Target New Customers with Old Groupons

Update: Hey, looky there! Groupon themselves finally blogged about this. If I had to be honest, I'd say my post is a little more informative, but, you know, they're busy rolling around in piles of money from their recent IPO :P Groupon added new personalization options today, allowing users to add more than one location to their profile as well as indicate what types of deals they're looking for. In a first for Groupon, as reported by tech blog Mashable, merchants will have an opportunity to target old deals at new consumers matching a certain profile. Presumably, merchants could use this to connect with people that have a good chance of becoming repeat customers, influencers, or otherwise a good match for the business.

The Deal Types -- their official name -- form more of a matchmaking system than a category system. Rather than choose specific categories like Vegetarian Restaurants or Comic Book Stores, users are encouraged to "heart" options like these:

• Bring the Kids
• Good for Gifting
• Sporting Life
• Girls Night Out

I added "Casual Eats" to my account while viewing a deal for the newly-opened Capitol Pub and Hot Dog Co. in my hometown of Des Moines to test it out.

Adding a Deal Type to your profile will highlight deals of the same type elsewhere on Groupon.com, such as on the All Deals overview page.

With fewer than half of previous Groupon merchants indicating they'd use it again, it makes sense Groupon would add ways for the right kind of customers to find the right kind of deals. If Groupon's new Deal Types and Places can help independent businesses turn Groupon customers into returning customers, it's a win for everybody.

Speaking personally, I could see this type of preference-based system help Groupon appeal to a different type of consumer entirely. I've bought a handful of Daily Deals in the past (mostly for movie tickets), but I'm not exactly an adventurous consumer. Having the ability to browse Groupon's deals on my own terms and have a better idea if the deal matches my interests might entice me to explore more of their deals.

How Google+ Business Pages Work

You're reading the first of what promises to be many posts about the use and impact of social media at independent businesses. At Change, we believe social media should be a boon, not a burden, for independent business owners. We'll be blogging tips and guides based on our own experience as well as what we're learning from our customers and supporters. Have tips on social media usage for independent businesses you'd like to contribute to the Change blog? Email me at scott@changeapp.com.

 

Search giant Google recently announced pages for businesses on their social network Google+. If you already have a Facebook page for your business, you have the basic idea.

On Google+, pages are a way for your business to have a presence independent of yourself or your employees. You can check out the page we just made for Change as an example.

There are two main ways users can interact with your page:

1. Users can +1 your page to indicate they like it or support it. This works a bit differently than liking something on Facebook. Namely, the user will not start automatically seeing updates from you in their feed if they +1 your page. Think of it instead as a virtual "kudos" -- others can see how many people have hit +1 on a particular page as a way of gauging how popular and well-liked the business is.
2. Users can add your page to a circle. Circles are Google's way of organizing people and things you want to follow on Google+. If a user wants to see updates from their favorite pizza place in their Google+ stream, they'll need to add it to a Circle, like "Favorite Businesses" or "Restaurants". You won't know what circle someone has added you to (that's always private), but you'll know if you're in a circle at all or not. Anything you post as "Public" can be seen by people who have you in a circle or visit your publicly available page.

You can take it a step further and segment your supporters into your own circles. Google has some suggestions to start you out:

By adding customers to the VIPs circle, for example, you could share a special coupon or discount code only available to your most loyal customers by choosing to share it with only your VIPs circle. I'm sure there will be a lot of creative uses of this functionality as time goes on.

I reached out to my friend Phil James to see how he was using Google+ in these early hours for Gusto Pizza Co., an independent restaurant making delicious pies and sandwiches and serving up craft beer and other goodies. Phil does social media consulting with Gusto through his company Good Milkshake. Here's what he had to say:

"I wanted to use Google+ for Gusto photos and videos as it seems like a more friendly platform for that medium than Twitter or Facebook. I'm looking to get the guys at Gusto to start posting less scripted stuff from the kitchen, on the road with the Gusto trailer, etc. It's in the trial period right now, and I'm not sure it's going to do a lick of good as of yet, but hey, it's there and it's interesting and, well, it's free."

