Groupon...One of my competitors

Brian R

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He gets 2 days of sales instead of 1 because it's over a weekend.

I'm really curious to see how many he sells.

I just sent him an email congraduating him on doing the deal and asked him if he would let me know how it turned out.

We'll see.
 

Brian R

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He just sold 50 so the "Deal is On"

How long did that take? He still has 2 days left of selling.


This should be good.
 

Brian R

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In just a few hours they sold more Groupons than my whole deal last time.

AND Sacramento is a newer area than Dallas by about 6 or 8 months.

I tried to get into the Sac Groupon with a 3 room $79.00 deal and they wouldn't go for it.


You can see why. lol
 

XTREME1

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Groupon my take

I think that Groupon and and the types are devaluing the product or service they claim to help sell. It makes price the determining factor. I chose a business model of winning over customers with quality and price point, groupon goes straight on price only Rather tha win customers over they present false margins and price point where people will no longer understand the cost of doing business. What that means is new customers(younger, urban, educated comsumers) will forever know the cost as presented by groupon. They will think the groupon price is more like the actual price driving prices down all around. It is the illegal immigrant of websites. When a restaurant knows it is going out they ramp up sales of gift certificates for cash flow, I can see businesses doing that with groupon. I can say from our industry it is a perfect fit for a bait and switch who has no intentions of honoring the price like I do and many others do. My prices aren't subject to some of the far out charges other companies throw out there and my guess is the ones offering the deal are looking to get into the house and fuckover the homeowner and run with the $$$$. They don't have a personal face on their business and hide behind advertising and computers.

I think loyalty will be out the window and people will not buy again unless the price is adjusted downwards or if they did run into a bait and switch it will turn them off top our services in general hurting all the true business people around them. Just like the "local Guys" who aren't actually local putting a black eye on the rest of us.

Groupon has done what it is supposed to do, set it self up to make a windfall but longterm success isn't in the future for groupon because companies have to cheat lie and steal to be successful and that leads to BS internet people rather than real businesses

Small businesses are often dumb in their marketing, so Groupon probably benefits from some businesses not realizing discounts hurt their exact business, or overpaying for Groupon promotions or for yellowpages ads. But companies like google, groupon, yellow pages all prey these business knowing they will overpay ofor adwords or cut discount so bad thinking the cash flow will save them. With a 1 time a year service you are cannibilaizing your business by using groupn, it may work if your a weekly service but not 6 months to a year plus. Groupon will actually work to the detriment of people who expect to get in and upsell because the customer will feel ripped off knowing they paid $50 and got charged more than double, whilke the business made no real money they have a negative custoemr talking to their friends.

My opinion is groupon should help businesses let the customer know what they should be doing rather than here is what it is and here is how much it would have been. A much more comprehensive posting of real world price and cost analysis letting the consumer know that this business is probably going to lose money to meet them.
 

Brian R

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Come on Greg...you made that sound pretty but is that really what it's all about?

It's about getting a potential customer to try out a business for less than they would have paid to begin with.

Whether you give Groupon a $1000.00 a month to advertise or 50% of the already low ticket...you'll be paying for that customer.

I know a smart fellow like yourself doesn't expect Groupon to advertise for free do you?

And as far as loyalty and creating perceptions in the consumer's minds...I just don't believe it.

This is just a backdoor to the frontdoor.

At least....and listen to this close

At least Groupon actually delivers customers to you and never makes you pay for NOT getting customers.

And we've all experienced that with other marketing efforts....all of us.



All of us.
 

XTREME1

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they do take a percentage of every customer you get and they have changed the rules on unredeemed or are going to correct?

I built my business on direct marketing with prices that were marketed pretty close to what i charge anyhow and they never came back to me asking for more because I had a really good month. It was always about $1,000 a month to garner atleast $6,000 in business. If you did that with groupon you would be at 2-3g's. That is why proposed my marketing competition to see what worked and what the return was expected to be for us in the MMM room. No one got it so I moved on.

The only gurantee you get with groupon is a loss of money
 

Brian R

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Groupon didn't cost anything out of my pocket...maybe before it hit my pocket.

If you figure your lowest price and can get somewhere near that...you are doing well.

Even if you didn't attempt to upsell any Grouponers....you would still earn more money because some of them would surely need more done.

