Annette Washington of The FoodiePreneur
Are You Considering Using A Daily Deal In Your Food Business?
Daily Deal sites like Groupon and Living Social have been around for a few years now. You've probably heard many arguments as to whether these programs are good for the independent food business owner. I admit that there are many pros and cons for using these and other types of coupon-ing or discount deal methods to attract customers to your business. I also think that the success or the benefit of using these programs depends on the preparation taken before you sign on.
The costs for taking part in a daily deal can be overwhelming for food business operators. Basically, if you choose to offer a daily deal, you will pay at least half of your sales to the Daily Deal companies. Then you must add-in any extra employees (yes, you may need this because many buyers will wait until the deal has almost ended before showing up-that could add up to a lot of extra customers in one or two days). Of course, you have your food cost to take into account as well. When you look at these numbers, you could view the daily deal method of marketing as a losing venture.
Do Daily Deals work for food businesses? It has been proven that you will increase the number of customers who will walk through your door. If you are not prepared for this onslaught of coupon- waving deal participants, it could be devastating to your business (as seen on the video).
