Groupon Merchant Preparation Webinar by BrandON! marketing.technology

October 2010

Itʼs all about the customers"

Get excited! ! ➥

Groupon is the most effective form of advertising available to small businesses"

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Many new customers will walk through your door, guaranteed"

The Goal: Create a great impression and create long-term relationships with customers"

Just how many customers?" How many is TOO many?!

It depends…!

City

Avg. # Sold Max # Sold

Chicago

1,731

12,019

Boston

1,058

5,646

San Antonio

745

3,235

Edmonton

675

1,346

Indianapolis

589

2,697

Sacramento

546

2,884

Providence

398

2,953

Dayton

212

850

Based on Groupon sales from September, 2010

If you havenʼt already, you should speak with your account representative about the possibility of capping your deal:" ➥

Experience indicates that the optimal cap on the # of Groupons sold is: " "2.5 * (Max # of customers you can serve per month)!

If you sell too many Groupons, nobody will be happy. Make sure to talk to your rep about this! !

When will the Groupons be redeemed?"

You and your staff will be busy, especially during the first and last month of your Groupon promotion. Make sure you and your team are ready for this!! Copyright ÂŠ 2010 Groupon, Inc.

Getting ready for your feature" Stock Up! ➥

Order additional merchandise/supplies for the first month (3-5x what you normally would)"

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Mark your calendar to stock up again for the expiration month: the last day of your Groupon will be as busy as the first day (so save some of that up-front cash)!"

Talk to your staff! ➥

Set expectations and explain your goals"

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Staff for the extra volume (dedicate at least one person to the phones on feature day)"

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Set up a process for redemption (more on this later)"

Get your technology in order! ➥

Set up extra phone lines "

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Add bandwidth to and update your website"

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Your Feature: The deal" The win-win of the deal makes it work! ➥

Customers win because they get unbeatable deals to great businesses"

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You win because your investment (the discount) brings you new customers"

How to make sure the deal economics works for you! Up-sell other products"

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Deal value should be below your average total transaction (unless you are offering a deal for a specific service). If itʼs not, please contact your rep to discuss " Offer an incentive for customers to come back"

Your Feature: The write-up" Itʼs Witty. Itʼs Weird. Itʼs Groupon. And it helps your deal do better:! Just thought I would write a quick note to tell you how much I enjoy reading your ad copy. The writers are witty. I appreciate the non-stuffy tone. Even if I'm not interested in the offer… I always want to read the copy - kudos to you all!! Massage was developed by NASA to help astronauts cope with edgy Tang-‐induced sugar highs, lack of ESPN, and predatory aliens stowed away in the hangar bay. Achieve its soothing eﬀects outside the soul-‐crushing abyss of outer space with today’s deal:

!-Groupon Subscriber!

If your write-up contains a factual error, tell your account representative. Otherwise, enjoy it with the rest of us!!

Your Feature: The email" Your deal will be emailed to our subscribers as either a main deal or side deal! Main deal:"

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Typically sells 5-6x the volume of a side deal (but not always!)" Side deals"

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Allow us to feature businesses sooner"

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Allow us to feature niche businesses"

Your Feature: Personalized Deals" If you are in one of the markets where we have launched personalized deals, your feature will be targeted to the people most likely to buy it! ➥

Main deal: People most likely to buy your deal (based on demographics and preferences) will receive your offer as a main deal"

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Side deal: Everyone else in the city will be see your offer as a side deal"

Your Feature: The phones" Your phones will probably be ringing off the hook all day, especially if your business requires appointments!

What should you do:! Man the phones!"

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Set up extra phone lines and dedicate 1-2 people to answering the phones on the day of your deal"

Monitor the discussion board, so you only have to answer frequent questions once"

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Offer details (e.g., restrictions)"

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Business details (e.g., parking)"

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Appointment availability"

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The same questions you normally get"

Your Feature: The discussion board" A forum for subscribers to ask questions and share stories about your business!

Check the discussion board every 30-60 minutes! ➥

Answer questions"

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Promote your business"

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Discussion Board: Step 1— Sign in with your business account" Your login for your business account is not your personal Groupon username / password. You will receive your business login by email. If you have not received it two days before your feature, contact your rep.

Discussion Board: Step 2— My account"

Discussion Board: Step 3— Upload a picture"

Discussion Board: Step 4— Enter discussion"

Discussion Board: Step 5— Post comments"

After Your Feature: Redeeming Groupons"

Three Redemption Options"

Option 1: Groupon Merchant Redemption App" How does it work?! ➥

You install the app on your mobile device"

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When a Groupon is redeemed, you open the app and take a picture of the barcode. Itʼs that simple!"

How do you get the app?! ➥

Available for free in the iTunes and Android app stores"

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Compatible with the following devices:" •

Any iPhone or iPod Touch running iOS 4.0 or later"

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All Android phones with cameras"

Starting Up  Login Screen!

Application Synching!

Scanning the barcode" Ready to use! (paper voucher)!

Ready to use! (mobile voucher)!

Barcode aligned! in crosshairs!

Possible scenarios" Valid Groupon!

Invalid Groupon:!

Already Used!

Not the right Groupon !

Entering the bill amount" Enter TOTAL bill!

Remaining balance!

Making Changes"

Thatʼs It!" In summary, using the Groupon Merchant Redemption app has several advantages! ➥

Makes managing redemption quick and easy"

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Eliminates confusion about the status of a Groupon entirely"

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Allows you to track hard data on how much the customers are spending"

But, if you donʼt have a compatible mobile device or are not comfortable using this app, there are a couple of other methods you can use to manage redemption.!

Option 2: Online Redemption"

Go to “Merchant Center”"

Mark Groupons as Redeemed"

Option 3: Paper redemption"

Download your list"

Cross customers off the list" ➥

Step 1: Match up Coupon Number on top-right of voucher with your customer list and cross the customer off your list"

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Step 2: Write down the Redemption Code on the bottom-right of the voucher"

9544-0861

Michael West

Other redemption considerations" Automated redemption! If you have any other questions about the mobile redemption process, there are additional resources available at www.grouponworks.com/redemption" Multi-location redemption! If you have multiple locations, it is even more important to use the mobile redemption app or to enter the redemption codes online to prevent fraudulent redemption (minimal) and track redemption across locations" POS integration! Many POS systems support integration with Groupon redemption codes, including:" ➥

MICROS gift cards / iCare gift cards"

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Millenium Spa/Salon Software"

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Many any other online gift card systems"

Other tips and tricks" Tipping! Part of the Groupon customer credo is to tip generously. You can help your customers do this by displaying the prediscounted total on the customer始s bill. For example:"

Early-bird Customers! Though Groupons aren始t technically valid until the day after your feature, some eager customers may show up and try to use them because they didn始t read the Groupon rules thoroughly. It is your decision whether or not to honor their vouchers"

Final words of wisdom" Above all, make a great impression! ➥

We picked you because we believe youʼre a great business"

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This model only works for great businesses"

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If you give our subscribers a great experience, they will reward you by becoming loyal customers"

Merchant preparation resources" Download this presentation"

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http://www.grouponworks.com/merchant-services/webinars" Redemption information"

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www.grouponworks.com/redemption" Merchant Welcome Guide"

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Online: http://www.groupon.com/pages/merchant-welcome"

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PDF: http://grouponworks.com/welcome-guide.pdf" What You Need to Know Flyer (for your staff)"

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http://www.grouponworks.com/need-to-know.pdf" Redemption Worksheet"

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