Marketing Alternatives:  How to Promote Your Business with Daily Deal Sites

By Jeannette Perez, Marketing Director, VIP Payment Solutions

During the last decade, the internet has changed the way small businesses market themselves.  Previously, the only way a business could reach out and promote itself was through print ads, coupons, mailers, radio or television.  Now, with the popularity of social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, combined with our society’s overall need to be constantly stay “connected,” it is getting harder for companies to compete without utilizing the internet in some way.  During the last year, a new breed of direct marketing has taken the consumer market by storm known as the “daily deal.”  Although Groupon and LivingSocial are currently the two largest daily deal sites, there are many other sites popping up which often offer niche and local markets a better shot at attracting new customers.  Keep reading for some tips on how to promote your business with a daily deal site.

How does a daily deal site work?
The concept is pretty simple.  Customers visit the daily deal site and sign up for free to receive a daily discounted deal via e-mail which is available for them to purchase and redeem at a different local business each day.  All businesses who offer deals through these sites are typically required to discount their service or product by at least 50%.  There is usually no up-front cost for the business to offer deals through these sites, but rather a commission is charged per deal purchased.  Groupon, for example, splits the commission 50/50 with the merchant but each site differs in the way they charge businesses to advertise.  Since all deals are “pre-paid,” merchants are usually sent a check within 2 weeks of the promotion which means cash is available to the business before the customers even arrive.  This gives merchants an opportunity to purchase new inventory, hire extra staff, or make improvements to prepare for the new influx of customers.

What are the pros and cons?
The main goal of marketing with a daily deal site isto get as many new customers as possible into your business.  Although you may initially take a profit loss with offering such a deeply discounted deal, if you offer an incredible service or product, there is a potential to gain many new repeat customers that you previously would not have had.  Another drawback is that many businesses often feel overwhelmed by the huge influx of customers.  Make sure to work with the service provider to tailor a deal which suits your business needs and constraints.  Some sites offer limits on the number of deals available for purchase.  You can also limit coupon redemption to certain days of the week (ie. If business tends to be slow on Mondays and Wednesdays, limit the deal to cover those days).  If you do decide to offer a deal with a daily deal site, be sure to prepare your business for a large customer response by purchasing the necessary inventory, lengthening store hours, or hiring temporary staff. 

How do I make new customers loyal?
In order to make the most of the daily deal promotion, it is important to provide your new customer with an enjoyable experience that will want to make them return and share with their friends.  The point here is not to just get customers in the door once, but to keep them coming back for more.  If your business has a rewards program in place, this would be a good time to enroll them to keep them coming back.  Your credit card processor can integrate a rewards program with your terminal, or you can print your own rewards program on business cards.  Also look for a daily deals site that focuses on a niche market.  If you own a salon, perhaps you want to reach out primarily to women or if your business is located in a suburb, check and see if there is a site offering deals specifically in your area rather than just the metropolitan areas.  This could help drive more local customers that are more likely to return to your business.

Popular Daily Deals Sites

Groupon-Find out how to feature your business with Groupon daily deals (National)
Living Social- More information about offering deals with Living Social (National)
Local Dines-Learn more about offering half price restaurant certificates to Arizona restaurants (Local)
Deal Chicken-Daily deals company based in Arizona, which offers deals nationally.

New Year's Resolutions for Your Business

Click on the links below for more tips on New Year's Resolutions for your business.

AllBusiness.com- 10 Real Small Business New Year's Resolutions
OpenForum.com- 11 New Year's Resolutions for Small Business Owners
Entrepeneur.com- New Year's Resolutions for Entrepeneurs
About.com- Top 10 New Year's Resolutions for Business Success

Click here for the English version of the Five New Year's Resolutions for a Successful Business article featured in the January 2011 issue of But Tre Magazine.

Prepare Your Business for the Holidays: Business Cash Advance and Loyalty Programs

Now is a good time for business owners to start thinking about how to increase profits and widen their customer base before the holiday season fully begins. With the economy in a state of change, business owners need to find creative ways to increase sales and keep their customers from straying to competitors. Loyalty or rewards programs are a great way for merchants to track their customer's purchases to learn about their spending patterns as well as keep customers frequenting their establishment. VIP offers both Loyalty and Gift Card programs that can be easily incorporated with your current credit card processing system. Loyalty programs are inexpensive to maintain and have the potential to increase customer visits by 25% (according to a loyalty monitor study done by Custom Marketing Corp). Contact a VIP customer representative for more information about loyalty programs at 1-888-847-4445.

Click on the links below for more information on the advantages of using loyalty programs to help retain customers.

FloridaTrend.com- This article gives advice to small businesses regarding rewards programs to help retain customers.
CustomerThink.com- A brief article listing the advantages of using customer loyalty programs for your business.

