ShineShop said:
Almost every person I have spoken with that buys these deals online has sheepishly admitted they just keep buying the next deal and rarely return to the places regardless of how great they are. One woman I know admitted she buys a groupon for every spa that comes up and just goes to the next one that comes up and will continue to do so because of how much money it saves.
This is very true. I went into my deals expecting 90% of the people never to come back, and was after that 10% of quality customers. The ones that have returned have become very good customers that I expect to have for life and the word of mouth from those people, and also the people who won't be back is starting to gain some momentum. I think a big reason nobody comes back is they just forget about you. So in the next couple weeks I will be mailing them all a postcard announcing that I am now mobile with a coupon attached (But definitely not a 50% off coupon). I spent about 2 weeks running the numbers over and over, deciding what kind of package I wanted to do, etc. In no way did I expect to make a dime on the deals, but I was actually able to make a few bucks off each one after I paid my help, bought my supplies, etc. It was strictly for marketing, long term at that as someone said, and very much helps brand awareness which is important for any business. As long as you don't go into thinking you're going to make money, and as long as it's only part of your marketing strategy it can be good.
If I were to do another deal, which I'm not, I would do an exterior only express detail, which would leave alot more room for upselling an interior detail and possibly upselling to a full detail. I did actually upsell quite a few to full details, which did make a little money which was just a nice little bonus you could say.
The biggest problems I had with my deal customers were maybe 10 or 15 people that did not read the whole description and assumed because it was for a "detail" they were getting a full detail and not just an express detail, even though it was plainly stated. A few people became upset, but once I pulled the description up online, they were ok and apologized, realizing it was their own fault for not reading the whole thing, except for one guy who was just a completely unreasonable jerk who called LivingSocial to complain and they basically told him the same thing i did, it's your fault for not reading the description. The only other problem was again, people not reading the entire description and not seeing the extra $20 to be paid to me at the time of the detail if they had an SUV, van, or large truck. And there were also a few people who denied that their RAV-4, or other small SUV was actually an SUV because it states "station wagon" on their registration.
All in all, would I do it again? Yes, but I would have only run one deal instead of the two I did and left more room for upselling.
A huge problem with these deals are the shops that just want the money and don't care about the quality, which is hurting the whole industry. Here is one of my reviews from a deal customer:
"I've never brought my car to get it detailed but with a Groupon?--why not?? My car was filthy. I brought it camping and to the beach so there was grass, sand, and severe brake dust on my tire rims. Then I brought the car to get it detailed and it was beautiful!! Amazingly clean inside and out!! Rich is super nice and so is the other young guy that was there. I tipped them well--they deserved it!!!"
I've looked at every other shop's reviews in the area that has run a deal and have yet to find a positive review from one of their deal customers, they are all negative. This is bad for all of us. This is not to say some of the other shops are not doing a good job, it's alot easier to get a bad review than a good one, it's just the nature of people to leave a bad review as soon as you upset them, so sometimes no review is a good review.
CosminTX said:
i don`t have a lot of dealer work experience... , i have not been in your situation , i do not have a shop , i am mobile.
all i can say about where you are now is that you have to rethink your business plan , based of your prev experience, and where you wanna be a few years from now, and focus your energy on the options you have.
try to look in everything, not just in undercut from competition or dealer rejection.
examples: what marketing are you running , who`s your clients, who`s your regular clients , what`s your best service , what`s your lack of service etc ...
you may find answers that will help you build a stronger business.
Cosmin
Thanks for the advice. Once I'm out of the shop and get somewhat settled into the mobile routine I will be rethinking my business plan. I think had a good plan when I opened the shop, but as I said in another post, the market can change in the blink of an eye, which it did, so my old business plan is no longer effective. Time to review, rethink and change with the market.
