(Editors note: Marketing , good or bad,always comes to dentistry. We are prime targets for a “sell”. Groupon is a new age manifestation of barter on one level and AMWAY on another. It’s worth checking into,however, CAVEAT EMPTOR.)
I have been reading with great interest (especially here) the stories of retailers sharing their experiences using Groupon. For those of you not familiar with Groupon, the company partners with local businesses to send a daily coupon e-blast to its members. The members who buy the coupon get 50 to 70 percent off on a product or service, and Groupon splits the proceeds with the retailer — usually leaving the retailer with about 20 to 25 cents on the dollar of retail value.
Image via Wikipedia
I have never seen anything that is both so celebrated and demonized at the same time. There has been talk that Groupon might be worth as much as $3 billion, and yet here are some blog comments from retailers who’ve tried the service:
- “It is for desperate businesses.”
- “The financials just can’t work out.”
- “Groupon is the worst marketing ever.”
- “We did Groupon. It was O.K. It brought in new customers — we kept most of them. But the margins are a killer.”
