Why Groupon, Living Social and other Daily Deal Websites Are Actually the Reverse
Why Groupon, Living Social and other Daily Deal Websites Are Actually the Reverse
Whooda has often been described as a “reverse Groupon”, a place where consumers create their own deals (Whoots), then group up and save. It’s true that this is the exact opposite of Groupon - instead of merchants presenting deals to consumers, consumers present deals to merchants.
However when you stop to think about it, Groupon and the daily deal wagon train are really the ones who have it in “reverse”. In a capitalistic, supply and demand based economy Groupon is DEAD WRONG.
“That’s a bargain all right, but a bargain ain’t a bargain unless it’s something you need.”
Truer words have never been spoken. The majority of “deals” on Groupon are for services that consumers don’t need anyway, and would of course never purchase at full price. Buying something you don’t need just because it is 59% off isn’t a good deal, it’s just a trick designed to force purchases of services that aren’t needed.
Unfortunately, consumers aren’t the only ones being tricked by Groupon. Countless merchants are conned into providing 50%+ discounts, and then giving up another 50% to Groupon. No business, small or large, can survive on margins like that. Not even GE, and they don’t pay taxes!
Part of the problem stems from, gasp, SALES PEOPLE. Yes, Groupon has thousands of “sales girls” that hound small merchants on a daily basis. Like all sales people, the more they sell the more they make. They’ll strong-arm you into offering a 60% off deal for your bakery, and then take another 50% on the backend. Apparently, small merchants will fail if they don’t do a Groupon, or so they make you believe. Really the pitch is this: “Does being an indentured servant sound good to you? Try Groupon today!”
So merchants can’t make money by offering Groupons, and consumers can’t purchase what they really want or need by using Groupon. There has to be a better way.
Enter Whooda. Think of Whooda as the Priceline to the daily deal space. You simply create a Whoot in which you name your own deal on products and services that you actually want or need. Then you share the Whoot with your family, friends and co-workers to pledge on. Once enough people have pledged, Whooda negotiates the deal with the merchant, and everybody saves!
Whooda makes more sense for consumers. How many laser hair removal or teeth whitening services do you need? With Whooda you can save on products and services you actually consume on a regular basis, or at least WANT to consume.
Whooda makes more sense for merchants. Imagine actually making money and staying in business WHILE offering discounts to customers. Whooda doesn’t take 50% on the backend. Every deal is different, but Whooda rarely takes more than 10%. On the flip side, most Whoots are in the 25%-45% discount range, allowing merchants to maintain reasonable profit margins. And here’s the kicker:
- With Whooda, you know in ADVANCE how many consumers will participate in a deal. With Groupon you are left guessing how many people will purchase, while Whooda will tell you the exact number of pledges a Whoot has received.
- With Whooda, you can create COUNTER OFFERS. Do 3,000 people want to play a round of golf at your course for 35% off? With Whooda, you can offer the group 35% off on weekdays only for the next two months. OR you can offer them 25% off any day of the week, but only in the afternoons. Since you know how many people will participate in the Whoot ahead of time, merchants can craft counter offers that will satisfy the consumer’s desire for a discount - without having a bankruptcy lawyer on hold. Service oriented merchants can craft deals to take advantage of slow times, while still offering a great deal - all without impacting their “regulars”.
Think of Whooda as an advanced lead generation service, delivering a near 100% conversion rate, while offering discounts that make sense to both the consumer and the business.
In the end it’s clear. Groupon and its little clones are the ones who are operating in reverse, while Whooda offers real value for both merchants AND consumers.
Whoot. Share. Save. Whooda is the place to name your own deals on anything and share the savings with everyone in your social network. Whoot today!
