. Any business can make their own email and SMS lists and I agree 100% this is what a lot of offliners should be offering their clients and IMO a lot already are.

      But it doesn't replace daily deal sites. When you do a daily deal (I wouldn't personally due to the costs) you are renting their list basically. It is about all the new people on their list coming to you. Which you then should get to sign up for your list to continue marketing via email, text, and social media.
      I think you're missing the point. Read the Groupon book by Frank Sennett. Only 20% of Groupon buyers come back. What you're doing is helping the business owner increase the chances of converting lifelong customers, while also putting cash in their registers now, for goods and services to be delivered later.

      Restaurants are hit hard during bad weather, now you can sell a bad weather insurance policy; "buy this coupon for 50% off any rainy day." If you've got a liquor license (not coupon able) you're winning.
      Signature
      FILL IN THE BLANKS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7748255].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
        Originally Posted by TheBigBee View Post

        I think you're missing the point. Read the Groupon book by Frank Sennett. Only 20% of Groupon buyers come back. What you're doing is helping the business owner increase the chances of converting lifelong customers, while also putting cash in their registers now, for goods and services to be delivered later.

        Restaurants are hit hard during bad weather, now you can sell a bad weather insurance policy; "buy this coupon for 50% off any rainy day." If you've got a liquor license (not coupon able) you're winning.

        I think you misunderstood what I meant. I love your idea and think it is way better for businesses. But I don't think it replaces daily deals as they have a different purpose. I myself would never use or advise a client to use groupon or any of the others as the cost is too great and the list is full of deal seekers.

        But there are smarter ways to use the lists of others to target new customers.

        These businesses need their own list and marketing to your fans is always a great way to increase visits and thus revenue. But you still should be bringing in new customers and finding ways to lock them into your list so you can get them back in the door.
        Signature
        Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750387].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Climb Online
    Where business people go wrong with groupon is they do not grab the customers details to follow up with them and end up reamed with one hit wonders.

    Big B is not just selling a platform that puts the power back in their hands, but an education, and thats a good thing.
    Signature

    "It is your choice of message that targets the customer, not your choice of media. There are rare exceptions, of course. But not many."
    - Roy H. Williams

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7749007].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author jrobconsult
      Originally Posted by susie haynes View Post

      Where business people go wrong with groupon is they do not grab the customers details to follow up with them and end up reamed with one hit wonders.

      Big B is not just selling a platform that puts the power back in their hands, but an education, and thats a good thing.
      I have bought plenty of Groupon's, Living Social's and daily deals and not a single one has tried to follow up with me. I have seen some businesses especially restaurants run this a few times a year, but have no clue how much money they are leaving on the table.

      I think a better model would be to capture new customers and to keep them coming back to those businesses at an affordable price while giving the business a free trial to reduce the risk for the small business. That would be a goldmine for the small business and us. With some work and a little creativity, this can be done.
      Signature
      San Antonio Estate Liquidators
      Estate Sales San Antonio
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750192].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
    Hi there,

    @TheBigBee - thanks for posting your idea. Those who like ideas will correspond with you and either get more information or collaborate with you. Those who sit on their hands will always have an opinion which is likely to be one resembling their a$$hole - one you don't want to see.

    Best of luck with the book

    All the best,

    Sasha.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750049].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BillyParadise
    no kicking on my part - maybe its hard to see through the ops attitude

    hope he sells lots of ebooks on this rehashed idea.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750633].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Sys4
      Originally Posted by BillyParadise View Post

      no kicking on my part - maybe its hard to see through the ops attitude
      It's more than obvious that the OP rubbed a few people the wrong way and his good intentions got lost in the scuffle. Hopefully, this will be a learning experience for the OP. His stated experience and his willingness to share, are valuable.
      Signature
      SYS4 - White Label Web Design
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750666].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    Originally Posted by TheBigBee View Post

    Originally Posted by misterme
    That's very condescending of you. Wish you the best.

