New Daily Deals Platform - Looking For Partners/Contributors

amcn1

hello,

We have launched an exciting new daily deals platform that has several new USP compared to big competitors , I have set up this thread in order to see if there is any possible investors looking to come into this market and our project on a hands on basis

Aidan.

Peterdalkey

Your USPs do not come across to me! Am I missing something here?

jmcc

What USP? There are many abandoned deals type websites on the Irish webscape so what makes your site different?

Regards...jmcc

amcn1

obviously i wont start listing out new USP that we havnt even brought to the market yet , im looking for people that are genuinely interested in a project like this to get in contact with me

Peterdalkey

You can't sell from an empty basket! Basic commerce still applies!

Trojan

amcn1 wrote: »

obviously i wont start listing out new USP that we havnt even brought to the market yet , im looking for people that are genuinely interested in a project like this to get in contact with me

Every web developer who has been around since 2011 - when Groupon and the daily deals fad hit top gear - has been approached a bunch of times by folks wanting to start deals sites.

The onus is on you to prove to potentially interested parties that A) you haven't missed the boat, and your particular USP is different from the 1,832,738 people who wanted to start a deals site.

amcn1

Listen to those of you that join these sites to just be negative . . . stop wasting your time im not interested in mindless comments like " well 10000000000 others have tried and failed etc. etc. "

im looking for people who are actually interested in joining a project like this

The first USP is the structure of our deals to members ( there are 6 deal types ) ( note only 2 are currently brought to market )

1. first one standard daily deal as on groupon etc.

2. second one "Pocket Now" deals

example daily deal for hair €35

you pay €5 now to secure the deal( receive voucher) direct on the website

you pay balance to retailer when redeeming voucher

this USP has several advantages from both a business and member point of view

this is ONE of our USP that stands out from yes ANY other daily deal site out there , now back to me looking for people who are interested in this type of project . . .

Trojan

If you don't want constructive criticism, don't post on a public discussion forum.

Your "balance later" has definite benefits for the consumer, but for businesses it's not very appealing - they lose two major benefits of running a deal, unredeemed coupons, and cash up front.

amcn1

Constructive is appreciated anything else is not , and to your point about loosing benefits

1. un redeemed vouchers -

on average 30% of paid upfront vouchers are not used , with some of the daily deals platforms not passing this onto the merchant ,

with market research over the last year and running of deals our system has an average of 80-90% take up of vouchers which is a much higher rate than as standard so this unredeemed voucher is actually a benefit of our system

2. likewise upfront payment

we are the only daily deals platform giving upfront payment as soon as the customer walks through the door , not sure how familiar you are with DDS but they are actually holding back up to 50% of the monies up to 3 months AFTER the expiration date of the voucher , meaning businesses are suffering the running costs of providing these deals without getting paid for ages where as with us they receive upfront when voucher is redeemed , We have all read the horror stories of businesses going bust over this issue

therefore these two particular points are actually BENEFITS of running a deal on this platform compared to traditional ones out there right now

zAbbo

Speaking from experience, the first obstacle new entrants come across (and sometimes takes them a long time to work this out) is that it's easy to build a daily deal website, but the successful companies have actually built daily deal businesses.

An easy way to determine success is by looking at resourcing across development team, customer/merchant support, operations etc.

Most of your assumptions are incorrect, the market has moved rapidly in Ireland in the last 2 years.

Best of luck with the business.

amcn1

zAbbo wrote: »

Speaking from experience, the first obstacle new entrants come across (and sometimes takes them a long time to work this out) is that it's easy to build a daily deal website, but the successful companies have actually built daily deal businesses.

An easy way to determine success is by looking at resourcing across development team, customer/merchant support, operations etc.

Most of your assumptions are incorrect, the market has moved rapidly in Ireland in the last 2 years.

Best of luck with the business.

Who's assumptions ? Elaborate please

zAbbo

amcn1 wrote: »

Who's assumptions ? Elaborate please

On upfront payment and non-redemption - both are incorrect when applied to the local Irish market.

