Living Social and Groupon

ADMIT Photography

Has anyone used a service like Living Social or Groupon to further their business and bring in some new leads?

I've considered doing this and was curious what you all thought if you've done it before.

Thanks in advance

angevin1

FarnsworthPhotography wrote: »

Has anyone used a service like Living Social or Groupon to further their business and bring in some new leads?

I've considered doing this and was curious what you all thought if you've done it before.

Thanks in advance

Have you Googled "Problems with Groupon" ?

ADMIT Photography

I've googled it and found some issues with both services as well as success stories. However I also know that some of these can be fake so I take them at face value. That's why I'm posting here to see what you all think. I know that everyone here is a rep of either one that would bash the other, or praise their own company.

Demian

I use groupon all the time (as a consumer) and I don't think I've ever gone back to a place or recommended it to a friend... and I think this is common among most groupon users. If you're happy working at 75% off for its own sake, then by all means go ahead. But I wouldn't operate under the illusion that it'll bring in more high-paying business. Frugal deal-seekers are not the kind to spend on high-priced photography.

Glort

Demian wrote: »

Frugal deal-seekers are not the kind to spend on high-priced photography.

I agree.

The thing is with this type of deal you have a pretty known quantity in the client you are going to get.
You can work off that fixed parameter to create a product suitable and profitable to the market.

I was looking at using one of these sites a while back and got some good inside info from the company. With this I was able to put a deal together that was attractive to both the client and myself in it's profitability.

Sure you are not likley to be doing a lot of $5K sales, but If you do a Lot of $150 sales that you can punch out 2-3 an hour and cost you next to noting in materials, then your laughing.
If your one of these shooters that is pedantic About editing every image just so and have need to make every print you produce as perfect as possible and spend an hour fiddling it but are scratching for work and lucky to shoot 1-2 clients a week, clearly this isn't for you.

If you are the type that is happy to produce work commensurate with a good standard and want to take advantage of a great lead opportunity, then you can do well from this.
I believe there is still a good amount of upsell to be had with the right deal and a savvy operator.
You may not get your target price of regular sittings but there are lots of companies that make a very good earn out of the lower end of the market so it's not like it can't be done.

If you have some time i your schedule and can recognize that getting off your butt and doing something will earn you a lot more then doing nothing, I think there is some good money to be made with these deals.

Kinkajou

I looked into this myself and the issue was that it would've costed me money in order to do it. The deals they usually structure are some huge discount for the buyers, so for me it would've been something like a 30% discount on my $300 portrait session + a cotton print. So that was something like the session + print for $200, then groupon/living social would take 50% of that, so that means that I'm getting $100, and the raw cost of the cotton print was almost $50, so that means that I'm earning $50 per session, which obviously wouldn't come close to covering my time and overhead costs.

On the other hand, if you're just looking for a quick influx of business and you don't care about profit margin, then it might not be a bad idea.

CMAldridge

I recently read an article in an automotive trade magazine regarding groupon for oil service. It brought one particular shop a ton of traffic. So much so that they had to hire additional temporary help. They were barely able to just process the oil change service much less have a chance to see anything else or present it. Their take on it was to try and service the customers quickly and happily and hope the service with a smile brought them back. At the time of the article a little less than half of the groupon purchasers had shown up to redeem their 1st of 3 oil services they purchased. They noted not only a traffic increase, but a sales bump as well. However, at face value, it had to be a significant net loss.

So, it will work for traffic, but in the photography business traffic probably doesn't equal the door to upsell opportunities.

Angelo

Look what our "search" feature turned up...


http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=194739&highlight=groupon

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=178184&highlight=groupon

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=153176&highlight=groupon

angevin1

Angelo wrote: »

Look what our "search" feature turned up...

That. Is such an amazing feature!

Demian

All those threads are at least a year old, and had no posters with personal experience.

If you guys don't want to respond to the question, you don't have to...

Angelo

Demian wrote: »

All those threads are at least a year old...

So what? They contain discussion regarding GROUPON that may of interest to the OP

Demian wrote: »

...and had no posters with personal experience.

Not true!

Demian wrote: »

...If you guys don't want to respond to the question, you don't have to...

Why don't you let me worry about proper and improper responses. That's my job! As is keeping the boards tidy and helping everyone understand we have an effective "search" feature. Thanks.


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