Deal Current Listed by Entrepreneur in 100 Brilliant Companies

We want to thank Entrepreneur Magazine for listing Deal Current in the Top 100 Brilliant Companies of 2011.

Evaluating Daily Deals For Your Media Organization

As a media group evaluating if you should integrate a daily deal program it’s important to know the TRUE value and benefits of having a local offer program.  Media organizations such as print publication groups, online communities and television and radio stations are a natural fit to implement a local offer program to co-exist with their existing advertising solutions.

As part of your evaluation you should avoid making your decision off  how other local deal sites are performing.  Like any business, several things need to be taken into account to understand the performance and financials of other programs.  The success of a daily deal program relies on many moving pieces, but mainly depends on deal quality matched with deal distribution.  A purchase rate off a daily deal email list is on average roughly 1-2%, which means that an email opt-in list of 20,000 should yield about 1-200 sales a day.  Another consideration is deal quality.  Great offers from incredible businesses will see much higher conversion ratios vs. unattractive deals from less than appealing merchants.  Some of Deal Current’s clients that are developing niche programs are experiencing as high as 4% purchase rate.

Here’s a list of some of the most important points to consider when determining if your media organization will implement a local offer program:

• Understanding Audiences: What works for one daily deal site doesn’t always work for another.  What’s unique to these marketing programs is the demographics a specific program will attract.  It works exactly like a radio station; it appeals to a certain consumer and doesn’t appeal to others.  A rock station will attract a particular audience and advertiser than a christian radio station.  Same with daily deal programs.  As a media organization looking to develop their own local offers program – it means that they have FULL control on what merchants to feature.  This will also provide more value back to the end-user and consumers of your media group.

• Creating Campaigns: Combine daily deal offerings into existing advertising campaigns inclusive of radio spots, online presence, in print promotion, and a daily deal feature.  Daily deals need to be looked at as a way to compliment an existing advertising campaign – not something that cannibalizes other advertising efforts.

• Sign NEW Paying Advertisers: This can attract NEW advertisers that do not have the budget for print, online or on-air advertising.  Many media clients have used daily deals as a way to get new paying advertisers.  You could also apply the revenue generated with a daily deal towards future online or on-air ad campaigns.

• Repay outstanding invoices: If you have advertisers who owe money to your media organization for outstanding invoices from past advertising campaigns you can recoup these funds by contacting the merchant to see if you can feature their business on a daily deal.  1) you generate more business for the merchant and 2) your media group recoups the outstanding debt.

• Integrating Marketing Efforts to Promote Deal Program: If a media group is basing their decision on creating a deal program solely off of the revenue being generated – then they are being naïve.  This does not work like the Field of Dreams – where if you build it they will come.  Like any new promotional program – it requires promotion.  If you don’t advertise the program you won’t receive maximum buy in from your consumer base.  A media group that fully integrates this into their existing advertising efforts (online, offline, signage at events, sponsorships, radio spot ads, featured business of the day radio highlights, etc) will NATURALLY see higher revenue numbers than a group that just posts a tiny promotional widget on the homepage with NO call to action.

Overall it’s important to note that a media group fully integrating a daily deal program into their existing mix of products, services, and solutions can attract new viewers, listeners, paying advertisers, consumers, fans, and so much more.  Partnering up with a company that assists with the strategy to successfully integrate this into your existing company is critical for success.  Deal Current does just that and more with every media group we work with.  Many other vendors in the market provide the technology and leave the rest up to you.  So choose wisely.

Deal Current CEO, Jimmy Hendricks, Nominated for San Diego Top Tech Awards

We are excited to congratulate our CEO Jimmy Hendricks for being nominated for San Diego Magazines Top Tech Awards.

Here are details about the event and how to purchase tickets. This is a great event for networking and exposure if you are in the San Diego tech scene.

San Diego Magazine’s Top Tech Exec Awards recognizes the most outstanding Information Technology executives who work in San Diego, as nominated by their peers and clients. Nominees who meet the criteria, as decided by an independent panel of judges, will be recognized at the 2011 San Diego Magazine Top Tech Exec Awards on May 11 at The Paddock at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Ticket prices will include awards reception, food, beverages, tech-fun, parking and live entertainment. http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/toptech/

Will Facebook Deals kill Groupon, Living Social, or Other Deal Programs

As a leading daily deal software vendor we get asked all the time on advice in the market. We always have an opinion but we also know that referencing outside sources is key to our credibility.

The biggest question we have gotten recently is “How will Facebook Deals affect my chance of success?”

We recommend you read this article from 4/26/11 on Business Insider which was an original post on Yipit.

Facebook Deals Won’t Kill Groupon or Living Social

Here are the key points from the article, but click on the link above for the full content.  We feel the same points apply to deal programs of all size.

1. Facebook doesn’t have a sales force
2. Companies won’t self-serve
3. Users don’t trust Facebook to recommend deals

The article does state that Facebook deals will cause inbox crowding, news feed crowding, and will drive up the cost of Facebook user acquisition and will drive the need for further innovation.