    As were your questions. "Billboar...." lol
    Wow. Yours is a somewhat difficult read and I'm not exactly unintelligent. I asked a sincere question. And I get told the answer will be explained as if I'm a three year old so that I may understand it, for the record my question simply asking you to clarify what you meant by this vague "post a great big poster." I concur: the attitude stinks.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750634].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Okay, Im game , sounds solid...but what are the basics and what is the money making potential For "Bill"? Is it enough to be motivating?

    I have a retail friend or two I could try this on... the only reason Im inte4rested is because I have sat in retail locations and brainstormned for days on end with business owners who are desperately seeking and using these kinds of solutions. What it requires is a devoted business owner with long term vision, or a devoted business person, and a sales person who can INSPIRE that long term vision, from my point of view.

    I dont know anything about Big Bee, or his experience, but this makes sense for business owners as a great solution for building their own lists, leveraging lists they are paying for through living social or whatever...getting ten times the mileage out of them......Im just wondering how much sense it makes for "Bill". What is the potential for him?

    Also, to my seasoned friends on here, who I trust, that disagree (Eddie).... Why are you disagreeing? Im interested in your perspective, is there something Im missing? It seems like a solid tactic from my vantage point, for a business owner to get more leverage out of their groupon and living social campaigns, and to help them develop their list... but Im open to what you are seeing that I am not.

    Still Im wondering if the effort is better spent somewhere else for "Bill", and his own best interest.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750717].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Originally Posted by John Durham View Post


      Still Im wondering if the effort is better spent somewhere else for "Bill", and his own best interest.
      John,

      I'm flattered that you would give a post that I have made the time of day. Let me explain what's in it for "Bill."

      1. Set up fee: Using Closely, you set up all the campaigns mentioned. You charge the set up fee in accordance with the quantity of deals that has been sold. If a guy has sold 300 or something, there's a greater incentive for him to turn that over. The minimum set up fee Closely guys doing this are charging is $199. I never charge less than $500. Big name brands get a big presentation, and pay big money for set up. $1,000 and up.
      2. Residuals: This is where you bank. Closely takes 10%. So that leaves 90% on the table. Take 10% for yourself and give the restaurant 80%. It's a way better deal. This is where your sales and market research skills come in to play:
        • Pay attention to the deal price. The deal sites have nailed this down to a science. They are data machines and price their offerings to perfection, replicate them to the decimal.
        • Deal offers: Again, obvious you want to replicate this.
      3. Cross Promotion: Aggregate your lists - WITH EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION from your clients. This makes each deal pick up that much more steam. So, if you've got 10 clients with 1,000 e-mails in aggregate, auto-piloting specials where you get 10% is a nice passive income.
      Signature
      FILL IN THE BLANKS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750805].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    Hello Big Bee,


    I like your method as a matter of fact when I first started working for very large daily deal site back in 2010 i mentioned that we could make some ongoing monthly revenue managing a list of buyers for the small business owners.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750722].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    are you also helping the merchant to build a list outside of the daily deal offering and if so how?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750728].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Originally Posted by thomasmps View Post

      are you also helping the merchant to build a list outside of the daily deal offering and if so how?
      Cross promotion / list sharing. Each business has to opt in and sign something to the effect that they agree to this.
      Signature
      FILL IN THE BLANKS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7750814].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
    Hi Big Bee, we been doing this approach for a couple of years, it works as you well know.
    Funny but some business owners (especially hoteliers) say strange business things like ' But we find Groupon customers don't ever return or ever look to pay anywhere near full price if they do' ... I ask 'so why have you run another Groupon deal then?' ..................... 'ermm, umm, ermmm ...................'

    Some (many) business owners are NOT business people at all, yet alone having a single brain cell devoted to marketing their business, the daily deal sites (generally) prey on these people , not unjustly IMO, hell why shouldn't they, why shouldnt we, except we can (in many cases here) make a serious longer term difference to them.

