(Newswire.net – March 24, 2013) Kansas City, KS — It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t like coffee in some form or another, be it a standard black drip coffee, or a more elaborate espresso-style drink, ranging from lattes to frappuccinos. Even those who don’t drink it tend to love the smell. So it’s no surprise that every time Starbucks, the Seattle-based coffee giant, offers a deal on their beverages, scores of thousands take advantage of the chance to stretch their coffee budget twice as far. And this weekend, so many people jumped at the opportunity, that it temporarily suspended the website. When the offer closed at midnight on the 24th, over 100,000 offers had been sold, netting over $250,000 for the chain, and bringing hundreds of people back into the stores or kiosks to be up-sold scones and venti-sized supersizings as they chase that caffeinated nirvana.
Justin West, the president of sales for a local marketing agency based near Kansas City that specializes in helping smaller, local businesses structure such Groupon marketing offers, said, “It’s not a huge surprise that the sold as much as they did. Deal sites like Groupon offer an incredible value to everyone involved when the deal is structured well, so that the customer get’s an amazing deal, the business get’s a rush of customers, and the deal site get’s a nice cut of the profits.”
Some have been critical of the deal site model, citing numerous businesses that have been “burned” by poorly structured deals, but Mr. West is hopeful for the future of such marketing sites. “It’s a win for everyone when structured correctly, and the best part is, for the businesses, it’s no-cost marketing; no cost out of pocket, anyway. Today, more small and medium sized local businesses are learning that they need help structuring such deals to ensure that they go off as well as could be imagined, and we’re seeing a flood of interest in helping them structure such deals, particularly because we can help them ensure that these customers have a great experience and keep coming back.
A recent polling of over 400 local marketing professionals showed that fewer than 4% of marketing agencies had any experience in such deal site marketing, though Mr. West expects that in time that will change, “because it’s a very viable marketing route.”
Mr. West’s company, Hundreds Of Customers, LLC., specialize in helping local businesses get more customers and attract new clients using non-traditional marketing tactics. They offer deal site marketing consultation free of charge, and help businesses make the most of a deal site offering. For more information, please visit: http://www.HundredsOfCustomers.com/dealsite