Small businesses fail on three accounts when they use Groupon. First they rarely have an effective upsell process which mean that after they give up 75% of the price of their product or service (50% discount + 50% of the remainder to Groupon) many will have a hard time breaking even. An effective upsell is mandatory and training the staff properly to upsell is a requirement. Second, many small businesses don’t create an experience that is overwhelmingly unforgettable so that people have to come back and have to tell their friends. Finally, most small businesses don’t have an adequate follow up program once they get people in.

Just had a discussion about the pitfalls of Groupon with two customers today so this content is very timely. You can follow the ‘via’ link above to get Dave Lakhani’s full perspective…