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3 Ways to Get More From Running Holiday Deals
Nov 15th
Nielsen helps confirm what most of us already knew: The No. 1 reason for following or liking a brand on social networking sites is to receive discounts and special offers. We opt into a more personal relationship with a brand in the hope they will make it worth it by offering us a break on the products and services that we love. And at no time is this more relevant than right now, with the holiday season just a few weeks away. As a small business owner, there are a number of ways for you to cash in capitalize on this growing marketing trend, while also increasing your social media influence.
Below are just three ways you can take advantage of online deals during this holiday season.
1. Social Media Coupons
Nielsen data shows that social media and online coupons go hand-in-hand in the eyes of consumers. NM Incite found that nearly 60 percent of social media users in the U.S. visit social networks to receive coupons or promotions, with 23 percent doing so on a weekly basis. Perhaps not surprisingly, a strong overlap was noted between those who visit coupon/reward sites and those who read blogs and visit social networks. According to the data, 43 percent of visitors to social networks and blogs also visited a coupons/rewards site in September. Interestingly, Facebook was the third largest referrer to Groupon and LivingSocial during that time (after search and email), which shows just how linked the two activities are!
While there has been quite a bit of backlash, as Rieva Lesonsky’s AT&T SmallBusinessInSite article notes, against SMBs using deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial to attract new customers, alternatives like Facebook and Twitter can help SMBs create loyalty through deals without undercutting themselves or relying on middlemen. Using these social networking sites is a great way to incentivize users who already have an affinity with your brand and may be looking for last-minute deals or a way to save some dollars. Simply tweeting an offer code or putting a link to a special promotion in your company’s status update gives your users a reason to interact with your social presence, while also giving them something for their trouble.
2. Email Marketing Offers
Instead of undercutting your prices by using someone else’s email list (waves to Groupon and LivingSocial), why not build your own? Email marketing is a powerful way to deliver online coupons because it’s a personal medium, you can segment coupons by different customer types, and you’re probably already in the habit of collecting email addresses to begin with. By creating holiday-themed email newsletters that offer discounts (even if it’s just free shipping), you give customers a reason to head back to your site, keep your business top of mind and work to build brand loyalty.
Holidays or not, if you aren’t currently working to build up your email list, I’d encourage you to start. It really is one of your strongest assets as an SMB.
3. Mobile or On-the-Go Discounts
You know when a coupon is most handy for a consumer? When they’re on-the-go and just a rock’s throw from your store. And that’s why FourSquare Deals are a great fit for small business owners looking to advertise to a tech-savvy audience. Earlier this year, FourSquare released FourSquare 3.0, which featured a new Explore tab that allowed users to find out about Deals & Specials near where they were currently checked in. That means if someone checks in while getting coffee down the street, they’ll be alerted to the 20 percent discount code you’re offering to new customers. Last year, comScore reports, 65 percent of consumers had not finished their holiday shopping just two weeks before Christmas (I hadn’t even started mine by then, but I digress), partly because they were financially unable to do so or because they were looking for last-minute deals. Offering deals on-the-go can serve as a powerful call to action for targeted last-minute shoppers. It will also expose your brand to those nearby who may not have been familiar with you.
As the holiday season approaches, we’ll all be looking for ways to attract customers new and old to our store. Combining the power of online coupons and social media is one extremely effective way to do just that.
3 Ways to Get More From Running Holiday Deals
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
The Ebb and Flow of Daily Deals and Online Coupons
Aug 30th
More consumers are using daily deal sites and online coupons than ever before, but are they really here to stay? Businesses weigh the benefits and disadvantages of slashing prices and giving the deal site a cut in their overall marketing strategy.
