Groupon /KGBdeals / Social Living offers

[kitycat1666]

I am considering doing a deal on one of the ever growing coupon sites but I just can't get my head around it. Can anyone who has done one of these deals in the past give me some advice?

You have to offer a reduction of at least 50% on your usual price, then the company takes a persentage (lowest I've been offered is 25%). So basically your working for 25% of your usual costs. Take product costs out of that and bear in mind that my treatments take 90 mins. What on earth is the benefit? Do people do this almost as free advertising and just to get new people into the salon? I'm working out that I'd probably make £5 profit from each treatment - am I missing something?

Jill

 

[Lynne Baker]

Yes, I've been wondering about this too.
You have to weigh up whether it's better to be working for next to nothing in the hope that your Groupon client will turn into a regular one, or whether you'd rather be twiddling your thumbs in the hope that the phone will ring with a full paying customer.

I know which I'd rather do!

At heart we're all the same; we all love a bargain, and with the meteoric rise of Groupon there will be people who'll never pay full price again for anything, but will probably expect the earth for not very much.

I'm not prepared to have such people as clients. I work hard, give a great service and look after my clients very well. I'm not prepared to devalue my work to the degree that Groupon etc expect me to.

To each his own though!

 

[smooth]

My friend knows a nurse who did an offer with them. She did an area of botox for £40, now if groupon take 25% of this £40, it works out for each client she treated she would be losing £16.67 on product. She had about 60 people come for the offer, which meant she lost £1000.20. Added to this she is not a prescriber so had to a dr £30 for each client to have a consultation, another £1800.

I don't think these type of clients book for full priced treatments as stated before. You advertise cheap, you get cheap clients and these are fussier than full paying ones. They tend to be the first to complain over the slightest thing. I wouldn't lose 20p let alone £1000.20 just for the sake of getting new clients in on this offer.

 

[kitycat1666]

I was at a salon yesterday and was talking to the owner who just did a groupon deal. £15 for a manicure, pedicure and facial. She said she actually gets £7 of this. She sold £1000 but she said people are coming from literally hundreds of miles away (some people will go to the ends of the earth to get something cheap) so she doesn't see that she'll be getting much in repeat business. She's also now having to turn down full paying clients as she's got so many grouponers booked in and she said they almost without exception DON'T tip!

My overheads are high - I have to pay commission to salon owners where I carry out the treatment and can't reduce this just because I decided to do a groupon deal and the chemicals I use are very expensive - not prepared to compromise on this so maybe it's not the right way to go although I've seen a few deals where people buy say a £50 off voucher for £5 so maybe this would be the way to go for me. At least I'd be able to pay my salon owners, buy chemicals and make a little bit of profit.

It's a strange one, I suppose in one respect if you sell 1000 vouchers that youre only getting £7 for at least you know you've got guaranteed earnings of £7,000 but you really will be working for less than minimum wage. I'm sort of sure it's a good idea if you get your offer and your pricing right and maybe if you can put a limit on the number sold but still don't fully understand it.

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

Well, I'm being featured on Living Social on Monday. I'm actually really excited about it. But in my case, I'm brand new and in a new town, so have been really quiet and don't think I have alot to lose.

I'm doing a Groupon too :lol: Don't yet know when that will run.

I put my 90 minute mani/pedi for $40USD (normally $90USD), still nearly double what you can pay at a discount salon. So, I don't think it will attract the cheapskates. I'm hoping to attract clients who are interested in trying the more high end service, but have been hesitant because they weren't sure if the price was worth it. I find once I get clients in my chair, they can appreciate the difference in the quality of the service I offer.

Also, where I live, all the neighboring cities have their own Living Social, and Groupon groups, with salon services being featured at least twice a week. So I think I'll get my demographic, in my area.

I'm just doing it for the exposure and the up front cash. I feel like the more people see my work and see me working, the more they'll be intrigued and refer me to others. I'm in a hair salon, so I need the hair clients to see me with customers!

I'll let you all know how it goes on Tuesday!

Edited to add : I also don't have employees to pay,or owe a commission to the salon. But I do have rent that is due whether I work or not.

 

[kitycat1666]

I think using it to raise your profile is good and probably more productive than print advertising. Good luck and let me know how it works out.

Jill x

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

Well my promotion ran yesterday, and I sold 114 vouchers. It's a few more than I really thought I would sell. So far, a few have been calling in, and they're evenly peppered accross my book. I spoke with the front desk and we're trying to spread them out, so we still have opportuities to book full paying customers.

