Living Social vs. Groupon

There are many debates with Living Social and Groupon as to who is the original and copycat, are they good for business, etc. I’ve read many articles and linked to many stories about these on our Twitter account. This is what I know about them.

As a Consumer:

• Living Social was very easy to purchase with and worked with me to upgrade or change out my deal. They seems very knowledgeable about what was going on and my options.
• Groupon is easy to say and that’s why I think it tends to be more popular.
• Both have great deals and there is no reason to be loyal to one over the other.
• Groupon tends to have more asterisks and small print, so you have to make sure you are careful with them.
• Living Social offers Family Editions as well as Escapes, which gives you more opportunity for deals. They also make it easier to sign up for several subscriptions.
• I’ve purchased more Groupon deals, so they might have better ones.

As a Business:

• I would think that if this coupon gets me into a nice restaurant that I would only go when I had a coupon for it since it is a nice rare occasion.
• There is a lot of pressure on the business to give customer’s an experience that they would want to pay full price for and it’s rarely delivered.
• In order to have a successful coupon deal, you need to have something that’s already paid for ie: Bowling. This way you really aren’t loosing money to accommodate the extremely low prices they ask for with Groupon and Living Social.
• It’s hard to be picked for a Groupon or Living Social ad, so apply to both and check out smaller companies that are trying to get their names out there (ie: Today’s Group Deal).
• If you do a deal, be ready for the traffic it will bring to your business. Make sure to bombard customers with reasons, coupons, and fliers to come back to.

I don’t think Groupon or Living Social is better than the other and I don’t think they are necessarily bad for business. What I do know, is that it’s a smart idea that gets people spending money and into businesses they wouldn’t have gone to before.

As a consumer, look for as many deals as you can with Groupon, Living Social, and others. If you’re a fan of something or want to return, follow them in any way you can. If you’re patient, you shouldn’t have to pay full price.

As a business, do as many deals as you can. Everyone needs and wants money, but you have to get people to nibble first. Rotate your deals so the customer doesn’t rely on “Five Dollars off for every Ten you spend.” Give variety and surprise them with all different levels and types of deals.