Groupon is one if the fastest growing businesses in recent years that has paired businesses with hundreds of thousands of new clients. Could you be one of those businesses?
It really depends on what type of business you have and not only that, but your strategy on how to market your new client. For instance in the photo above the current Groupon deal is for a 5 yoga classes at YAS studios for $20. The new client purchases the Groupon deal online, then brings the deal to the fitness studio. The client takes the 5 classes for $20 which are normally $16 each and then the fitness studio never sees the client again because that client does not want to pay $16 per class.
See, there are two types of Groupon clients. The type that wants to experience and try new things, try new restaurants, bungee jump, wine taste, etc, but because it is their first time, does not want to spend a lot of money. However, they are the type that if they like a place or an activity they will try it again and perhaps pay full price.
The other type of client is one who is constantly looking for a deal. No matter what the restaurant is, the activity, they are just in it for the discount. Most likely after they have redeemed the deal you will never see them again until another deal is offered. These can be sub-categorized into clients who obsess over coupons and spend all day looking for coupons (like that popular show on TV, Extreme Couponing) and then the Frugal Shopper who is constantly looking for deals and will never return to your business because she is too busy redeeming deals at 100 other businesses.
What should the Fitness Studio do to ensure this client will return again?
The Fitness Studio will probably have a good deal of new clients from Groupon.
- The best thing to do is to capture the new client’s information during their first visit, their first class. This could be filling out a welcome card at the front of the studio complete with email address.
- Another way is to invite the client to “like” them on facebook and offer them a coupon for one more free class or another class at a discount. This builds their facebook presence so they can promote their business to this new client further and a chance to try to hook the client in with another deal.
- Once you have their contact information you can offer them a fitness package for the month that would be appealing to them at the end of the fifth class.
- Use their contact information to update them on new classes, deals, upcoming events, new teachers, etc.
- A great advertisement for someone who knows nothing about your business regardless of what type of Groupon customer they might be. Think of it as placing an ad for your business, but with a coupon attached.
- You are offering your product or service for 50 percent off, so you need to strategize of how you are going to turn a coupon customer into a long term customer. Otherwise that 50 percent product or service you just gave away, just left with the customer never to be seen again.
- A temporary spike in customers. You may not make any additional profits from this customer so you have to make sure that your business can support the increase in customers. Are you properly staffed? Will you be able to tend to your full price customers as much as the Groupon ones?