One problem, I had one woman call saying that she and three of her girlfriends bought the vouchers and wanted to come in together. Problem is, I'm a sole operator. I sort of felt bad about that. But my user name is my business name, and in the description there was a link to my website where it is very clear that I work alone in my business.

As long as they don't all want to come in the same week, and I still have room to book my customers, I think it's wonderful!

I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[nixnewcastle]

My only advice is.. DONT DO IT!!!! I ran one with living social and I was doing eyelash extensions for £22 and a manicure and pedicure for £19.

I've had clients completely taking the mick with them. None of the clients I've had in have returned or even expressed interest in returning. I've had the phone ringing none stop with people who seen the offer and didn't buy it on the day who have booked in and then when they've came to pay think they can get them for £22 instead of £55 and arguing about it when I've explained to get them at that price they had to have paid for them through living social and have the voucher.

The clients you get from doing the offers are not the kind of clients you want to have through your door and you cheapen your salon by doing them and look desperate for business. I know from having tried it. I personally wouldn't ever do it again

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

I just wanted to touch base with you guys about my Living Social Promo. I finally got paid, which of course makes the whole thing better

I've had 8 come in, and 3 of them have already came back in for additional services.

And so far, every one has tipped me at least the amount I had to give to Living Social. Now, I'm sure tipping is different in different parts of the world.

And most exciting, is that many of the customers were really happy to hear about a new nail tech in the salon. They had stopped coming to us for nails because they had bad experiences in the past. So now, they're really happy to have a good nail tech where they get their hair done.

One thing I would advice anyone who is thinking about doing one of these promos. If you work by yourself, make sure that is clear in your promotion. I've had a few groups of friends come in who were a little disappointed that they had to go back to back.

I'm doing one with Groupon in the next couple of weeks. So I'll let everyone know how that goes, and how it compares with Living Social.

 

[spikeyfaerie]

I work in a salon that does Groupon voucher promotions, just now offering a full head of highlights & cbd for £24 instead of £60.

We can't actually fit in full paying clients for the number of people using this voucher. My boss reckons that people will return but really I don't think we've had one re-book from it.

My gripe is that even though it's the xmas period the people using the vouchers hardly tip if at all. I had one woman who absolutely loved her hair yet walked out without giving me a penny. Then the clients who want the highlights but their hair is so damaged/coloured etc that it's impossible to do. It's a nightmare!

 

[number1kitty]

Don't Groupon take 50%?

I have looked at this, and to make it work for any salon you would have to do the following:

Over inflate your prices with Add on specials. So for example, glass of bubbly & chocs etc, things that you cannot put a price on. Perhaps you have a treatment or something similar that takes little time from you such as Garra Rufa Fish Pedi.

If customers call for the offer outside of Groupon - BITE THEIR HAND OFF! Why turn down a customer when they may have paid Groupon and you lose 50%.

Of course these customers are only going to use you for cheapys and freebies so use it to your advantage. Offer them the offer again to re-book but on your quiet days only or perhaps with a new member of staff. Then maybe do specials daily where they have to e-mail in the night before to see what last minute offers you have on to fill up your appointment book.

And make the offer matter, doing something that takes an hour like a full hot stone body massage for £30 will take up more time than say a spray tan or Manicure.

Kate

 

[smooth]

We were thinking of doing this for our training company but when you go on the site you can't get through on the phone nor do they respond to e-mails. It's like they don't want your business. For training it may be worth our while as the only overheads we have is the tutors wage and food for delegates.

 

[karenrose]

Im running one of these offers in January. I put Shellac and facials in the offer as its one of the things I have plenty things off. They asked if I would do minx but it worked out I would lose alot considering I would have to keep stock of lots of minx or constantly be buying it each time someone booked in. Add in my petrol to go get them or postage it wouldnt of worked for me.
The vouchers only last 3 months and the start of the year will be the quitest so I will still be making some money then.

I have been thinking about this for months whether to do it or not. Part of me didnt want to as Im unsure how meny will turn into a regular client. But I guess once they are in the door its then my job to be as nice as possible to them to ensure they will return.

