It's My Destiny and I Intend to Seize it

One of the hottest rages this year is the phenomena of Group on ™ discount coupons. The basic idea is to help drive customers your brand, products and services. The idea is kind of a ‘foot in the door’ kind of an approach’.

The upside to this idea is to get customers who might not have ever given your services a try. In theory, once one person tries your service and/or product, that will draw another and another and another…

In actuality, there is the fusion of three elements. The first element is the increasing in popularity of Group On ™ media that specializes in helping to get your business in front of the customer. What also comes with the effort is the promise that this will wildly expand your business and drive people to you. In order to do this, they assign an account to you and provide management of the coupon you design. In return, they take 50% of your profits right off the top. And you get what’s left over. Don’t forget to add in tax on the whole amount you’ll have to pay. The second element is the target customer. And thirdly, there is you and your business.

The problem comes when you offer a product or service to a customer that was not inclined to have visited to you in the first place and probably won’t return. The situation is further aggravated by their perception is that since a discount is the normal price they tend to find more deals elsewhere, cutting down on repeat business.

I got to thinking about exactly what it is that I’m paying for; the coupon? I can make one of those (check Microsoft’s Publisher software included with most Windows based operating systems). The advantage of their services is that it ostensibly provides distribution and buzz. With Email, Linkedin ™, Facebook ™ and blogging tools like Wordpress ™, I can get the word out. The real problem is setting up the coupon so that everybody wins. If your product and services are sold at a loss, that is hardly the point of the exercise.

A service like Group On (tm) may be a solution for you, however, my suggestion is to cut out the added layer between you and the customer and stick to old school – provide a good product at a reasonable price with customer service that includes a smile. And market your butt off. (website www.beltair.org; my blog at: www.beltsocalelevatedphotography.com).