Two areas that would be significantly difficult to differentiate against others.

amcn1

Please explain your thoughts on why my assumptions regards this are wrong

zAbbo

amcn1 wrote: »

Please explain your thoughts on why my assumptions regards this are wrong

Well, from experience and in-depth knowledge of the industry and market. I honestly wish you all the best in the start-up. It's a very exciting industry but requires a massive amount of hard work to be successful. Of course there's room in any competitive market with the right approach

jmcc

amcn1 wrote: »

Listen to those of you that join these sites to just be negative . . . stop wasting your time im not interested in mindless comments like " well 10000000000 others have tried and failed etc. etc. "

I have a very different view of the web to most people. I actually run TLD web usage surveys and would see how such sites appear and disappear over the course of a few years. Deal and offers sites are have a high attrition rate. Part of measuring the web usage in a TLD is working out how many sites are actively developed and how many are abandoned.

The commonest reason that they fail is that the people behind them are building them as their first project and have no understanding of the amount of finance required to make such a site viable.

The first USP is the structure of our deals to members ( there are 6 deal types ) ( note only 2 are currently brought to market )

A USP is a Unique Selling Point. It ceases being unique if others can do it just as easily.

1. first one standard daily deal as on groupon etc.

Groupon has its own problems and it does advertise heavily on Adwords (as does the Amazon version).

2. second one "Pocket Now" deals

Impulse purchases might work but it begins to blur the line between and offers and a discount website.

you pay €5 now to secure the deal( receive voucher) direct on the website

Have you thought about how you will ensure that someone doesn't print their own vouchers without having to pay you?

this USP has several advantages from both a business and member point of view

Have you looked at other sites offering the same kind of offers and discount bundles in the Irish market?

this is ONE of our USP that stands out from yes ANY other daily deal site out there , now back to me looking for people who are interested in this type of project . . .

So right now you are at the tyre kicking stage where you have no members and no business plan? The trend for these fad type sites is that there tends to be a lot of them at the start of the trend, a few at the middle and a handful at the end. You appear to have hit the consolidation phase of the market.

Have you checked out how many people in your prospective market have access to a printer?

Regards...jmcc

jmcc

Trojan wrote: »

Every web developer who has been around since 2011 - when Groupon and the daily deals fad hit top gear - has been approached a bunch of times by folks wanting to start deals sites.

The Irish Times even cybersquatted groupon.ie but now it has its own discounts and offers site. The Indo had its grabone site. There was a rake of these sites all claiming to target one niche (students/teenagers/adults/oaps/techies/gigs etc) at one stage but they are becoming less common.

Regards...jmcc

amcn1

jmcc wrote: »

I have a very different view of the web to most people. I actually run TLD web usage surveys and would see how such sites appear and disappear over the course of a few years. Deal and offers sites are have a high attrition rate. Part of measuring the web usage in a TLD is working out how many sites are actively developed and how many are abandoned.

The commonest reason that they fail is that the people behind them are building them as their first project and have no understanding of the amount of finance required to make such a site viable.

A USP is a Unique Selling Point. It ceases being unique if others can do it just as easily.

OURS IS A USP AS OTHERS DONT OFFER SAME KIND OF DEALS

jmcc wrote: »

Groupon has its own problems and it does advertise heavily on Adwords (as does the Amazon version).

Impulse purchases might work but it begins to blur the line between and offers and a discount website.

Have you thought about how you will ensure that someone doesn't print their own vouchers without having to pay you?

VOUCHERS ARE UNIQUE TO EACH PURCHASER AND COME WITH UNIIQUE CODES ETC. JUST LIKE OTHER DAILY DEALS SITES ONLY GET VOUCHER ONCE PAID FOR

jmcc wrote: »

Have you looked at other sites offering the same kind of offers and discount bundles in the Irish market?

NONE AT PRESENT

jmcc wrote: »

So right now you are at the tyre kicking stage where you have no members and no business plan? The trend for these fad type sites is that there tends to be a lot of them at the start of the trend, a few at the middle and a handful at the end. You appear to have hit the consolidation phase of the market.

