Converting those one-time Groupon customers to regular customers

If you've had a Groupon offering, or are thinking of having one, you MUST develop a strategy for maximizing your customer relationship. First rule of thumb: Do not take what the sales rep gives you. They will tell you about all kinds of deal structures that have worked really well in the past, and that you should follow one of those past models. Keep in mind, Groupon needs to sell as much as possible today so they can pay for yesterday's merchant deals. Consequently, they'll look for quantity over quality. Last thing you want is for a Groupon customer to run into your business, snatch the deal, and then disappear into the dark alleys, never to be seen again. This is quite common.

Second rule of thumb: You are on your own. Groupon and other group buying sites, will NEVER share their email address list with you. That list is the very foundation of their business, they've paid big bucks to build it, and they're not gonna give it up, even the addresses of those customers who bought YOUR products through them. Groupon is not interested in helping your business thrive, even though they pitch you this way. They are interested in selling your products and getting their commission. In and out, drive-by style. Getting those customers to come in again will depend on you. You'll need to reach down into that entrepreneurial mind of yours to come up with a solution.

So, what can you do to ensure that a Groupon offering will actually help you in the long run, rather than simply provide you with a big wave of money-losing customers for a short time?

Think about how you will structure the deal. And track your customers. The former has to do with business. The latter, technology.

MaggieMudd ran a number of group buying deals. One of the products the company sold was ice cream cake. The product was sold online, and could be completely tracked. It was delivered, much like pizza, but purchases needed to be made 24 hours in advance, as all cake sales were custom made.

Anecdotal evidence pointed to the development of new customers from cakes that were delivered to Groupon customers. Typically, cakes served anywhere from 6 to 150 people. This meant, they were mostly only appropriate for parties. Consequently, new people were introduced to the product, and thereby became new customers. And paying customers, too.

It's hard for technology to track this behavior, but it's not hard for a merchant to set up a deal with this in mind. If you can design a deal that will REQUIRE your customers to come back again, or even better, to bring their friends, you have a better chance of growing your base.

Using technology to track your customers, and communicate with them, is not a new idea. I'm sure you've been into a Borders store, and were asked about your Borders rewards account. Lots of stores do this.

In this case, MaggieMudd did a double-punch. They required all Groupon originating purchases to be done online. As a result, they were able to collect the Groupon email address list on their own, and leave something with the customer. Utilizing the Gift Card Manager in conjunction with their online ordering system, they were able to convert customer balances into digital gift cards which customers could use later.

The image here will probably make most merchants cringe. Using a deal voucher, the customer now is owed $8.51. After already having a 50% discount.

To give Groupon and others credit, they do not require you to give money back to the customer in this case. Instead, customers need to use the entirety of the voucher, or forfeit any positive balance.

But why not just keep a balance and leave a calling card, i.e., digital gift card,  instead? And while you are at it, encourage the customer to opt-in to your own deals list? If you can do all of this, then you have a better chance of converting those customers into return and even regular customers.

While it's true that many businesses will not have a model that lends itself easily to online ordering, there is always an opportunity to using technology to gain their loyalty. It starts with getting that email address AND managing that email address. After that, you can do all kinds of fun things, like email promos, random drawings, 50% off deals, and so on. If your business does a 50% off Facebook deal, for example, and a former Groupon customer from your email list picks it up, you are better off because you don't have to pay any commission.Simple bottom line fact.

Manage your own digital gift cards for FREE. Click here.

Start collecting email addresses from your own site for FREE. Click here.