Any tips before signing

[MrsHBeauty]

Im just about to sign to run a groupon deal. Ive read all the positives and negatives on this site.

I feel it is the right move for my salon so,

Is there anything in the terms and conditions that i should question, I have them and will read them tonight but anything in particular i should know.

Any tips for making it a sucess?

Jemima x

 

[Fake it...]

I made sure that they amended my contract to exclude the part about not being able to run any offers with similar companies for two years. They took it out eventually as I said that nobody will dictate to me where I can and can't advertise etc. I'm glad I did, I sold 300 vouchers with them which was great but if I want to do something similar in future it would possibly be with a smaller company, purely through fear of not having enough hours in the day to fit in another possible 300 clients. The majority of the clients have rebooked.
Good luck with it, it really worked for me xxx

 

[Tinxy]

Whilst I've definitely been tempted to do it then my over riding fear would be that if I asked them to sell say 25 vouchers there is NO stopping them selling 250!!!!! Unless the contract specifically protects me from that happening I wouldn't go near it...

 

[Fake it...]

Tinxy. They cap sales should you wish.
Just remember to only allocate so many hours per day to Groupon, you don't want to turn away full paying clients xx

 

[celtica]

Definitely cap the sales. The salon I worked in didn't and we sold 1400. It was a three hour package and we worked at a loss. We couldn't physically fit them all in the the time given so they wanted us to extend the deal. I have left before that happened but I believe they didn't and had to cancel hundreds of appointment and refuse even more. There has been very bad feeling and some bad reviews of the salon. Cap cap cap.

 

[Tinxy]

Anyone know the minimum value of a deal to Groupon that they would work with? Having some thoughts lol

 

[Fake it...]

Tinxy! I'm not sure of the minimum value but they tend to reduce by between 50-70%
Is this what you mean?
I stupidly didn't up the prices on my website so ran at a loss, I was aware of this before I signed but needed to build a client base in the fastest way possible. I knew that once I had them they'd rebook, most have and are on around their 6-7 appointment at full price xx

 

[MrsHBeauty]

Luckily on my website is my basic price list. I have packages I offer aswell.

The groupon is choose 3 from a list of 8 for £24 so miles cheaper but compared to the individual price (average) is £59. I usually sell 3 for £45 so reducing to £24 is still huge but not as drastic as from £59.

At the moment I'm paying staff to do nothing for 1/2 their shift, so I might aswell run a groupon and pay them for working.

Groupon are also going to put in a deal for 3 treatments for 2 people for £45. We can do 2 at once in one room so that is better for us.

I'm going to ask them to cap it at 300, I'm not even sure it will sell that many!

I think I read on here somewhere to take the serial number when booking so if they are no shows you can still redeem the voucher, does that sound right?

X

 

[Divine h & b]

At the moment I'm paying staff to do nothing for 1/2 their shift, so I might aswell run a groupon and pay them for working.

Groupon are also going to put in a deal for 3 treatments for 2 people for £45. We can do 2 at once in one room so that is better for us.

I'm going to ask them to cap it at 300, I'm not even sure it will sell that many!

I think I read on here somewhere to take the serial number when booking so if they are no shows you can still redeem the voucher, does that sound right?

X[/QUOTE]
Defiantly take the security code!
If you do a deal with Groupon and customers buy it for £24 Groupon like to take 50% + vat so you end up with £10 thereabouts!
Try n haggle with the percentage !
We did a Groupon and sold 400 we did this when we first opened the beauty side of the business as I didn't want to pay staff to be doing nothing! We have had numourus booking from people who did buy the voucher but saw it as well!

 

[Fake it...]

Take the codes to secure the bookings... Always, no exceptions.
Groupon decide the discount by looking at similar offers from similar companies for example, mine was Shellac reduced to £10, this was a 71.4% discount because all the other Shellac offers were around the £10 Mark, it would be pointless to offer it for a higher price as it wouldn't sell as many vouchers, I think they work the % out after they price it, not the other way round.
xx

 

[MrsHBeauty]

Thanks for your help.

 

[megaone]

One more thing find out who keeps the money for the people who don't use the coupon cos they did that with me and even though they took 40% they keep unused vouchers

 

[megaone]

I do think it should be refunded but that's my thoughts any way good luck

 

[Fake it...]

Groupon keep the money of the unused vouchers, all of it. This is why it's so important to get the codes from the client when they make the appointment.
I cash them in each week wether I've seen that client yet or not. Groupon tell you not to cash in unless you have done the treatment.
I did one client on the Monday and didn't cash in until later on the following week, the client was happy with the treatment but still pulled a fast one by asking Groupon for a refund, they did! Naturally I complained to Groupon and explained that I had carried out the work and now wasn't going to be paid for it. Groupon put the money into my account within 24 hrs so it was resolved.
x

 

[juliet123]

I am coming to then end of my Groupon Promotion as in the vouchers expire in may. Thank goodness, as i have worked my socks off. I work on my own in my salon so i definitely capped, Groupon wanted me to cap it at 300 but i refused and said i would cap it at 180 im glad i did, they went like hot cakes and i dread to think how many would have sold if i hadnt.
At first i worried if i had done the right thing or not, but as a new business i thought it would get new feet through the door, and it did, and plenty have now become regular clients. I think as long as you do your homework and make sure what you are offering isnt going to put your business at a loss it can be a very good advertising tool, and i think this is where some people get into trouble as they think they are going to make loads of money from the groupon offer. Think of it as the best advert for you and your business as clients are actually feeling the benefit of a treatment rather than looking at an advert. There is always those clients that are out for a bargain and hey thats what groupon is all about, but if you get 10% that become regulars then isnt it worth it in the end?
Although i have said it was definitely worth doing and worked out well for me, i wont do another one, it is alot of hard work and towards the end i began to resent how much money Groupon were making out of me lol
Good luck with your Groupon 'promotion i hope yours is as sucessful as mine was and that you gain new regular clients from it x

 

[Fake it...]

I agree Juliet. I looked at it like this... I needed to build up my client base and had 3 months in which to do so. I thought that I could either pay to advertise in my local paper where the advert would be seen by husbands, fathers, sons, brothers etc and therefore wasted or could go to Groupon and hit a specific target audience that were looking for such offers. As Juliet said, you will always get offer chasers but you would get them no matter where you advertise, I felt that Groupon was the quickest way to get people through the door, once I had them I was confident that my skill, service and personality would make them come back. It's amazing what wonders a little self belief can bring! x

 

[MrsHBeauty]

Thanks for the honest feedback.

I've signed called at 300. And it's set to run on the 14th may.

I have a relatively large database of people do will email them and say than can book direct with me pay over the phone and I'll issue a gift certificate which will give them a longer expiry date. To try and get my customers to pay new the full amount not groupon lol.

A bit apprehensive but looking forward to it aswell. There is me and 2 other staff do I won't be doing all the work in my own x

 

[Fake it...]

Good luck Jemima. You're on the right track there, just make sure you get that email out to your clients asap.
x

 

[MrsHBeauty]

Thanks. Will do it as an advance offer, and get an email out asap. I'm at centre Parcs this week til Friday. If I could use mail chimp on my ipad I'd be doing it right now! X

 

[hellielou]

Just reading this thread with interest as I've only been open 5 months & need to build a client base.
Did I read correctly that before I agree any deal with Groupon that I should up my prices on my website only to get the most out of them?