So that's what Gusto is doing, how about you? Thinking of adding your business to Google+? Why or why not? How could you see yourself using Circles in your marketing?

Time Over Tipping? Your Employees Lose

Oh hey! That's me, sipping on a Cafe Mocha. I'm not big on coffee, but on an increasingly cold November day in Des Moines, one of these really hits the spot.

I got it from Freidrich's, a small chain of quick-service coffee stands in our area. My Freidrich's mocha made for a nice morning. The staff was friendly as ever, my drink was made quickly, and I was off to the office with hardly a bump in my schedule. Also, it was delicious.

There was one weird thing about my experience, however: I couldn't tip! As someone who rarely carries cash, I had to pay by credit card. As the purchase was under $25, they didn't ask me to sign. Since they didn't ask me to sign for it, and I had no cash, I had no opportunity to tip the kind folks who made my drink.

So somebody didn't get tipped, and I don't get to deduct a $4 coffee that is now totally a business expense. Big whoop, right? Maybe not, if you consider that this probably happens a few dozen times a day at just that stand. I've seen the line a good 15 people deep during the early morning hours and over lunch.

Let's breakdown a hypothetical scenario:

• On a given Tuesday, Between 7am and 8am, 40 people buy an espresso-based drink at an average price of $3.50.
• Based on our current survey results, I can safely estimate that 75%, or 30, of those people will pay with a credit card.
• My barista housemate estimates half of the customers at her shop tip something. The tips vary from rounding up to a whole dollar amount (like $3.50 to $4.00) to a dollar or two or three if they're having a good day. For simplicity's sake, we'll pick an average tip of one dollar per customer.

Are you already doing the same math I am? In a single hour, a server could be missing out on up to $30 in tips. Thirty! I don't know about you, but I'd hate to miss out on an extra 30 bones.

I can understand not wanting to slow down a busy line and have 40 people sign for their morning coffee, but its a pretty unfortunate compromise. Strange checkout experiences like this one fuel our imagination and keep the team motivated while working on Change.

How could you fix this? What if I could hop on a website right now, pull up my order, see the names of the folks who served me, and throw a buck or two their way? What if I could go further and compliment the gentleman who made my drink on the flavor, texture, and temperature? What if I could by my drink without cash or credit and still tip?

What about you? I can't be the only socially awkward penguin out there agonizing over wanting to have tipped and not being given the opportunity. Servers, owners, customers: we want to hear from you. Drop a note in the comments and let's talk about tips!

Retail Observations from a Potential Bookstore Owner

We received this note recently:

I am thinking seriously about opening a small bookstore. As I look at other small, independent businesses I use, I'm struck by the awkward point of sale. They don't want the expense of credit card fees, so they go backwards to the cash/check only, write-out-the-receipt mode. I'm encouraged by the promise of your business. I hope to make the point of sale very easy for both the customer and me. No loss of sale because a jogger/walker in the neighborhood wasn't prepared to buy, yet saw the perfect thing in my window!

Mary P. Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Mary was kind enough to share the above thoughts with us after learning about Change. I liked this phrase in particular: “...I’m struck by the awkward point of sale.” Us too. Unfortunately, many mobile and tablet solutions aren’t much better. I don’t know about you, but I feel pretty goofy handing my iPhone over to someone I’ve never met so they can scan in, say, a 50-cent coupon on coffee. Don’t even get me started on redeeming my last LivingSocial deal. Binders were involved. Binders. Full of paper. To redeem a voucher I bought on the INTERNET. Gosh darn rassin’ frassin’...ahem. Sorry. I got myself going there. Anyway…

Astute observation of the retail experience is a trait we notice in many business owners. They’re curious, empathetic, and pay attention to the little things. They love people, not software and bookkeeping. I have no doubt Mary’s bookstore will have a phenomenal, people-centered checkout experience. We’re building Change for Mary and others like her and I hope she’ll consider being part of our pilot program if her bookstore comes together (and I hope it does).

At Change, we’re immensely curious to learn what others have observed about the checkout experience at their favorite local spots. Our survey for fans and supporters of independent businesses encourages people to share those very thoughts with us.

You can also join the conversation by commenting on this post. We’re listening.