Entrepreneur: Cautionary Tale: A Groupon Campaign Gone Wrong
A Portland cafe owner, lured by the prospect of winning new customers, made a Groupon offer that hundreds couldn’t refuse. As a result her small shop was overwhelmed and she lost money. Learn from her mistakes.
“For many businesses, Groupon promotions can help increase traffic and expand your customer base with no initial investment. But as one Portland, Ore., coffee-shop owner discovered, getting something for free can get very expensive.
Groupon, like other social buying sites LivingSocial and BuyWithMe, offers to dispatch daily deals with steep discounts to members of its email list on everything from spa visits to a night on the town. In exchange, the sites typically take half of the discounted offer price.”