Chances are that you’ve probably heard of Groupon if you haven’t been living in a bubble for the past year. It is a wildly popular site that allows consumers to receive massive discounts on goods and services from local businesses. Popular categories include restaurants, health and gym offers and practical deals on things we all need such as auto service.

Groupon Offers Exposure And Traffic
Loyal users of the site generally receive frequent e-mails about Groupon’s latest offers and will log in to check it out if something particular piques their interests. Popular offers can expect to be sold fast as in sold out within a couple of hours. In addition, you can expect to receive many visitors to your website from consumers who want to learn more about your business. Groupon purchases can be an impulse buy for many. For example, some users may not even be consciously thinking of getting their car serviced but feel inspired to do so after seeing a kick ass deal that they just can’t refuse.  It’s a great way to attract new customers that may have never heard of your business before.

Be Prepared
Since popular offers can attract huge amounts of sales you will need to prepare for a large influx of business after your offer has been published. This means that you will need to allot sufficient resources (time and employees) in order to deal with your existing customer base. I have personally heard of small businesses getting booked up for months after a massive Groupon campaign.

Consumers Love Deals
Everyone loves good deals; the stigma of using coupons has long disappeared with the advent of “online coupons” that you can find by browsing sites like Retailmenot. Even high-end and luxury online retailers frequently offer coupons for free shipping, an extra percentage off and even free samples. Local car dealers such as Galpin Volkswagen could offer discounts on service or parts.

Groupon And Profits
Most businesses who advertise on Groupon aren’t generating huge profits since the offers are heavily discounted. In addition, the site also takes a cut of anywhere from 30%-60% from your already discounted price. Make sure to carefully measure the results of each campaign in order to see if it’s worthwhile financially.

Focus On Retaining Customers
Deal hunters can be fickle and some may even be addicted to the thrill of chasing after the next great deal. Once you get your new customers through the door you will want to focus on retaining that customer. Another possibility is to upsell them in order to make a little more profit in order to counterbalance the cost of running a campaign.

Written by Jacqueline Star – Auto repaor shops such as Acura Repair Atlanta can increase online exposure and gain web traffic by offering deals on sites like Groupon.