Why Groupon Succeeds

Have you ever used Groupon? Groupon is a service that sends out a daily email with coupons for local businesses. Most of the deals are pretty good. If you don’t have any idea what I am talking about, ask around. One of your friends probably subscribes to Groupon or has used it on Facebook. Business owners that have used Groupon to promote their business have reported that doing so resulted in a lot of sales. Groupon is a new company, and it appears to be successful. According to recent speculation, Google may even be considering purchasing Groupon.

The whole concept and implementation is innovative. Even so, there must be some secret to their success. Do you wonder what it is? Do they have some sort of super-efficient way to manage their vendor and customer relationships? Could it be cutting edge technology?

Well? The answers are no and no. The secret is their attention to detail and the quality of their writing. Groupon does not rely on business offering deals for ad copy. It has a writing staff. It may not be off-the-wall like this product description I’ve added to the end of this post for a wool coat from the J. Peterman Company, but according to CEO Andrew Mason,

. . . having well-written, engaging content is a key part of convincing users to keep reading about new shops that they might never have never heard of.

Creative writing was a hallmark of J. Peterman whose ad copy was so well known that it even ended up as part of the plot line on the popular TV show Seinfeld.

Groupon works because Mason and his team understand the importance of branding and of articulating a value proposition to customers. Groupon recognizes that it has two customer groups: the vendor with the product and the customer looking for a deal, and it offers value to each group. Groupon’s brand represents good deals for consumers and an easy approach to product promotion using online coupons to for vendors, and the company avoids the trap of being another coupon clipping site.

Check out this blog article about Groupon. DEMO: The secret of Groupon’s success is … good writing?

  

J. Peterman Company product description:

North Woods Know-How

Men who wear jackets like this know things.

• How to start a fire in the rain.
• Measure a cord of wood.
• Build empires.

Like Samuel Bingham. Started out as a saw-filer and eventually became “The King of the Cascades.” At 60, he was still showing the greenhorns how to untangle log jams on the Gatineau.

Or J.R. Booth. Started out as a carpenter with $9 in his pocket. Worked well into his 90s and left a railway empire estimated at $33 million.

Clearly two men worth emulating.

Wool Zip Jacket (No. 2833). Both rugged and handsome, it’s made of a 90% Melton wool blend that’s brushed so the warp and welt yarns aren’t visible. 2-button adjustable cuffs. Side slits. Front and back yokes.

The front yoke is unique in that it covers the pockets, making them the perfect place to keep maps, a deed, or your GPS unit. Extremely warm but not bulky.

Every North Woods estate should come with one of these jackets and a black lab. Imported.

Men’s sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL.

Colors: Navy, Red.