In response to Debbie Yeh’s blog post on Groupon:
Debbie discussed in her blog post how using media such as Wall Street Journal, The Times, Washington Post, etc… can be Groupon’s marketing strategy to advertise its websites and coupons. In addition to what Debbie mentioned, social media is also a particularly huge marketing influence on Groupon since Groupon is a a form of e-commerce. With a special deal going on, the word about the promotion could spread viral through consumers tweeting and sharing this deal on Twitter and Facebook. Reiterating what Debbie wrote, “customers feel like Groupon is part of them because Groupon only makes money when customers get discounts”, this further helps reinforce why customer would spread the word about a deal because in addition to gaining the value of the product or service, the transaction and relationship between Groupon and consumers are valuable to consumers.
In addition to the viral spread of a promotion, search volume increases dramatically when there is a promotion. Because of the internet, consumers have the opportunity to search widely for special deals when they’re interested in purchasing a particular good or service. As Groupon deals of the day show up in searches, more traffic is directed.
Because Groupon is a form of social commerce, it gains a lot of free publicity through consumers spreading the word through social media and searches. Advertising and marketing is probably not a top priority on their lists as their website is continuously dispersed across the community, especially through the online community. This may also explain why Google was interested in buying Groupon due to its high traffic and popularity.
