It kills me to say it, because I have looked down on Groupon for so long. But I think Groupon could be one of the best things out there for a window cleaner to grow his business. If done correctly.
First of all, the obvious:
- Groupon kills your initial cleaning invoice.
- Groupon seeks out “bargain hunters” and adds them to your customer base (price sensitive customers)
- Groupon floods you with work that isn’t paying– so cashflow is pinched hard.
- Groupons are not known for their “upsell-ability”.
Now for the not so obvious:
- You don’t have to do a HUGE dollar amount for Groupon
- You can make it a gift certificate– not a defined job (simplify it– with the right tools)
- You can put in your item description that scheduling is done on a first come, first served basis.
- You can make it so the Groupon HAS to be upsold (ie, price it as a “gift card” that wouldn’t cover the full cost of an average service)
Now for the reason I have flipped my Groupon paradigm…
Check out what was in my email from Jason Evers of Coastline Window Cleaning yesterday:
Well, Jason… You hit the nail on the head, and I hope that many more are able to leverage the power of these 2 forces. I have heard many people on window cleaning forums speak badly of Groupon– but I think you have overcome.
It reminds me of a little parable taught at NOLA (I hope I don’t get in trouble for sharing):
There were once two great shoe salesman, both sent to Australia to sell shoes to the natives for their company. Both salesmen are excited at the opportunity to experience such a great new adventure!
However, two days after their arrival both salesmen checked in with their superior. The first salesman said to his boss, “there is no opportunity here, all the native aborigines don’t even wear shoes––bring me home.”
The second salesman got on the phone with his boss and said, “You’ll never believe the opportunity down here! The aborigines have never worn shoes! I’m making friends for life!”
I hope the point of this parable sounds as loudly in your ears as it did mine. In the areas where it seems there is no opportunity, attitude, tenacity, and using the proper tools is where the real opportunity lies.