A business cash advance can provide your business with the working capital needed to purchase inventory, remodel or expand. With the holiday season quickly approaching, a merchant cash advance is a great source of emergency funding and is easier to qualify for than a traditional bank loan. VIP offers a variety of different merchant cash advance programs to fit your business needs and can qualify you for funding within 48 hours. For more information, visit our Business Cash Advance page or call us at 1-888-847-4445.

Follow the links below for more information on business cash advance.

BuyerZone.com- A business cash advance buyer's guide.
RepairCreditAdvisor.com- Top seven advantages of choosing a merchant cash advance over a business loan.

Click here for the English version of the Prepare Your Business for the Holidays: Business Cash Advance and Loyalty Programs article featured in the November 2010 issue of But Tre Magazine.

Maximize Profits: Prepare For the Holiday Season Now

Click on the links below for more information on how to maximize your profits this holiday season.

Gift Cards-Five Things You Need to Know- AOL Small Business
Prepare Now for Holiday Gift Basket Profits- Apex Gift Basket Pros
Holiday Season: Prepare Now, Profit Later- Network Solutions
How to Maximize Holiday Sales and Profits- Inc.com

Click here for the English version of the Maximize Profits: Prepare For the Holiday Season Now article featured in the October 2010 issue of But Tre Magazine.

Important Changes to Tax Laws: How to Report Your Credit Card Earnings to the IRS

About.com-Tax Planning: Credit Card Payments to be Reported to the IRS Beginning 2011
IRS.gov-Final Regulations on Payment Card Reporting
IRS.gov-Draft of the New 2011 Form 1099-K, Merchant Card and Third Party Payments

Click here for the English version of the How to Report Your Credit Card Earnings to the IRS article featured in the September 2010 issue of But Tre Magazine.

Increase Business Profits:  Define Your Target Market

Entrepeneur- Define Your Target Audience to Grow Your Sales
Inc.com-How to Define Your Target Audience
Nolo-Define a Target Market for Your Small Business
Pew Internet-Data Research Reports Regarding Internet Use Among Various Demographics

Some popular books for more information:

The Small Business Start-Up Kit: A Step by Step Legal Guide by Peri Pakroo
Maxium Marketing, Minimum Dollars: The Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Small Business by Kim T. Gordon
Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking by Andy Sernovitz
Mastering Niche Marketing: A Definitive Guide to Profiting From Ideas in a Competitive Market by Eric V. Van Der Hope

Click here for the English version of the Increase Business Profits: Define Your Target Market article featured in the August 2010 issue of But Tre Magazine.

How to Expand Your Business Customer Base

Click on the links below for more information on how to expand your customer base and the reach of your business.

Inc.com- This article gives an expanded list of how to diversify your customer base.
SmartPros.com- A short article focusing on building customer base for small business.

Here are some books that focus on expanding client base through social networking and collaboration.

• Marketing to the Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business  by Larry Weber
• Endess Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts in to Sales by Bob Burg
• The Collaboration Challenge: How Nonprofits and Businesses Succeed Through Strategic Alliances by James E. Austin
• Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars: The Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Small Business by Kim T. Gordon

Click here for the English version of the How to Expand Your Customer Base article featured in the July 2010 issue of But Tre Magazine.

Take Your Business on the Road

Here are some useful sites with marketing ideas and tips for your summer promotions.

Constant Contact- This popular e-mail and newsletter marketing service makes it easier for you to keep in contact with your customers for an affordable price.
Festivals.com- Search, browse, or submit events across the US for free. This site is very user friendly and makes it easy to find the type of event you're looking for in your area.
Business.gov- The 5 Summer Marketing Tips article will help you come up with ways to promote your business this summer.
Ehow.com- A helpful article with advice on how to sell arts/crafts at a festival or fair (useful tips for other types of businesses too).

Click here for the English version of the Take Your Business on the Road article which was featured in the June 2010 issue of But Tre Magazine.

This brief video from ABC news has some great ideas and guidelines on how to have a successful event experience.

Finding a Balance Between Life and Work

Business Week- The Ethics of Work Life Balance
WebMD- 5 Tips for Better Work Life Balance
CNN- The Work Life Balance Calculator

Also some books to check out:

Work Won't Love You Back: The Dual Career Couple's Survival Guide by Stevan Hobfoll
Make the Right Choice: Creating a Positive, Innovative and Productive Work Life by Joel Zeff
Plenitude:  The New Economics of True Wealth by Juliet Schor

How to use Twitter to market your business--Web Links

Read Write Enterprise- 4 Ways Companies Use Twitter for Business 
Twitter 101- Best Practices
Copyblogger- How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business