YES THAT IS CORRECT WE ARE AT THAT STAGE AND ARE HAPPY TO ENTER AT THAT BUT NO NOT AT THE TYRE KICKING STAGE WITH NO BUSINESS PLAN OUR WEBSITE HAS LAUNCHED ALREADY

jmcc wrote: »

Have you checked out how many people in your prospective market have access to a printer?

WE HAVE OPTIMISED THE SITE FOR SMART PHONE MOBILE USAGE AND PEOPLE CAN LOG INTO ACCOUNTS AND VIEW / SHOW VOUCHERS IN THERE ACCOUNT DIRECT ON THE WEBSITE

jmcc

amcn1 wrote: »

OURS IS A USP AS OTHERS DONT OFFER SAME KIND OF DEALS

Yet...

VOUCHERS ARE UNIQUE TO EACH PURCHASER AND COME WITH UNIIQUE CODES ETC. JUST LIKE OTHER DAILY DEALS SITES ONLY GET VOUCHER ONCE PAID FOR

And how do the business owners verify the vouchers? Will it complicate the checkout procedure or make it simpler?

NONE AT PRESENT

Those are very famous words in business circles because it can indicate that the business has been tried and not proven viable or the proposer has not researched the business fully.

Have you examined the barriers to entry that would stop some of the larger and establised players from offering exactly the same thing as you are offering with your site?

Regards...jmcc

Joseph

Everyone here has been quiet polite and you have responded in a very defensive way. People picking apart your business concept isn't a personal jibe at you, it is actually a favour to you. You can put your hands over your ears and plough ahead regardless if you want, but really that will get you nowhere.

The posters are not being negative, they are providing constructive criticism about a market that even the leader is trying to move away from. I would never and hope I speak for the other posters here, ever, discourage anyone from trying things out, learning and moving on - it doesn't mean I won't offer my constructive comments as I expect nothing less from others.

amcn1

jmcc wrote: »

Yet...

And how do the business owners verify the vouchers? Will it complicate the checkout procedure or make it more complex?

Those are very famous words in business circles because it can indicate that the business has been tried and not proven viable or the proposer has not researched the business fully.

Have you examined the barriers to entry that would stop some of the larger and establised players from offering exactly the same thing as you are offering with your site?

Regards...jmcc

the business owners verify the vouchers the same way as done on all deals sites, two years of market research with previous experience in the industry as a sales manager , this is ONE of our USp we have 6 more key ones just as good as this one , We wont be copied as by the time we are we will have already rolled out major new ones that change the game ,

are you looking to get involved ?

amcn1

jmcc wrote: »

Yet...

And how do the business owners verify the vouchers? Will it complicate the checkout procedure or make it simpler?

Those are very famous words in business circles because it can indicate that the business has been tried and not proven viable or the proposer has not researched the business fully.

Have you examined the barriers to entry that would stop some of the larger and establised players from offering exactly the same thing as you are offering with your site?

Regards...jmcc

Joseph wrote: »

Everyone here has been quiet polite and you have responded in a very defensive way. People picking apart your business concept isn't a personal jibe at you, it is actually a favour to you. You can put your hands over your ears and plough ahead regardless if you want, but really that will get you nowhere.

The posters are not being negative, they are providing constructive criticism about a market that even the leader is trying to move away from. I would never and hope I speak for the other posters here, ever, discourage anyone from trying things out, learning and moving on - it doesn't mean I won't offer my constructive comments as I expect nothing less from others.

have no problem with responses and getting them with people pointing out what they see as stumbling blocks justs helps me verify that i have done my research , which benefits me , knowledge is key . its when people write up saying dont bother wasting your money etc. that really doesnt benefit anyone

Joseph

Well you can phrase "dont bother wasting your money" in many ways to make it sound more polite.

"I don't think this is a good market to get into, you are likely to spend much cash with little return"

But really someone's opinion is their opinion and there is no point sugar coating it, family and friends will do that and they are never good people to validate ideas from. I do personally think you shouldn't bother and that you are likely to waste money but at least you will learn lots from the experience and should keep moving forward afterwards trying out ideas and having a blast along the way because that's what entrepreneurialism is all about

amcn1

Joseph wrote: »

Well you can phrase "dont bother wasting your money" in many ways to make it sound more polite.