    I have found recently here in the UK, the daily deals have been for lower and lower value purchases, making this approach tougher and certainly less valuable in real monetary terms for us and the clients, but with the constantly evolving marketing potential of social and mobile, as one door creaks closer to being shut, many others swing wider open
    Signature

    Mike

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7753091].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Originally Posted by mjbmedia View Post

      Hi Big Bee, we been doing this approach for a couple of years, it works as you well know.
      Funny but some business owners (especially hoteliers) say strange business things like ' But we find Groupon customers don't ever return or ever look to pay anywhere near full price if they do' ... I ask 'so why have you run another Groupon deal then?' ..................... 'ermm, umm, ermmm ...................'

      Some (many) business owners are NOT business people at all, yet alone having a single brain cell devoted to marketing their business, the daily deal sites (generally) prey on these people , not unjustly IMO, hell why shouldn't they, why shouldnt we, except we can (in many cases here) make a serious longer term difference to them.
      Wow. Ironic that my first little company in HS was MJB Media.
      Signature
      FILL IN THE BLANKS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7753101].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Daniel LaRusso
    How do you feel about building your own local list, and becoming a YipDeals local consultant? You then can hit businesses that had limited success on the existing deals sites, and their competitors.
    Signature

    It is unwise to trust all you read on the internet.
    - Benjamin Franklin

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7754231].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author MySocialPromo
      I have a service that I created that basically does this for merchants. You can check it out in my sig.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7754285].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    BigBee,

    I am trying to figure out why we get closely involved at all.
    -They don't provide a list (like groupon and etc)

    I don't understand why we need them at all. The client is providing the list so why doesn't he just mail a coupon out vs having them pay for a deal on closely?

    Can you help me (and others?) understand why you believe this works better than SMS or email marketing of coupons and daily specials?
    Signature
    Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7754363].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Daniel LaRusso
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      BigBee,

      I am trying to figure out why we get closely involved at all.
      -They don't provide a list (like groupon and etc)

      I don't understand why we need them at all. The client is providing the list so why doesn't he just mail a coupon out vs having them pay for a deal on closely?

      Can you help me (and others?) understand why you believe this works better than SMS or email marketing of coupons and daily specials?
      I don't know about the OP, but my take on this would be to build up an active local following for local deals through social media and maybe organic search, and build my own list. Then, work with businesses to put together a local deal to market to my list, and also to their list.

      The monetization would come through a commission on the initial deal, and then through recurring income working with the business to manage the deals as they're redeemed and grow their own list, for marketing, reputation management, and future sales.
      Signature

      It is unwise to trust all you read on the internet.
      - Benjamin Franklin

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7754539].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thomasmps
    This might be a little off topic but i was on the phone with Google Offers (Google Daily Deal Program) they are rolling out a beta program right now that will intergrate daily deals with Google Plus. I was able to get alitle more indepth info because the rep is a family friend and he said that Google wants to do away with Google Offers as we know it and move it toward more of a Adwords type model or something similar to Scoutmob were merchants pay per download.

    The thing about the program is the merchant controls every aspect of the deal,and the back office dashboard is actually really cool. They are calling it deals 2.0 and it is live right now but they are not charging merchants for it,because they want to get the data then decide on how to make moeny from it.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7754747].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    You'd think businesses would put in some effort to capturing those leads from the expensive deal leads (only netting 25% of list price) but many of them just don't. They just need a turnkey deal and be prompted to do so. There is lots of money sitting on the table out there w/ these daily deals.

    Re: the pooled/shared lists between businesses? How do you get the customer to opt in to getting deals/messaging from other businesses?
    Signature

    In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7755505].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Originally Posted by NewParadigm View Post

      You'd think businesses would put in some effort to capturing those leads from the expensive deal leads (only netting 25% of list price) but many of them just don't. They just need a turnkey deal and be prompted to do so. There is lots of money sitting on the table out there w/ these daily deals.

      Re: the pooled/shared lists between businesses? How do you get the customer to opt in to getting deals/messaging from other businesses?
      Simple. They have opted into a list that YOU own. You are basically a "mini Groupon" without headache.

      Regarding my tude folks - I apologize as I let Billy ruffle my feathers. My ideas are born from a spark of curiosity then obsessive research. So it sucks when I get treated like I'd share some harebrained tactic with the world.
      Signature
      FILL IN THE BLANKS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7756315].message }}

Trending Topics