So if you offer them your other services while in the home (like we all should be doing anyway) you are are sure to make more than just the bottom Groupon price.


I've been over this I don't know how many times....I'm not sure how differently I can put it.

Buisiness has it's expenses...it's up to "you" to make more than you pay.
 

XTREME1

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So if you offer them your other services while in the home (like we all should be doing anyway) you are are sure to make more than just the bottom Groupon price.

My company doesn't do any in home selling
 

Brian R

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Bundy said:
So if you offer them your other services while in the home (like we all should be doing anyway) you are are sure to make more than just the bottom Groupon price.

My company doesn't do any in home selling


If I have to ezplain it...you wouldn't understand. :roll:
 

XTREME1

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we are too busy and have to schedule appropriately so we sell prior to the job. We will do extra work but prefer not to so we don't push in home sales, I think the home owner is at a disadvantage and could feel uncomfortable
 

smastio

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Greg - No one loves to be sold something that feels pressure, but that doesn't mean that they don't want and need more stuff. They just don't like the experience that much. Soooooooooo.... let them buy prior to the appointment on their time, anytime, based on your time (availability) .

I'm waiting for someone to say WTF are you talking about? or not :| So he waits..... and waits and waits.
 

Brian R

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The more money you make in one house...the more money you make.

Why would you want to make 2 trips and lose on overhead?

Allow yourself some time to do what is needed...Now THAT is good customer service and a positive moment of truth.

Customer - "What? Why can't you clean my sofa right now? I have to wait until next week because your other customers are more important than me??"

Tech- "Er uh ummm well uh let me see uh er um...can I use your phone?"


If you leave yourself enough time for each job to do a little more...then you won't upset the next customer in line by being late either....because I know that was going to be your arguement for what I just said. !gotcha!
 

XTREME1

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Someone deleted my post. I can handle add ons in most cases I do not push sales in the home. I let customers know prior to booking what they should expect and if they need anything else since we will be there. We will schedule another trip if needed but 9-10 months out of the year there isn't time in the schedule for unbooked work.

You can say in home sales is important and I say in homes sales usually means Bait and Switch or high pressure tactics. The customer invited you in the home to do a job, do the friggin job. I have had more customers comment on the fact that we do not push things and they say the last guy was selling everything including the doormats and they were very uncomfortable. Since my company is in one and area and isn't moving I have to be more aware of these things than people who move around
 

Brian R

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Hoody said:
This could really hurt an O/O.


I agree. If you plan on doing al the work yourself, I wouldn't do it.

You can put a cap but the least amount you can do is 500.

BUT, if a few O/O's got together and did this...it could work for all of them.


Problem is (as you can see on this board) sometimes cleaners work agains each other.
 

Burtz

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thought it was all about upselling once you get your foot in the door
 

XTREME1

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I get along with all the carpet cleaners in my area and if I can't get to a job I call another company. Heck one of the other carpet cleaners in town is away for a wedding next weekend so we picked up his new calls

Technology review did a study on groupon and you should expect 15% to be repeats and expect 76% to do coupon only
 

Brian R

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Bundy said:
I get along with all the carpet cleaners in my area and if I can't get to a job I call another company. Heck one of the other carpet cleaners in town is away for a wedding next weekend so we picked up his new calls

Technology review did a study on groupon and you should expect 15% to be repeats and expect 76% to do coupon only

Even if that stat is correct (which it can't be)...it's still money made.

I think it fully depends on the company doing the work whether or not there is a good repeat rate.
 

ACE

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303 sold. You should buy some up Brian. I doubt your normal subs will work that cheep. Groupon is great for the bait and switchers now thay don't have to pay for postage and have a direct line to suckers looking for that deal that sounds to good to be true.
 

smastio

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Bundy said:
Technology review did a study on groupon and you should expect 15% to be repeats and expect 76% to do coupon only


I am always looking for data like this... would you please provide the link to the data. Once I get it I cane see if it is just carpet cleaners or all industries...

Thanks...
 

XTREME1

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all industries. The pattern has been proven in all sorts of industries the ones that seem to show success is the Spa industries. you just don't understand with how few carpet cleaners have done it there would not be a large enough pool to derive any true hypothesis
 

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