"I don't think this is a good market to get into, you are likely to spend much cash with little return"

But really someone's opinion is their opinion and there is no point sugar coating it, family and friends will do that and they are never good people to validate ideas from. I do personally think you shouldn't bother and that you are likely to waste money but at least you will learn lots from the experience and should keep moving forward afterwards trying out ideas and having a blast along the way because that's what entrepreneurialism is all about

there is only one major issue with the daily deals market and its a very simple one . . . the platform has not developed and grown like it should have and the companies havnt continued to develop the idea , what you get now is what you got 5 years ago

Fries-With-That

amcn1 wrote: »

there is only one major issue with the daily deals market and its a very simple one . . . the platform has not developed and grown like it should have and the companies havnt continued to develop the idea , what you get now is what you got 5 years ago

Hi Aidan,

I think you should read your comment above over and over again. Then you should read it a few more times.

There has been millions of euro spent on developing these ideas, and you may have another million to develop your business.

The bottom line is the customer has been burned by the concept, they will be very reluctant to add their name to yours or existing deals websites.

Regards,

Fries

Peterdalkey

OP, basically you are talking evolution of the concept rather than innovative revolution. All new products and services are subject to such a process to keep them relevant, or they just fade away. It is extremely difficult to gain significant foothold in any market which is largely owned by the bigger established players and even more so in a "fad" space such as this. It does seem that both the consumer and the service/supply sides have become somewhat tired/weary/untrusting of these operations, that does not bode well for any new entrant trying to find market position.
No matter how great your consumer service or product is, it is hugely expensive to fund a sustained marketing campaign if you wish to sell other than in a local area.
As Fries pointed out, cursory look at the promotional and advertising spend of the established players, even in the Irish market, will throw up very large numbers. Have you actually got the financial wherewithal to meet this kind of spend?

It may well be that your ideas have great merit and can be evolved into a game-changer to halt the decline in the Deals scene. Have you considered taking your ideas to one of the bigger existing players. Doorstep/bombard CEOs to get a chance to pitch yourself and your ideas.

jimmii

Fair play on your confidence in your idea that is obviously massively important. As a retailer who has used one of these sites before it would take something very special for us to run another offer. Unless you are working off massive margins its hard to justify consistently doing the offers that are basically making you sell stuff at cost price.

Bandara

To me you don't seem to have the ability to actually view the market and the overall business through anyone's eyes but your own.

Everyone isn't wrong, they may not necessarily be right, but they are not always wrong.

Your confident that you can reinvent the wheel where companies with millions of euros in marketing and development budgets couldn't.

Good luck with it, but to use the dragons den phrase, and genuinely for your own good, you are not coming across as remotely like someone that a person could work with. And I apologise if that seems personal, it's not meant to be.

Good luck with the business.

amcn1

jimmii wrote: »

Fair play on your confidence in your idea that is obviously massively important. As a retailer who has used one of these sites before it would take something very special for us to run another offer. Unless you are working off massive margins its hard to justify consistently doing the offers that are basically making you sell stuff at cost price.

Id be very interested to hear another opinion from a retailer point of view regards the pitfalls and problems you encountered when running the daily deals ?

much appreciated if you could give feedback

amcn1

Obviously the likes of groupon etc. have pumped millions into developing this and so far there hasnt been much change ?

but thats the point , they need to step back and look at

a) how the merchant feels about the system and what changes can benefit them
b) how the customer/member experience/ability to obtain these deals can change
c) how the system/platform can be structured to cut out down on running costs-

quick note on this the major issue is having capital to cover merchant problems - this is the no.1 issue and this is why there caught in the platform there on

when these companies first came in they were charging 60% commissions across the board , making huge actually change that to disgraceful profits from merchants

do you think these same people are in Ireland for the long term sustainability of merchants going forward ?

