With social media, Groupon buys a twist

(published in the October issue of "International Brand Observation": "Gap and Groupon cooperation, buy a game")

Groupon's latest news, good luck, is now the world's most dazzling internet star. A $135 million trillion raise in April raised its valuations to a record $1.35 billion trillion, surpassing Twitter and Facebook, which used only 1.5 to reach $1 billion trillion in valuations. In the past August,--gap, one of the largest apparel retail brands in the United States, launched the first nationwide group buying promotion, not only successfully took the pace of national concessions, but also through marketing innovation, set an average of 10 transactions per second success, refresh the sales record since the station.

Sales hot, successful refresh history

August 19, the famous Groupon United Gap in 85 cities for the first time to launch a "return to campus" nationwide group buying promotions, customers only cost 25 yuan to buy half-price coupons worth 50 yuan, The purchase of products at any gap retail store in the United States and Canada offers a special discount of 50 minus 25. Activity soon aroused enthusiastic response, the first day that sold 441,000 coupons, set a maximum of 11 million U.S. dollars in revenue, the highest peak of 10 coupons per second can be sold, an hour to sell more than 30,000, regardless of the speed of sales or the total volume have refreshed the highest sales record since the station. Groupon's servers are said to have been on the computer for a while as customers flooded in.

Groupon's success has brought a lot of customers to the gap, but its biggest beneficiary is its own, in addition to raising consumer concerns and a significant sales commission, Groupon added 750,000 subscribers a week after the promotion. Gap's 85 retail outlets across the United States and Canada have also helped Groupon open its territory to a host of untapped cities. In addition, the demonstration of this exploratory activity is equally important, although the previous involvement in urban marketing, but still focus on the local, and retailers in the United States to cooperate is the first time, the first attempt to success is no doubt for the future and similar cooperation to bring great confidence.

Integrated communication, group buying grafting social marketing

In addition to providing users with attractive price discounts as always, Groupon, the first nationwide group-buying spree, has played a lot of new tricks, successfully implementing integrated marketing communications, not only as a promotional initiative to boost sales, but also as a nationwide campaign to promote a combination of online and offline A social network marketing that leverages Twitter and Facebook user resources at once. Because the hot sales situation attracted everyone's enthusiastic talk, and even achieved the spread of the event marketing effect. Specifically, by grafting social media, Groupon has at least four major breakthroughs for businesses:

First, it's not just Groupon promotions, but the use of a variety of media, such as Twitter and Facebook, has also led to hyper-popularity and a lot of word-of-mouth. The event changed in the past, not only relying on Groupon's original users, but also through a number of media, multi-pronged. Before, Groupon made it through Twitter and Facebook to start people's relationships to make up the ratings, but never really took to the front desk and used the two social media directly. The difference, in addition to trying to more than 30,000 Twitter fans and more than 600,000 people Facebook fans, but also the use of Twitter's earlybird advertising services to release exclusive limited time and activity information, and in the two sides of the newsletter has been widely disseminated. It is said that promotional information has also been popular with women's Favorite mummy blog to blog to promote, to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the students parents purchase. The comprehensive use of many media, accumulated a huge amount of popularity and Word-of-mouth, and eventually lead to gap discount price hot sales.

Second, not just a discount promotion, a 1500-user Groupon-buying platform helps businesses extend traditional promotions to the web, targeting more targeted audiences, and doing a nationwide branding campaign. Groupon can even be a daily Online marketing tool for businesses. During the off-season or special festivals, the merchants always carry out product promotion activities, to occupy market share, to boost sales. If it is extended to the Internet, can be used to buy this form, you can save the human input, also need not worry about the flow of people too big inability to deal with the situation. "We've been looking for innovative ways to attract customers, and we know that a lot of customers are Groupon users." Now that people are buying autumn costumes, we think it's an ideal time to offer exclusive Groupon offers. Gap Marketing Director Olivia Dor (Olivia Doyne) explains why a national retailer will opt to offer promotions on Groupon.

Third, not just a brand promotion, Goupon coupon promotion for the business to bring real buyers and performance returns, rather than simply the cost of expenditure. As a short-term promotional measure, issuing coupons does not have to change the pricing of products, both to leave room for themselves, and not to attract the fierce opponents of competition. If all coupons from Groupon are used, the coupons sold on the first day will bring 440,000 customers to the gap in the next few months. What's more, once customers step into a retail store, their real sales will be more, far more than 50 dollars. Although the coupon of 50 is sold at half price, the gap seems to bear half of the cost, in fact, far from so much, the more customers spend, the more the cost is amortized thinner. Even according to Groupon's past average utilization of more than 80% per capita, revenue is still impressive. For the recently underperforming gap, this is a good opportunity to boost performance and morale.

Four, not only the traditional marketing activities, wearing star halo of Groupon to help businesses attract a large number of eyeballs, a lot of media to report the hot news, and thus achieve the effect of event marketing. Compared with the traditional advertising promotion of large investment and little effect, event marketing because of its social influence, can quickly upgrade new products or brand awareness, high return on investment, often reach 42 of the magical effects of the weight, and more and more people welcome. As the first nationwide group buying promotion, Gap not only received sales growth, but also played a lot of free advertising, access to a large number of exposure, thereby revitalizing the brand. As a result of this taste, gap even accelerated the use of social platforms to carry out the pace of marketing activities, and began to work with mobile network service provider Foursquare cooperation. The gap will offer a 75 percent discount for users who only need to "sign in" one of the U.S. or Canadian retail outlets.

Of course, the choice of promotional opportunity is equally important. Choosing a student's new semester back to school offers half-price coupons that appeal not only to the price-sensitive adult consumers, but also to mothers who want to prepare their children for new costumes. But by effectively integrating social media Twitter and Facebook, as well as a variety of media such as Mummy's blog, Groupon helped Gap to hit the original promotional campaign. Companies that have been or are about to carry out similar nationwide promotions may get a lot of inspiration from that.

"Today's Whisper"

Case, is the best teacher. Fresh, interesting, inspiring and memorable. Like a moving story. Appreciation, but also to learn nutrition, guide the reality, kill each other. The best stories need not be explained, and the mysteries and philosophies naturally contain them, and they can be understood after listening. The so-called analysis and interpretation, but to tell the story of the people know not enough after the disciples sigh helpless.

Since the end of June, it has written 10 texts, large and small. Choosing fresh new Media marketing cases and doing all kinds of writing attempts, though interesting, are always passable. More fresh, less depth, very dissatisfied. Write more, or even some boredom: have tried, why repeat? However, the selection of a direction, or the first to withstand the heart, honest to do the good, anxious not. Regret after halfway, do not know how many back? If the present less than one by one to make up for, when enough to gather a book, still feel dissatisfied, then give up is not too late.

Well. Keep on cheering.

Source: http://www.marketing-life.cn/?p=3265