Kaleidoscope

If you’re a Costco member, you have probably experienced walking through the doors (gates – really) of the warehouse entrance, as two seemingly emotionless men stand on either side of you. One man takes a quick glance at your membership card, as the other hands you a coupon flyer. What deals will entice you to buy a product today? Will your purchases of the day be based solely on the savings you know you’ll make from the coupons? Or will the flyer simply be tossed aside at the bottom of your shopping cart without further consideration?

Yeah – those coupon flyers probably will spark lights in some of our eyes, but we can’t deny the coupon-speckled floors of the Costco vicinity, the flyers flying in to our faces as we walk back to our cars, and the crinkled coupons beneath our many grocery purchases. Some of us just don’t care.

Or do we?

Enter Groupon,

an online coupon site that caters to your personal interests and that allows you, the shopper, to find the hottest deals that are closest to you. Groupon has revolutionized the old-fashioned coupon books by promising you the savings you want from the businesses in your area; providing you deals on services ranging from restaurants and facial spas, to local dog groomers. The company’s done all of the gritty-work of bargaining with local businesses for you – all you have to do is agree to buy the product and an electronic coupon will be sent to you instantly.

Sounds simple (and not to mention convenient) enough! So, here’s how it works:

Or, if moving images are for you, take a quick peek at this flashy video made just for you by the Groupon folks: Learn How Groupon Works

Groupon’s competitive advantage – this new idea of “Collective Buying”, allows businesses and consumers to enter a “win-win situation”. Shop-owners are guaranteed a certain number of sales as well as the ability to promote their services, and customers get dollars off of their favourite goods. $$$

Not only that, but Groupon is easy to use too! Check out this handy Groupon App. that I downloaded on to my Iphone. The company sends me daily deals through email as well.

It certainly seems like an ideal situation – everyone gets what they want. Businesses get their name out, and customers keep the change in their pockets. I mean check out that 51% in savings! Don’t you want to save that much on your next “facialicious facial”? oh la la!

But of course, there’s always a downside to everything, and we must view things in retrospect.

Jessie Burke, the owner of Portland’s Posies Cafe explains how Groupon brought her businesses to the brink of bankrupcy.

http://posiescafe.com/wp/?p=316

Although Groupon can serve as a marketing strategy to promote your business, it appears that there are businesses that should be cautious about whether or not their services are suited to Groupon’s marketing and promotional tactics.

So the next time you find yourself flipping through those old-fashioned coupon books, or snipping coupons out of a newspaper, perhaps you should consider the option of going electronic and signing up for a Groupon instead.

And if you’re running a local business, you may want to consider if Groupon is truly helping you save too.

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