I have spend time within the business and 2 years around in constructively listening to merchants , developing the potential for customers/members and aligning a platform to what merchants and members want to suit ,

I see this industry being here in 20 years but just at a more sustainable level ,

you have to look at things from a business perspective do they want ?

brand awareness ?
new customers ?
brand loyalty ?
quick buck ? (Some do)
Workload increase ?

imagine a DDS that actually encourages loyalty to businesses ?

yes these big big companies have tried but what have they tried to improve from a merchant point of view ? Very little is the answer besides reducing the commission % a bit but thats not really dealing with whats wrong its just trying to plough on through regardless,

Everyone quotes saying these companies have spent millions in developing their platform ? . . .

If that is the case then what have they actually changed ?

. . . Applying for a development role in groupon seems to be the smartest thing to do right now , get paid loads to do well . . . what exactly ?

ironclaw

I think without stating at least one USP (And the one you posted isn't unique or different) then I can't see how this is any way different from any deal site. Unless of course the USP's rely on some technological, patent pending form of delivery etc. Otherwise they are just ideas and can be easily copied, hence not USP's in my eyes.

jimmii

amcn1 wrote: »

imagine a DDS that actually encourages loyalty to businesses?

We actually have had a good return rate from the people who took up the voucher offer. If there was something that would do more to encourage repeat custom would definitely be of interest.

Atomico

Hey OP,

What is the difference between your site and the usual daily deal suspects? If you could sum it up in a sentence or two, we are on page 3 of the thread and I still don't get it

Consider also that the reason why the daily deal sites haven't 'innovated' is maybe because there is no money to be made in doing so? What I mean is that sure there may be other ways of keeping merchants and consumers happy - that doesn't mean it will be profitable or even worth attempting.

Also I think the point being made is that if the thousands of people working in these daily deal companies (from the sales rep right up to the CEO and board of directors) haven't thought of something new that will change the game, how likely is it that you have?

I don't mean that in a disparaging way, just that it is unclear how you plan to inject new life into this massively saturated sector, which is clearly up against both buyer and merchant fatigue in fairness.

amcn1

jimmii wrote: »

We actually have had a good return rate from the people who took up the voucher offer. If there was something that would do more to encourage repeat custom would definitely be of interest.

Yes that's what we are building at the end of the day businesses want loyal customers and smart businesses are rewarding there loyal customers with the best deals

amcn1

Atomico wrote: »

Hey OP,

What is the difference between your site and the usual daily deal suspects? If you could sum it up in a sentence or two, we are on page 3 of the thread and I still don't get it

Consider also that the reason why the daily deal sites haven't 'innovated' is maybe because there is no money to be made in doing so? What I mean is that sure there may be other ways of keeping merchants and consumers happy - that doesn't mean it will be profitable or even worth attempting.

Also I think the point being made is that if the thousands of people working in these daily deal companies (from the sales rep right up to the CEO and board of directors) haven't thought of something new that will change the game, how likely is it that you have?

I don't mean that in a disparaging way, just that it is unclear how you plan to inject new life into this massively saturated sector, which is clearly up against both buyer and merchant fatigue in fairness.

Obviously I'm not going to shout out all the USP here , to sum it up is difficult but il try

People will never get tired of availing of deals , it's the type of deals that they can avail of is the issue

The idea for a consumer is to build a site around your specific needs wants etc

Creating a personalised daily deals site for consumers is the key ,

From a merchant point of view , there are and always will be loads of types of Businesses that the platform currently suits for example beauty salons ,

It's bringing in businesses that currently don't feel like the system works for them is the key , providing them with the structure to build several different types of deals to cater for there needs

. . .

So far two people have nailed saying they are interested in this type of project , if any one is interested please mail , there is no point in asking for the USP ( all of them) but of you like he concept that's a start

PaulPinnacle

amcn1 wrote: »

... there is no point in asking for the USP ( all of them) but of you like he concept that's a start

To be fair, I don't think anyone is asking for all of your USPs, they're asking for any.

You've said you've one major USP that is a game changer and that isn't yet live, so you're holding that one back. Fair enough. The issue there is that this is a major red flag. This USP either has technical/implementation hurdles that mean that even by sharing it you're at no disadvantage (which your stance suggests isn't the case) or else it's so easy to copy that you feel the need to retain first mover advantage to capitalise on it, which means that it's very easily copied and the minuscule boost you get from first mover will be eaten up by your much larger competitors in no time. Either way, it's a major red flag that there's no real advantage to your product/service and hence (or at least one of the contributing factors to) the negative reaction you've experienced to date.