Online Coupons
Close to 50% of all online consumers will redeem digital coupons this year. Sunday coupon clippers are still the norm, but online and mobile coupons are growing like wildfire. The advantage for small business owners is that offering coupon codes online is an affordable way to get new customers, and the adoption of mobile coupons is cost effective and appeals to the tech-savvy set. eMarketer
Even the smallest business can use couponing as part of its marketing strategy. By incorporating mobile coupons and web versions, small businesses can reach a wider audience with their discount strategy than with traditional print coupons found in the Sunday paper. Entrepreneur
The Race to Win
While Groupon may have been the first out of the gate to connect small businesses with consumers through its daily deals, LivingSocial is quickly closing the gap. While LivingSocial has over 4 million monthly unique visitors to Groupon’s 29 million plus, LivingSocial offers deals in nearly double the cities as its competitor. LivingSocial may be a bigger draw to small businesses too: the deals site takes only 40% of the deal’s profit, versus 50% by Groupon. Online Marketing Trends
With as many daily deal sites that have sprouted up in the last year, it should be no surprise that Amazon wants a cut of the multi-billion dollar industry. The online retailer currently offers deals for entertainment, restaurants and services in 30 markets with its recently launched AmazonLocal service. What makes it better than the competition? It’s unclear, other than the fact that Amazon.com can heavily advertise it in conjunction with the products it sells on its site. The New York Times
Do Daily Deals Cannibalize Brands?
While many restaurants and storefronts are seeing higher traffic by offering daily deals, the end result might not be as bright as they hoped. In offering steep discounts on services and meals, businesses may be lowering consumers’ reference price that they expect to pay. Once the deals are over, they may be less likely to come back as repeat customers, and may instead shop solely on price. While sales pour in with the initial deal, they have proven to dwindle after the fact. Harvard Business Review
Despite the flurry of deals for everything from flowers to yoga classes, the daily deal industry has declined over the past month. Yipit, a deal aggregator, did a bit of research and discovered that industry revenue declined by 7% from June 2011 to July, moving from $144 million to a measly $134 million. The cause is unclear, but may be due to the deluge of deal sites, or a typical summertime slump, such as what is seen in other industries. TechCrunch
With so many small businesses losing money with the daily deals they offer, it’s clear that there needs to be better marketing strategy surrounding the price slashing. Small businesses should be picky when choosing a daily deal site to work with, and should prepare for a flood of business just after the deal. Not every deal is a good one, especially if you lose money. Make sure to cover your profit with the cut the deal site takes. SBA
New Approaches
As consumer grow weary of daily deals emails flooding their inboxes, the sites look for new ways to connect with customers. One effort in this direction is partnerships with location based services like FourSquare. LivingSocial and now Groupon have partnered with the mobile app company that allows users to check in to locations for discounts. The assumption is that users will get deals based on their location that offer the deep savings that the websites offer. Will small businesses latch onto this any faster than they did offering deals directly through FourSquare? Time will tell. The Wall Street Journal
Those funny little boxes on the corner of magazine pages and on museum signs are starting to catch on, it seems. QR codes are popping up in stores, restaurants, billboards and museums, and they’re proving multifunctional. While consumers scan the codes with their mobile phones out of curiosity or to get more information about a product, the majority, 46%, scan QR codes to get a discount on a product or service. As more innovative uses for QR codes pop up, we may see a decline in print coupons. Bob Kaplitz Blog
Conclusion
Just like every new industry that comes along, we’re becoming oversaturated when it comes to group deals and online coupons. Everyone, including Amazon, wants a piece of the pie. But when the slices get cut too thin, we’ll see many deal sites fade away and just a few players rise to the top. For small businesses, this may mean they need to take a wait and see attitude, and see which opportunities will actually result in smart marketing and profit. Today Money
The Ebb and Flow of Daily Deals and Online Coupons
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Deals For Resale Video Series
Jul 25th
eBay® Power Seller reveals how he finds deals to resell online for a profit. Learn how to find deals online and offline to resell on eBay® and amazon for a profit. I’ll even show you my eBay® account Id and listings for the deals I have found.
Deals For Resale Video Series
Real Estate Investors – Discover How To Raise Cash For Re Deals
Jul 21st
The Private Lending Presentation Kit is an easy and affordable Done-For-You Template for real estate entrepreneurs to create your own stream of private lenders giving you cash and allowing you to do deals in these tough real estate times
Real Estate Investors – Discover How To Raise Cash For Re Deals
Code Violation Properties, Auctions + Cash Buyers = Deals!
