If you are planning to offer a deal with Groupon, you should read this first to ensure that you have a plan to turn those Groupon customers into permanent ones. Groupon can drive customers to your door. However, how you treat those customers and how you follow up with them after their initial visit can make all the difference in whether they continue to come back or only take advantage of your Groupon deal.

Groupon

Many companies believe that Groupon customers are only in it for the discount. There are ways to turn Groupon deal seekers into your permanent customers that pay full price. Follow these tips to convert Groupon customers into your returning customers in 5 steps:

  1. Your Groupon Deal is an Advertising Expense: The number one rule when starting a Groupon deal is to remember that this is an expense. So often companies think that they will be making money from the new customers coming in. That is not the case since you are offering them a discount and Groupon takes a percentage as well. Groupon is an expense; the new business won’t be flooding in . . . . yet.
  2. Remarket yourself to the Groupon Customers: Collect information from the Groupon customers. Talk to them, ask them if they have been a customer of your before and ask what brought them in. More importantly, ask them what will bring them back. Offer another, smaller discount to bring them back; but customize the next deal based on what will bring them back. At the same time, this can help you weed out the customers that are only in it for the discount.
  3. Make them Fall in Love with What You Do: Having them come back a second time gives them a chance to fall in love with what you do. Win them over with superior service, be a taste above the rest, and offer something different to keep them coming back for more.
  4. Continue Marketing to Them: Once you have collected information on your customers, build a database and continue marketing to them and communicating with them, keeping your company top of mind with the customers.
  5. Work on Retention: Retaining your existing customers costs much less than acquiring new ones. Keep this in mind and regularly offer your current customers discounts and rewards that you would normally allocate to recruiting new customers.