At this stage, you're onto your... fourth? maybe fifth thread about this DDS? To date, we've not heard a single USP. That includes the one you've said is public and that the other sites have already copied on you. When met with negative comments, which in a sector of the market that is saturated and a black hole for advertising budgets where very very few have actually managed to find a successful business model is always going to be the case, you reacted defensively and slightly aggressively to the comments. That isn't what anyone would wish to see in a prospective partner or colleague. This might also account for some of the additional negativity you have since experienced. When asked to describe what makes you different, which has happened in numerous threads, you've been unable to present us with anything of substance. It normally comes back to this one USP that will be a game changer, but as that isn't on the table yet that's not an answer. You have a product already at the table and it's one you clearly do believe in and given your convictions I'm sure you work damn hard to ensure it is the best product it can be.

The above isn't an attack, it isn't a personal dig, it's an analysis of what has happened here on the forum over the last few days and where you find yourself today. Sit back for a few minutes, clear your head and think about what really does make you different to the others. Things that are coming down the road are irrelevant, so ignore them for the moment. Here and now, why should I use your DDS rather than any of the other DDS, coupon, moneyback or various other type of sites available to me (technically, I'd push a client to use them all that would allow the current deal level to be accepted if for nothing more than a little brand building and some [very poor to be honest] SEO benefits)?

Atomico

amcn1 wrote: »

Obviously I'm not going to shout out all the USP here , to sum it up is difficult but il try

People will never get tired of availing of deals , it's the type of deals that they can avail of is the issue

The idea for a consumer is to build a site around your specific needs wants etc

Creating a personalised daily deals site for consumers is the key ,

From a merchant point of view , there are and always will be loads of types of Businesses that the platform currently suits for example beauty salons ,

. . .

So far two people have nailed saying they are interested in this type of project , if any one is interested please mail , there is no point in asking for the USP ( all of them) but of you like he concept that's a start

That's all very vague and doesn't answer the questions in my post (and everyone else's questions either). Imagine an investor, how happy with / confident in your proposition would they be, based on your responses.

Nobody here is going to 'steal' your ideas, with respect it is extremely unlikely there is going to be anything ground-breaking here (for the reasons I discussed in my last post), and you stand to gain a lot more by sharing your ideas and getting feedback - that is the whole point.

It's bringing in businesses that currently don't feel like the system works for them is the key , providing them with the structure to build several different types of deals to cater for there needs

As the poster mentions above, you're not thinking critically here (or there is no evidence of it). Why do you think there are certain businesses for which daily deals are not really suited? Could it be that the margin just isn't there?

Take an electronics product with a razor-thin margin. To get people interested in the deal, the price has to be lowered to a price that is compelling enough to reel enough people in to make the deal worthwhile. However, neither you or the merchant can make much on such a deal, since the margins have been completely eroded.

It works for things like beauty salons because the margin is there. Same with activity weekends, luxury products, etc. But that market is well and truly wrapped up and plundered many times over by the big guns - so again we are back to 'what are you going to do differently'?!

amcn1

Our current USP is the partial payment for deals that we offer this has major benefits to both the consumer and business ,

No DDS is currently doing or has used this system it's the first to come to Ireland on the daily deals market and is a very strong USP we currently offer , this is the first one we are going with then more to come once we launch our second full site

I think the last post hit the nail on the head yes there is businesses with tight margins electrical products etc these businesses need exposure and require crafting of good deals incorporating high margin products in to make the deal profitable , I know I'm being vague on this but I'm glad you pointed it out , we are working on this , the set up of our system though allows us to cut our commision rates for such businesses , groupon etc can't due to there model that they run and tbh they don't care about doing it either

What do you make of our first USP

Bandara

amcn1 wrote: »

Our current USP is the partial payment for deals that we offer this has major benefits to both the consumer and business ,

No DDS is currently doing or has used this system it's the first to come to Ireland on the daily deals market and is a very strong USP we currently offer , this is the first one we are going with then more to come once we launch our second full site