May 6th
Do Deals Today with Cash Buyers Find Cash Buyers Today Target the Right Properties Structure the Deal to the Seller and Buyers Work with Title Companies and Lenders Capitalize On: Code Violation Properties and Auctions
Code Violation Properties, Auctions + Cash Buyers = Deals!
Million Dollar Deals
Feb 19th
Free Information That Can Change Your Tax Bracket! Earn 50% On Our One Time Offer That Is Completely Irrestible! Incredible Conversion Rate And Affiliate Support!
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Find Killer Cyber Monday Deals on These 7 Sites
Nov 23rd
Image: Memeticians
Cyber Monday, the biggest Internet shopping day of the year, happens on November 30. As a shopping day, it’s not quite as involved as Black Friday. You can hit up Cyber Monday in your pajamas.
It still pays, however, to know where to find deals. We created a list of the five best websites to find Cyber Monday deals below. We didn’t add obvious ones, like eBay and Amazon, because we figured you probably know about those. The sites below compile Cyber Monday bargains so that you can find the ones you want quickly, without an excess of Google searches. Happy shopping:
Features:
Coupons
More than 700 stores in their database
Email updates
Free shipping offers
Hourly specials on Cyber Monday
Shop.org invented the term “Cyber Monday.” Their extensive database of more than 700 stores has your Cyber Monday needs covered. You can scroll through deals at the top of the page, scroll through merchants, or find deals by searching through coupon-style icons below that. The website appears busy at first, so you have to get accustomed to navigating through all the information. All proceeds from CyberMonday.com go to a scholarship fund for students studying ecommerce–a nice touch.
Features:
Downloadable coupons & deals toolbar
RSS feed
Deal/coupon widgets
Dealio’s Cyber Monday has a simple interface that makes it easy to navigate. Explore the site by store logo, product, or featured deals. Their complete list of ads by store is helpful. If you want to keep your Cyber Monday search simple (and potentially faster), start here. Their blog also offers good tips and deals.
Features:
They put checkmarks next to store names on left sidebar after they’ve received ads for that store
Forums
Email updates
On Twitter/Facebook
Find deals by store icon or coupon link on this site. It updates frequently, but doesn’t include a blog, so you get a bare-bones list of deals. Their forums help you find more information. The interface design makes this a good site to find deals by store.
Features:
Blog
Find deals by store, coupon, or category
Lists additional stores with holiday deals
Store watch feature
Offers.com’s Cyber Monday homepage features coupon codes, making it easy to browse discounts by company. Sidebars offer easy access to stores and product listings. The site syncs with other Offers.com features, including a customized store watchlist and an As Seen on TV section. Their blog covers ongoing deals throughout the season.
5. Digital Editor’s Cyber Monday
Features:
Email alerts (only when homepage is updated)
“Email a friend” feature
Extensive list of stores with discounts
The best feature on this site is its large database of retailers with sales or discounts. The homepage has coupon codes by store. Since many stores have more than one coupon, navigating to your preferred deals can be laborious. Unfortunately, the site lacks a search box, so the best way to find your favorite deals is to search on the main list.
Year-Round Coupon Sites for Cyber Monday
The sites below aren’t Cyber Monday (or Black Friday) specific, but we’d be remiss not to mention them:
CurrentCodes has a comprehensive list of online discount codes for an impressive number of retailers every day. Trust their code-collecting acumen for your Cyber Monday deals, too.
WOW Coupons compiles a real-time list of major retailer coupons throughout the year. Look for even more action during Black Friday week.
View full post on Business Pundit
The 10 Best Websites for Black Friday Deals
Nov 22nd
Image: yisris/Flickr
Black Friday, the major shopping day after Thanksgiving, can give you amazing bargains. But, as any experienced shopper knows, a successful Black Friday requires preparation.
