Groupon is the Hot New Small Business Trend But Does it Help or Hurt?

These days, most people who surf the web have heard of Groupon. It is built on a group coupon idea. A small, local business will set up a deal for a deeply discounted product or service. The deal will only be available if so many people – normally fifty to a hundred or so – buy a coupon. If not enough people buy, no one gets the deal. If enough people buy, everyone does. Businesses are getting excellent exposure from this company, and consumers like it as a fast, easy way of getting great deals on local goods or services.

Exposure, though, is all that a small business will get from Groupon deals. Normally, the small business offers a discount of at least 40% off whatever they’re advertising. Then Groupon will take about 50% of what the company does get for each coupon, leaving companies with very little money for the products and services they’re practically giving away.

This could seem like a bad business practice, but in some cases, it’s brought thousands of new customers to salons, restaurants, and small shops in local areas. People enjoy trying Groupons because they’re often for a small, hole-in-the-wall business that they may not have heard of before. A good first experience can give the small business a repeat customer that they would never have otherwise had.

Your business could benefit well from this exposure, but you have to be able to keep up. Some business owners have gotten more than they could handle from Groupon. As the company focuses more on advertising in local areas, the rush may not be so big, but you could easily get over a thousand new customers at your business in just a few weeks! Just make sure you can handle the rush of customers.

Subscribe for newsletters &
Get Latest Updates & Offers

Stay
Connected