I think the last post hit the nail on the head yes there is businesses with tight margins electrical products etc these businesses need exposure and require crafting of good deals incorporating high margin products in to make the deal profitable , I know I'm being vague on this but I'm glad you pointed it out , we are working on this , the set up of our system though allows us to cut our commision rates for such businesses , groupon etc can't due to there model that they run and tbh they don't care about doing it either

What do you make of our first USP

Maybe im missing something here but as a retailer I absolutetly hate that USP, am I right in saying that, say for example I'm selling my product on your site for €40, you are going to charge the consumer an initial fee of (for example) €5 and they pay the remaining €35 when they come to me to buy the product, eat the meal etc? Or have I picked it up wrong ?

All I can see there is a huge benefit for the Deal company as they are getting their admin fee up front, and I'd suggest that a vast number of people will not follow through on the deal as they've only ventured a fiver and they are far more likely to let that go than they would be I'd they paid the full €40 like a normal deal site.

I'd certainly have a serious issue with the intentions of the deal site and their commitment to a my business. And id see very little point in running such a promotion with a far larger chance of defaulting by the buyers.

If I'm wrong with what my understanding is of your proposal I apologise. I'm finding it a bit difficult to understand it.

ImDave

Speaking as someone with a good bit of experience in marketing, and also someone who owns a small business which runs social deals from time to time, I can't see an interest in your proposal from either the consumer or retailer perspective.

What you are essentially doing is charging a retailer €5 for advertising their product/service at a heavily discounted price. The big bonus of social deals are non-renewed vouchers. In my experience (which may be different to other businesses/industries) unused vouchers tends to be in the region of 30%. This portion helps equalise the margin cut of the deal price. With your business model, this is not possible. Secondly, what I like about social deals is the lump sum payment which can provide useful cash flow. A retailer receiving €20/30 or whatever completely intermittantly won't feel the same or have the same effect from a cash flow perspective.

I know where you are coming from with trying to improve an existing offering OP, and some of the best businesses out there have come about as a result of this approach, but I don't believe this is the one for you.

PaulPinnacle

amcn1 wrote: »

What do you make of our first USP

Personally, I can't see any benefit here for the business (other than providing them with an additional option, but one with no obvious benefits in many cases) to speak of.

They'll suffer a huge uptake in unclaimed offers, as the €5 means that the 'cost' of not completing the deal is much smaller to the buyer. What happens to this €5? I assume this is kept as an admin fee by your site? If that's the case, you get all of the benefit and none of the risk, making it a win win for you and causing, justified, cynicism in the retailers.

When the user isn't buying the deal upfront and may never actually go through with completing the deal, with zero reward for the business should they not go ahead, they'd be far better off in placing that deal on a voucher/coupon site (well, multiple sites to get far more coverage and digital footprint) rather than doing it with your site. Sorry, but that's a simple fact.

PPR2013

Speaking as someone who has both run a deal and run a deal site (not in Ireland) I have an excellent grasp on this area.

It is very hard to offer something new to Merchant - When I ran a deal In Ireland I approached six different deal companies - All had differences -

You are correct in saying some hold a % for 3 month after a deal expires however I was offered

50% immediately with the rest after 30 days
50% immediately with rest when the deal expired
80% immediately with 20% with the deal expired
90% after a week and the remainder with 60 days

I was offered additional free exposure in National and local papers & Local Radio.

There are so many of these sites out there that it is genuinely hard for a new one to be different in any great way. I would see you €5 to hold the deal and pay the rest to the merchant as a negative due to the difference in redemption rates.

Speaking as someone with industry experience the general consensus 12 month ago was that the market would evolve into a flash deals environment but personally I think that like any new online venture eventually all the little guys will vanish and leave 3/4 main players.

The cost per acquisition can be high and with commission rates ranging from 10% to 50% it is currently a race to the bottom. Too many of these sites leads to more people using aggregaters who in turn will charge you a commission.