When it comes to preparing, the Internet is your friend. Several entrepreneurs have set up websites to help you navigate Black Friday deals, store hours, and ad updates. Their information will help you avoid hours of searching for Black Friday ads on Google, as well as find bargains you never knew existed. We compiled a list of the ten best websites for finding Black Friday deals, so that you can focus your energy on being in the stores.
10. BlackFriday.info
Features:
Ad scans
Blog
Search by store or category
Email updates
Deal of the day
Register to create a shopping list
Store hours
This relatively generic Black Friday website doesn’t have much in the way of standout features, but if you just want the basics, it does the trick.
Features:
Blog
Facebook presence
Shopping list
Most popular products list
Online Black Friday deals
Search by store and category
Email updates
This site offers pretty basic Black Friday coverage with a decent interface. It lacks store hours, but covers you on all the other essentials.
Features:
Ad scans
Email updates
Blog
Search by store
Online sales
Shopping list
Tabulated store hours
BlackFriday.org’s clean interface gives you easy access to scanned circulars, either via their blog or by flipping through them at the top of the website. The blog displays circulars as they come out and gives a summary of a circular’s main discounts, store hours and, if applicable, associated online coupon codes. Slick design makes this website pleasing to the eye and easily navigable.
7. DealNews
Features:
Ads by store
Lists due dates on ads it doesn’t yet have
Can follow on Twitter/Facebook
RSS feeds
Sort by product
Email newsletter of deals
This Black Friday site is incorporated into DealNews’ more extensive site, which includes deals by location and Mac-specific deals. It’s a relatively simple site with a blog-like Black Friday resource that includes information on how consumers research Black Friday, myths about Black Friday, and more. Downside: At time of viewing, the site hadn’t collected all the ads that it listed as due (or past due).
6. Black Friday 2010, by Bradsdeals.com
Features:
Blog
Email alerts
Adscans
Store hours
Deals you can scroll through
Facebook/Twitter
Black Friday 2010 has a really good blog, which adds a human touch to deal-hunting. Besides updated deals, they cover useful Black Friday tips, a history of the big day, and other topics. They don’t have a forum, however, nor do they include as many stores as some other sites.
Features:
They put checkmarks next to store names on left sidebar after they’ve received ads for that store
Many ads accessible to people with visual impairments
Forums
Email updates
Adscans
Excel-based Black Friday Organizer
On Twitter/Facebook
Find deals by store icon or coupon link on this site. It updates frequently, but doesn’t include a blog, so you get a bare-bones list of deals. Their forums help you find details. A good website if you want to skip details and go find deals by store.
4. Black Friday @ Gottadeal.com
Features:
Frequent updates
Adscans
Good tips in the FAQ section
Personalized shopping list (with registration)
Store hours
Email alerts
Message boards
Cool features make this site a worthy visit for any Black Friday shopper. Their Item Tracker shows you a list of products you can order online now for Black Friday ad prices or less. Their Sale Tracker lists dates, times, discounts, and any additional information for major Black Friday retailers. You can also get your Black Friday info-fix through geek a personalized shopping list and email alerts. If you’re into FAQs. they also happen to have the best FAQ list of any site we surveyed.
Features:
Shopping list
Coupons
iPhone.Droid apps
Adscans
Filter by merchant and price
If you like to find deals by product or category, try out TGI Black Friday. They update findings at the top of the page in blog format. When you navigate down the page, you’ll see top deals, accompanied by a photo of the product. At the bottom of each product listing, you can add the product to your shopping list, or share it. The user interface makes it easy to interact with the website. If you like an interactive, visual component, try this site.
Features:
Forum
Blog
iPhone app
Twitter feed/Facebook presence
Email newsletter
Winning navigation defines this site, which makes sifting through ads much easier than the typical “click on a store logo and see what you get” format. You can filter your preferences by store, category, price, brand, rebate, door buster, free shipping, and whether the ad is online or not. Once you filter, a list of matching ads appears in a sortable menu box in the center of the screen. Most ads in the list are linked to the retailer’s website. This is about as easy as sorting Black Friday ads gets.
