Services like Groupon (the example for this post) have become wildly popular, but there are two key things needed so they can continue to evolve.
If you aren’t familiar with how Groupon works take a moment and read this.
1. Segmentation
The emails are well written and comical at times… but there’s only so many times I care to read about getting a blowout (fancy hair drying process for guys wondering what that is) at a salon.
Segmentation of the offerings is something that is needed to not only provide added value to the customer, but to also prevent burnout from irrelevant emails. The last thing they want to be is another one of those emails you look at and click delete before opening (why don’t you unsubscribe from those?).
2. Follow up for Participating Businesses
Great. You bought something with Groupon. Woohoo – everyone’s happy. Groupon made money, the business made money and you scored something at great price.
Time goes by and what do you know, you still haven’t taken advantage of your deal. In some ways that could be a win for the business if they’re only looking to make a one time sale , but for those that are looking to grow their customer base… your not using the Groupon is bad.
What would be cool is to see some sort of tracking system (I’m sure something of this nature exists… but might not go far enough – who knows) that would send an email on behalf of Groupon that highlighted the deal hadn’t been used. The message could be something simple like,
“Thanks for taking advantage of X service via Groupon. Our records show you haven’t taken advantage of your deal just yet, but X business would love to see you sometime soon.”
Maybe that’s not the right copy, but do you get the point? The reminder would hopefully prompt the consumer to visit the business (maybe even remind them they bought the Groupon) and then allow the business to convert them in to a routine customer.
These thoughts are coming from me, strictly as a consumer. Why? Because both items discussed in this post are relevant to me. A couple small tweaks could provide high value for both consumers and businesses.
