By now, you have probably heard of services like Groupon or LivingSocial.  The basic idea is that, in order to draw new customers, business owners use these and other “daily deal” sites to offer coupons for heavy discounts on their products or services.  But problems have cropped up: the deal is usually required to be at least a 50% discount off the regular price of the product or service being promoted.  Then the daily deals companies take another 50% of the selling price,

leaving the seller receiving only 25% of the usual price.  Daily Deal offers tend to attract bargain-hunters, not loyal customers.  The potential for a business to be overwhelmed by customers looking to redeem their coupons in the final days of the offer has required some businesses to hire extra staff just to serve everyone, causing an even greater loss of revenue (especially for a smaller business).

Constant Contact’s SaveLocal has addressed all of these problems!  The word about your deal gets spread to your loyal followers and customers by an email or social media post.  You can create bonus coupons which will reward people for sharing your offer with their networks, allowing your loyal customers and fans to advertise for you!  You also have total control of how many coupons you make available for purchase, and each coupon comes with a unique tracking code so that each coupon can only be redeemed once.  Constant Contact tracks each purchase, share, and redemption so that you can see exactly how successful your offer is.  Even better, you get paid immediately through PayPal as soon as a coupon is purchased!

“But wait!” you say … “You haven’t told us the most important thing of all!  How much is this going to cost me??  This is the best news of all.  No more requirements of 50% discounts, with another 50% chunk taken by the daily deals company.  It’s free to set up the offer, and Constant Contact charges only $1, $2, or $3 per coupon depending on the cost of the deal.  All you need is a Constant Contact account.  Can it get much better?  Reward your loyal customers, attract new ones, and don’t break the bank to do it!

Have questions or need help getting your first SaveLocal deal started?  Let IGV give you a hand.  Don’t forget – we’re partnered with Constant Contact and love sharing our expert knowledge!