1. BFAds
Features:
Around 50 stores in their database
Adscans
Buying guides
Good tips
Personalized shopping list (with registration)
Store hours
Mobile-compatible updates
Message boards
On Facebook/Twitter
…and T-shirts (you know you want one)
Daily updates give you the lowdown on deals, as well as links, instructions, and coupons (or coupon codes), where pertinent. You get complete information and analysis on each new deal they post. Whoever is behind the blog–another great feature of the site–obviously knows how to bargain hunt. The blogs tells you where to find discounts, how long they’ll last, and whether they’re sold out or not. Frequent updates and a thorough level of detail make this my favorite website.
View full post on Business Pundit
5 Ways to Capitalize on the Social Deals Trend
Nov 11th
Doesn’t it seem like every week, a new social coupon website pops up?Some deal sites are being added to existing retail sites to help eliminate inventory (such BackCountry.com’s SteepandCheap site). Others are new, stand-alone sites, many with very specific niches.
There are social deal sites that are general, like Groupon, City Deals or Living Social. There are regional sites, like the ones my local newspaper and news station run. Then there are luxury deal sites, like Overstock’s Ebiza, Gilt Groupe or Bergine. The site 25Tuesdays just has spa deals. Then there’s Yipit, which consolidates at least 90 deal sites. And on and on.
Most have a deal a day that are at least 50 percent off and good for one day only. Customers pay on the spot, then redeem the coupon later by printing it out or flashing their smartphone. Deal sites take advantage of the impulse buy and social circles. If I see that my friend bought something, it’s a powerful motivator for me to buy too.
Some deal niches are more profitable than others, but it’s obvious the niche has been profitable. According to TechCrunch, Groupon got $173 million in funding, Gilt has raised $83 million and LivingSocial got $25 million. Even Twitter got in on the trend by working with both Groupon and Gilt for their @earlybird deals.
“There’s plenty of room in the deal industry for growth,” says Jim Moran, a founder of Yipit, which was started by former Harvard students (a la Facebook). “The industry will remain fragmented. I don’t think there will be just one player. What was once a former salesman is now an entrepreneur. Let’s say he or she takes $3,000 to kick up a website and if the company can get 100 deals sold a week, that’s about $50,000 – $100,000 a year in revenue.”
The best part for local businesses looking to participate in these deal sites? There are no upfront costs for advertising, and you can track the results. Many sites write the ad copy for you. Unlike most advertising, deal sites have a built-in sharing component where your customers tell their online friends. They also buy on the spot, which means you get money upfront. The system works on a profit sharing-model – which means you’ll share up to 50 percent of sales with the Web site that promotes the deal.
Obviously there’s money to be made. The question is for who? There’s a lot of debate on how and if these sites help or hurt local businesses. According to one study, 66 percent of businesses found Groupon profitable. I interviewed a business owner of a salon on my weekly marketing podcast who said she made $13k in one day from Living Social. This business is an exception; this business was almost bankrupt from an offer they ran (the article gives valuable insight).
Here are five tips to getting the most from group deal sites:
1. Use Them to Drive Social Media Engagement
Consider adding an extra gift or additional dollars off when people who buy also “Like” your Facebook Page or become a follower on Twitter.
2. Promote Special Packages
You could put together a package deal or event just for your Groupon deal that is a preview of your business offerings but may not appeal to existing customers. For example, the Utah symphony sold a package of a few concerts in a series you could choose from.
3. Help Staff Prepare for the New Business
According to the survey referenced above, one of the biggest predictors of success is how happy workers are. It workers are treated badly and not prepared, it could hurt the promotion.
4. Get Repeat Business by Collecting E-mail Addresses
Deal sites may not let you keep the e-mail addresses of people who buy, but once you get them in the store, you can ask for their e-mails. Then you can let them know about upcoming events or promotions and hopefully build a more long-term relationship.
