Daily Dealer Marketers on the Web

“Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service. It is capable of being presented as a discipline, capable of being learned, capable of being practiced. Entrepreneurs need to search purposefully for the sources of innovation, the changes and their symptoms that indicate opportunities for successful innovation. And they need to know and to apply the principles of successful innovation.” ~Peter Dricker

One thing I know about marketing is that the vehicles for reaching potential clients are continually changing and evolving. Traditional methods are declining in importance as so many people are getting all of their news and information on the web.

While there are many things you can do with traditional advertising, it is so much better to use some of the new techniques that are currently on the rise. One such method is something called Daily Deal Marketing (DDM). This new vehicle is proving very effective and economical.

This is a brand new industry that will mature over time, but even still, there is so much opportunity out there. The two predominant Daily Deal Marketers are Groupon and LivingSocial. Both are designed to help drive new business to your door, and many companies are having some great success with them. A plant nursery we were working with was able to generate more than 500 new customers, and a spa grew its client base by more than 250.

Groupon is only three years old, but it already has over 50 million subscribers in more than 500 markets. The company raised close to a billion dollars in new capital after turning down a $6 billion-dollar buyout deal from Google.

The concept is pretty simple. The merchant offers a deal—typically 50 percent or less of retail value—that is made available to potential customers for a limited time. Generally, it takes a minimum number of purchases to activate the deal, and the merchant can put a limit on how many deals they are willing to give as well.

What the customer pays for the deal is split between the merchant and the DDM, so if you are offering a $4 cup of yogurt for $2, you will get $1 for each customer purchase. Payment by the DDM normally occurs within three weeks of the customer’s purchase.

Many entrepreneurs do not like these new marketing tactics as they generate so little income and they have to sell the product below cost. However, the real return is not the money that you receive for the product but the advertising. Not to mention the ability to bring in new customers. If you can bring a new customer to your door, it is worth the sacrifice on the initial sale because, now that they know about you, they are likely to come back.

Another return that you get from these deals is that you receive funds even if the customer never actually uses the coupon, which occurs around 20 percent of the time.

If you are a business that deals directly with customers, especially retailers, look into using DDMs. The concept is relatively simple, but the returns are very high. They are a very economical method for bringing new customers into your business.

You can do this.