It was the memo that went round the world. Round kind of like the way the infamous Netflix email went round the world, but this one was kind of bitter-sweet.
Andrew Mason, the co-founder of the largest Deal-Site, Groupon.com, was fired by his own company, and before leaving he fired off a missive of his own, informing all Groupon employees of the events that had just transpired.
"After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today. If you're wondering why... you haven't been paying attention,
Groupon is teetering. It won't fail, but it's reeling.
Businesses are getting burned. Many are losing thousands of dollars, nearly going bankrupt, and even having to close their businesses, because they didn't know what they were doing.
Customers are getting burned. Many patronize the aforementioned businesses who were utterly unprepared for running a deal on a site like Groupon, and wind up facing: staff who don't understand the promotion, long lines, and often being treated like a "second class" citizen.
All of this is causing backlash to sites like Groupon (which has the largest market-share by far, with nearly 150 Million subscribers).
Deal-sites like Groupon and LivingSocial have a lot of promise, which is why they've exploded in popularity. They represent the potential for a unique trifecta of win: a win for the business who get's massive exposure and new customers/clients, a win for the customers who get a great deal, and a win for the deal-site who gets a very generous cut of the profits.
This model falls apart because business owners simply don't undestand the mechanics of offering a successful venture on these sites, and if they can'd do it and do it well, then of course the customers are going to have a bad experience. And if too many customers have bad experiences, of course it hurts the deal site.
It doesn't have to be that hard.
This whole problem can be fixed with some simple prep-work by an experienced local-marketing company who can represent the business to the deal site, get them a better deal, and help them through the offering, scoring hundreds of new customers for the company and keeping all parties happy.
So contact us, and let's get you more customers!