5. Have Customers Pay Right on Facebook
I’m noticing that once on Facebook and Twitter, people want to stay on the site, not click through to another. Thanks to the new Twitter design, you don’t have to click off the site to view photos or videos – they show up in the sidebar when you click on them. The same goes with deals – you could offer them directly from your Facebook Page. There’s an app that helps you do that.
While I like leveraging the network that sites like Groupon have built, if you have a strong base you could develop your own deal component. Here’s an example of a business that wants to build their own deal site.
Here are some additional tips to running a successful deal.
Have you tried a social deal site to promote your business? How’d it go? What tips can you share?
Editor’s Note: This article was previously published at OPENForum.com under the title: “Ways a Small Business Can Capitalize on the Growing Social Deals Trend.” It is republished here with permission.
5 Ways to Capitalize on the Social Deals Trend
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Facebook, Yelp Follow FourSquare, Launch Deals
Nov 9th
Last week both Facebook and Yelp announced they’d soon be offering deals to customers who check in at a particular location. Good idea, right? FourSquare sure thought so when they launched it months ago.
On the Yelp blog, Luther Lowe didn’t give specifics but hinted that the review site would soon offer Yelp Check-In Offers to “help further bridge online discovery and online buying.” According to the blog post, Check-In Offers will be different from Sales and Special Offers and will give users discounts when they check in to locations. As ReadWriteWeb stated last week, the check in feature does make a lot of sense for Yelp to incorporate. Yelp has always been a site dedicated to local discovery and matching users with SMBs. This seems like a very natural extension of that. While Luther didn’t offer many details, this will be a nice addition to the site.
But Yelp wasn’t the only company to announced check in offers last week; Facebook did as well.
Facebook took the stage last week to announce a number of enhancements to its mobile platform. They announced new features like Facebook Groups for Mobile, a Facebook Places API, Single Sign-In to sign into other sites with one click, Facebook Places for the iPhone, etc. However, none of what they announced rocked the blogosphere more than the announcement of Facebook Deals.
Facebook Deals is exactly what it sounds like – a new service that will allow SMB owners to offer their customers special deals when they check in to their business on Facebook. According to Facebook, Deals will come in four different flavors:
- Free merchandise or other reward
- Friend deals where you and your friends clam an offer together
- Loyalty deals for being a frequent visitor to a place [similar to Mayor deals offered on FourSquare]
- Charity deals where businesses pledge to donate to a cause when you check in
Facebook already has more than 20 major brands signed up to offer deals, including 24 Hour Fitness, American Eagle, Gap, JCPenney, Macy’s and Starbucks. And we’re not just talking about offering a free cup of coffee or pastry either. Some of these deals are surprisingly enticing. For example, Gap will give a free pair of jeans to the first 10,000 customers to claim the deal, and the San Francisco 49ers will offer 200 fans tickets for just $49.
When you combine the quality of the deals with the brands behind them and Facebook’s active 200 million mobile users a month, the power of Facebook Deals become quite evident. While FourSquare and Groupon have had a hard time attracting mainstream users, Facebook has already captured these folks. That gives them a great advantage in the mobile space.
Once the program is rolled out, business owners will be able to easily create Facebook Deals from a single screen. Business listings that include a deal will be given a yellow marker on the Nearby Places page to signify that a deal exists and encourage users to click through and check it out.
To view the deal, users must pull up the Facebook Place page, where they can then claim it. Business owners who take part in Facebook Deals will be able to see how many people have claimed a specific deal vs. how many people have checked into their business. They won’t be able to tie the check-in to a specific user, just like they can’t see which user clicked on a Facebook ad.
If you’re a small business owner, Yelp Check-In Offers and Facebook Deals are definitely programs you’ll want to take a look at. Discounts and coupons have time and time again proven to be one of the leading reasons that social media users interact with brands online. By pairing an enticing deal with a relevant audience, there’s a huge opportunity. We’re still waiting for further information from Yelp about Check-In Offers, but you can find out more about Facebook Deals here.
Facebook, Yelp Follow FourSquare, Launch Deals
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