I think you missed the boat on this one.

tricky D

amcn1 wrote: »

YES THAT IS CORRECT WE ARE AT THAT STAGE AND ARE HAPPY TO ENTER AT THAT BUT NO NOT AT THE TYRE KICKING STAGE WITH NO BUSINESS PLAN OUR WEBSITE HAS LAUNCHED ALREADY

This is particularly worrisome imho for a prospective partner or financier.

jimmii

tricky D wrote: »

This is particularly worrisome imho for a prospective partner or financier.

NOT AT THE TYRE KICKING STAGE WITH NO BUSINESS PLAN

to me this reads as they do have a business plan?

Trojan

^^ me too.

But, I think Paul nailed it quite a few posts ago.

I don't see this OP learning & reacting positively to the really great feedback given here, and for that reason, I'm out.

tricky D

jimmii wrote: »

NOT AT THE TYRE KICKING STAGE WITH NO BUSINESS PLAN

to me this reads as they do have a business plan?

Got it.

My kingdom for a bit of punctuation.:)

jimmii

tricky D wrote: »

Got it.

My kingdom for a bit of punctuation.:)

Double negatives FTW!

Fries-With-That

Hi Adian,

Forgive me if I've missed it on your various threads, but what is the name of your deals site ?

Regards,

Fries.

relaxed

Fries-With-That wrote: »

Hi Adian,

Forgive me if I've missed it on your various threads, but what is the name of your deals site ?

Regards,

Fries.

Indeed, if we got to see the website we would have a much clearer picture of what its about.

relaxed

amcn1 wrote: »

2. second one "Pocket Now" deals

example daily deal for hair €35

you pay €5 now to secure the deal( receive voucher) direct on the website

you pay balance to retailer when redeeming voucher

this USP has several advantages from both a business and member point of view

this is ONE of our USP that stands out from yes ANY other daily deal site out there , now back to me looking for people who are interested in this type of project . . .

But whats unique about it? what if the competition just follow suit.

Look at Ryanair for example, long ago their USPs were not dealing with travel agents, charging per bag, charging for desk checkin etc.

All that happens is Aer Lingus and all the rest just followed suit over the years.

If you start with €5 upfront and €30 on the day then if the competitor starts losing market share maybe they will just follow suit.

What if grabone for example, with deep pockets, decide to only charge €2.50 upfront and €32.5 on the day, where does that leave your unique selling point?

cgriffin

OP has got some excellent feedback from some quite wise posters here. I genuinely hope this is appreciated but some of the replies would suggest that perhaps this is not the case.
Anyway there does seem to be a fair bit of a resistance from people to the idea of paying a small admin fee and the balance in-store when availing of the offer.
I actually think this might not necessarily be a bad idea as long the platform is well developed and managed. If the customer has 90 days to avail of the deal they should receive regular email or text alerts until the deadline date has expired.
Similarly the merchant should receive regular updates on how many coupons have been purchased, how many still need to be redeemed and get alerted when the coupons have expired.
The daily deal company should basically provided the merchant with a log in facility where they can view all this information
This way there is full transparency for all parties and the merchant can plan better on a stocking or appointments basis.
From my understanding it seems like if coupons are not redeemed it does not cost the merchant anything.
It certainly favourable when compared with looking for a direct response to an advertising campaign. In this situation one will agree a price, pay for it but have zero comeback if they get a poor response.
The other matter that needs to be considered is if they are receiving direct payment it can assist them in avoid online merchant fees which has been a hidden cost many a business have failed to think about agreeing such campaigns.
People are right though this is not a USP. It can be copied by anyone.
Someone recently told me it now costs Groupon over 10 Euro to acquire a customer. It would be interesting to know what they make on average from a customers first purchase and the percentage of customers they retain for repeat business.
I would suggest that the OP gets a couple of carefully planned survey together. One for merchants and one for customers. Survey over 100 people in each category and use this information to help you come to a decision on the best way to proceed (if to proceed at all)
No matter what you will have to generate traffic in order to have any chance of succeeding. Can the OP explain the strategy for this?

F35

<snip>

I'm sorry OP, but if you're afraid of your "idea" getting stolen then you're obviously not committed enough to it in the first place.

"Work like there's someone working 24 hrs/day to take it all away from you.” – Mark Cuban