Marketing Pilgrim Published: “Google Offers Groupon Competition With Offers” plus 3 more |  |
- Google Offers Groupon Competition With Offers
- Concerned About Mobile Privacy? It’s Likely That You Have None
- Two Thirds of Deal Buyers Return For More
- The Real Cost of the Free Sample
| Google Offers Groupon Competition With Offers Posted: 22 Apr 2011 07:42 AM PDT Google is playing the classic “if you can’t buy’em, join’em” game with its new Offers service. The service is being rolled out Portland, OR (no surprise there), Oakland / East Bay, San Francisco as well as offering NYC Uptown, Midtown and Downtown editions. It’s not a whole lot different than any other offer/coupon/deal site in that there will be daily e-mails with discounts for 24 hour periods etc, etc. You can subscribe here if you happen to be in one of those areas. So we can keep things light let’s just watch Google’s video about the service (which is more advertising than information but who’s counting?). Will Google be able to tie together Offers, Places and the ‘formerly known as Hotpot’ recommendation engine to put a damper on Groupon’s rumored $25 billion coming out party (code phrase for IPO)? Too early to tell but I suspect they would love to. Have a great weekend and a Happy Easter.
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| Concerned About Mobile Privacy? It’s Likely That You Have None Posted: 22 Apr 2011 05:49 AM PDT
You know the drill. It's played over time and time again. What is happening more and more, however, is the slow process of learning just how much information is gathered by some pretty powerful folks (in this case Apple and Google) that may or may not be given voluntarily by users. In fact, it looks more and more like the data gathering and storing methods of these two behemoths have little to do with opt-in or an end user's permission or even awareness in collection of data. Instead it's more like "Thanks for the data but don't expect a phone call!" If you would like the details about the latest kerfuffle around just how much information about iPhone, iPad and Android users is being harvested there are plenty of places like the Wall Street Journal and here. The bottom line is that this is getting some attention from places that Apple would probably rather keep a low profile (read: Washington, DC). The letter below comes from Massachusetts Democrat from the House of Representatives Edward J. Markey to none other than Steve Jobs. Markey has knocked on Steve Jobs' door about privacy in the past but now he's interested anew.
While I find this whole espionage play of the Internet space interesting it gets pretty tiresome. Why? Because it's all posturing. No one is going to really do anything to anyone except make threats. It's painfully obvious that politicians like to grandstand and use this kind of attention to boost careers. Do I really think that one day the government is going to intervene and make these companies do something different? It rarely happens in other industries and when it does it amounts to a slap on the wrist. So the answer is no. As for including Steve Jobs directly in this, it's another interesting element considering all the rumors swirling about his health etc. If things were really bad (which I hope they aren't but let’s face it, he doesn’t appear to be well) would Jobs actually have a different attitude about everything and just "go for broke"? Would he just say to his company "Screw it. Collect it all and see if they (the government) can do anything to us". I don't know but you have to consider the possibilities. And let's not forget Google in all this. Android devices are collecting the same information (which will reveal to them the incredibly predictable life of work and kids' sporting events I am involved in!). Google is ‘no commenting’ its way through this and hoping that Larry Page doesn't make Rep. Markey's mailing list. So in the end, how does this impact marketers? It's the same story that has been talked about for years now. How much information is too much information to be gathering about a person without their permission? When permission is granted do end users even know what they are saying yes to? Is it the intent of data gatherers to confuse people just so they can have more data to sell them stuff? And finally, are there bigger things afoot (conspiracy theory alert) where this information being gathered is part of something bigger than just commerce? Honestly, I don’t have a clue. I just ask the questions. Maybe Eric Schmidt was right when he said that if you are doing something you just shouldn’t be doing it since everyone knows everything about everyone these days to some degree or another. What's your take? Do you care? UPDATE: Sorry for not realizing that other politicians in need of publicity wrote to Steve Jobs as well. Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota is a Steve Jobs pen pal too! Isn’t that cute?
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| Two Thirds of Deal Buyers Return For More Posted: 21 Apr 2011 04:58 PM PDT Nearly two-thirds (64.6 percent) of daily deal buyers returned later to patronize the businesses where they used a daily deal and 60 percent spent more than the deal value while they were there the first time. How do you like them apples? We knew there had to be a reason deal sites kept popping up. They actually work! They actually bring in business. Who knew? These new survey results come from Lightspeed and they were based on answers given by the 3,300 respondents who are members of Lightspeed Research’s U.S. online panel. Take a look at this:
They bought their deal and then what?
Maybe we’ve been too hard on deal sites, listening to all those merchants who said it was the worst decision they’d ever made. Looking at these numbers from Lightspeed, it’s pretty clear that deal sites do work when used properly. If you’re thinking about putting up an offer, head over to Lightspeed and look at the rest of their report. It covers how often people buy deals, and what kinds of deals and which sites are the most popular. Can you guess which category of deal got 45% of the vote? I’ll give you a hint, it’s a deal you could use at least three times a day.
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| The Real Cost of the Free Sample Posted: 21 Apr 2011 03:57 PM PDT
The trouble is, free samples aren’t free for the business who provides them. They actually cost quite a bit of money, particularly if they have to be shipped to thousands of people. Consumers don’t get this. Especially if they’re asking a business to donate an item to a local charity. Consumers think, well, you’re making cookies anyway, so what’s the big deal about making two dozen more in support of the youth soccer team? After all, it’s good advertising for your company, right? Cowboy Dan will tell you what the problem is. It’s Marketing Opportunity Bingo and you don’t always win. Cowboy Dan is the CEO of Liz Lovely bakery. They made the spice cookies that arrived in my Foodzie box this month and I’m sure they hoped that free sample would make me go to their website to buy more. I did go and I found this excellent blog post about the real cost of providing free samples. Says Dan,
He says that if sample cookies and donations don’t lead to a direct link back to his company’s website, then they probably aren’t worth doing. That’s why he won’t give to a celebrity gifting suite but will give to a food blogger. Ah, but what if a big star tasted his cookies at a gifting suite, fell in love and ordered 2,000 of them for a private party? It could happen, right? That’s where the cost of the sample comes in. Let’s say you could make the cookies for $100. Is that worth spending on potential word of mouth from influential people? In the blog Dan says, “Will a picture of Lindsay Lohan holding your [insert product here] really increase your sales?” In some cases, it will. I live in the world of TV fandom and we often joke about the unexpected rise in sales when our favorite TV star offhandedly mentions a book he just read or a movie he saw on a plane. Lindsay Lohan may not work for your cookies, but if Justin Bieber is photographed holding your hair gel sales are going to go through the roof. Just look at the recent brouhaha when Tom Cruise’s daughter was inadvertently photographed holding naughty gummies. The store couldn’t keep them in stock. So is it always worth it to give our free samples? No. Simply handing out freebies is no guarantee you’ll make it back in return business. Should you always say no to free samples? No. There are times when just the word of mouth will be worth the cost of the product. How do you know when to say no and when to say yes? Trial and error. Figure the cost of providing free samples as part of your marketing budget. Then find away to carefully track return sales. It could be with a special code or a website affiliate tag. Finally, if Justin Bieber asks you for a free sample, always say yes, then make sure you take a photo and blast it all over the internet. Then prepare for the onslaught of sales like your company has never seen before. Do you give out free samples? We’d like to hear your thoughts on when to say yes and when to say no. Oh, and Cowboy Dan, if you’d like to send a free sample of your Liz Lovely Peanut Butter Classic cookies my way, feel free.
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