3 reasons Groupon is bad for your business

and now for the really, really bad news. This is essentially the WalMarting of the American economy, and dare I say the Freemium model which social media types are so apt to embrace. In the last 25 years we have undermine brand premium pricing, (even the beloved Nordstrom also is located in the Mall of America with Nordstrom Rack ) and built a crazy expectation that everything costs next to nothing. Well greedy consumers apparently win out over unwitting employees. What the hell are we thinking, the less we pay the less we get paid. Or conversely the less we charge the more we need to sell. What has all this really done? It's allowed most of us consumers to buy into the concept the people, yes people are worth very little in the grand scheme of things. So enjoy your 50% off. Maybe you got that patio furniture and someone got laid off. Or maybe you got that deal because they raised the price 100% the previous week. In either case, distracting consumers with price to manipulate behavior is an age old tactic that creates a race to the bottom. Happy landings.

Hi, points are well taken. Because it's relevant, and pretty useful for merchants who are fearful of doing Groupons, you should know that there are merchant agencies that will work for you for free, and get you better revenue splits with the deal sites. Full disclosure, I founded one of these, dealVITA.com, but we have pull with the deal sites since we represent a lot of merchants at this stage. We're getting some merchants 80-20 splits (not the 50-50 that was described)... again, we're entirely free (just a fee to the deal sites). It's ridiculous the time burden and cost these deal sites put on businesses. Sorry for the plug, once again, but a site like dealVITA wants to help.

It seems that the fundamentals of how to do business were periodically forgotten when this article was written. For starters, small businesses and new businesses especially, have to get people 'in the door' if word about their company is going to spread. Limited-time, cost-saving promotions has always been the most effective way of doing this - 50% off your first yoga 3 yoga classes; free internet marketing consultation, book now; purchase one massage and get the second one half off. How and why would anybody try something new, or better yet, leave their existing service provider, if there is no cost incentive? Secondly, the principle reason why social media has been so widely embraced by brands around the world, is because they have recognised the power social influence has on purchasing decisions. The truth is, marketers have always known this but since the evolution of all of these social platforms, word-of-mouth marketing is able to spread further and faster than it ever has before. People are sharing more today than they ever have before. Brands seek the opinions of their consumers and are willing to make them public at the risk of getting a bad review because they are such a powerful marketing tool. There would be little to no interest in social media from the perspective of brands, if they didn't believe it could be commercialised. Thirdly, scarcity has always been a major driver of interest. People are wired to want things that they don't think they can have- this dates all the way back to Adam and Eve. The entire luxury industry is build on rarity and aspiration. As for companies never being able to ask for the original price again - how can that possibly be? All consumers understand what a sale is, what a one-time offer is. The point is to get them in the door, let the product or service sell itself and then go back to charging your regular rate. Moreover, the companies that are featured on Groupon have given them their consent. They aren't just handing out freebies without the permission of the service or product provider! Personally, I think that social buying sites like Groupon are making business possible for small indies around the world, while giving consumers something to get excited about and share with their peers. They are using the available technologies to profit from existing trends and have created a successful business model in doing so.

The world has moved on post economic meltdown. Businesses have to adjust to this. Some already are by reducing the contents of their products but charging the same prices whilst hoping customers don't notice, offering products on 'sale' whilst reducing the size overly disproportiontely (and then returning the price to the original price but not the contents. These will suffer in the long run. Most people know its an economic game and not some altruistic society. People want value for money with an honest relationship with a brand. The clear message is for businesses that need to use Groupon is that they are not offering value. Get the offer right (by managing both sides of the cost / price relationship) and Groupon would be history. Not sure how you can end with a call to give away product. That is just bad business. If the recipient values the service why give it to them for free? I love the 'opportunity cost' saving of not paying Groupon 50% of the revenue. You get to keep 100% of exactly zero..........

Francois, I would disagree with you on a few fronts. 1 )I think it is a mistake to make generalizations about Groupon and daily deals sites in general as they may or not be helpful to brands both major and minor. Certainly your example of pet food firms in Brazil is interesting but mostly because it illustrates a full scale price war by major brands in action--it most certainly does not illustrate the results of a restaurant owner looking to increase foot traffic by offering a Groupon. In the case of the pet food firms--there is no where else to go to buy pet food. There are thousands of restaurants in a major metro area. 2) These models started with a scarcity concept but have evolved away from that. When is the last time you actually saw a meaningful quantity limit on a consumer deal? The original intent was to get your friends to buy the deal so it would "tip". It was a clever way to do two things--grow membership in the daily deal site, and two drive incremental units sold. The retailer had very little to do--if anything-with the deal tipping. If you asked the average small business owner whether or not they needed 50 units of something to be sold to make them happy--the likely answer would be "25 would be just fine! Customers--especially new ones--are always welcome" 3) The idea of giving away a free masage to one friends is interesting but flawed. Without some commitment from the consumer, a free thing is valued at--well, zero by the consumer. By making the consumer get some "skin in the game" no pun intended, the service retains value. Just because you got a great deal on a suit at the Macy's summer sale doesn't mean you always expect to get the same deal when you walk in the store. Discounts drive traffic. It is up to the merchant to deliver enough value to convert a "tester" to a "regular" customer. That has always been true. Groupon, Living Social, etc have just created a large scale system for moving possibly qualified customers through the doors of business. Should Gucci, D&G, Cartier and other luxury brands offer daily deals? Likely not. Should the bar down the street with a new tapas menu? Likely so.

Couldn't agree more. Ultimately, when you take a step back and look at the business model, Groupon is not a solution for growth, especially in the long-term. But like your article points out, there are even negative short-term aspects of the service. I think more and more people will begin to realize this as the "deal" fad goes takes its course.