 

[be-beautiful]

Hi girls just reading throught what people have said about groupon etc etc. The only people that make money from this is the website that's offering them. Yes you get clients initally but ... there is a big difference in having a promotion/ offer then basically giving away your services
Yes people will travel but unless you can sustain your prices at this level you will never get loyal long term customers. In my opinion it undermines what good services we have to offer.

them companies know that there are business in desperate need of clients but in my opinion id rather have no clients than going down this line of buisness advertising.

Just be careful all salons out there as you could end up worse off!

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

Im running one of these offers in January. I put Shellac and facials in the offer as its one of the things I have plenty things off. They asked if I would do minx but it worked out I would lose alot considering I would have to keep stock of lots of minx or constantly be buying it each time someone booked in. Add in my petrol to go get them or postage it wouldnt of worked for me.
The vouchers only last 3 months and the start of the year will be the quitest so I will still be making some money then.

I have been thinking about this for months whether to do it or not. Part of me didnt want to as Im unsure how meny will turn into a regular client. But I guess once they are in the door its then my job to be as nice as possible to them to ensure they will return.

Exactly! It is up to you to give the clients the best experience they ever had and make them want to return.

I still maintain that this is a great way for *self employed and *new businesses to grow and start to build a client base.

Especially if you're in a high profile area of the salon. Nothing makes people curious about your services than seeing people at your station. They don't know how they got there.

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

Hi girls just reading throught what people have said about groupon etc etc. The only people that make money from this is the website that's offering them. Yes you get clients initally but ... there is a big difference in having a promotion/ offer then basically giving away your services
Yes people will travel but unless you can sustain your prices at this level you will never get loyal long term customers. In my opinion it undermines what good services we have to offer.

them companies know that there are business in desperate need of clients but in my opinion id rather have no clients than going down this line of buisness advertising.

Just be careful all salons out there as you could end up worse off!

I don't agree. I offered my most expensive manicure and pedicure. Even at the discounted rate it was still nearly twice as expensive as our local disc. salon. My goal was to entice potential clients who may have been hesitant to try a new technician because I'm new to this area and don't have a reputation here yet.

Once they're at my station, I treat them like royalty and give them the best service possible. I also explain that I offer an express mani/pedi at a similar price to what they paid living social.

At this point I've only had 15% of the vouchers come back in. There were definitely plenty that I KNOW I won't see again, just coupon shoppers. But I've had quite a few return for full price services. Maybe once I've redeemed all of them I'll be singing a different tune! But I seriously doubt I'll end up "worse off" than had I not given it a try.

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

Don't Groupon take 50%?

I have looked at this, and to make it work for any salon you would have to do the following:

Over inflate your prices with Add on specials. So for example, glass of bubbly & chocs etc, things that you cannot put a price on. Perhaps you have a treatment or something similar that takes little time from you such as Garra Rufa Fish Pedi.

If customers call for the offer outside of Groupon - BITE THEIR HAND OFF! Why turn down a customer when they may have paid Groupon and you lose 50%.

Of course these customers are only going to use you for cheapys and freebies so use it to your advantage. Offer them the offer again to re-book but on your quiet days only or perhaps with a new member of staff. Then maybe do specials daily where they have to e-mail in the night before to see what last minute offers you have on to fill up your appointment book.

And make the offer matter, doing something that takes an hour like a full hot stone body massage for £30 will take up more time than say a spray tan or Manicure.

Kate

These are great ideas!

 

[karenrose]

The repeat offer I am going to do also! I am going to get special vouchers printed and give them to each client who books for the offer. If you impressed them that much they will most likely return for same offer at same price but only you get the full amount for it not half like groupon etc!

Yes it does seem you lose out on 75% off the treatment price but I would rather have that money than nothing!

 

[makeupartistzoe]

My hairdresser forwarded me a groupon offer...a girl really local to me, but mobile was offering a full host of treatments including a fake bake spray tan and nouveau eyelashes normally £80 for £35. I worked out the treatments if they were done at mine would be £100 to start with and I rarely lug my kit and products anywhere. My boyfriend often nags at me it's better to have 50% of something than 100% of nothing but with petrol, repaying training (and initial kits with nouveau and fake bake aint cheap) and product costs I don't know how it can be worth the time/ effort.

I saw another one for a chocolate back scrub and back neck and shoulder massage from £50 to £18 so how much profit would you make? Treatment would probs be an hour right? It's almost like insulting youself, I've met so many clients just up for a bargain that have no intentions of coming back for something full price. Don't work harder-think smarter! (think I saw that once on a can of energy drink-lol!)