Online Coupon Marketing
Source: SiteReference.com
As a business owner of any kind, raising product awareness and boosting sales is a priority. The Internet has changed the way things are done in the business world and new technology is being added every day. One of the newest forms of advertising your business is through coupon sites such as LivingSocial and Groupon. Google is also planning to add a coupon program that should be available soon. These sites offer a form of advertising for your business that is a bit different from a straightforward Internet ad. Let’s first look at how each of these programs work.
LivingSocial
LivingSocial is a site that offers members a chance to receive a daily email with a deeply discounted deal to a local business. The deals that are sent to the consumer are delivered daily through email. If a person chooses to purchase one of the deals, they simply visit the website and click to buy it. The consumer will then receive a voucher to the business in their email the next day. Consumers are also given a link to share with their friends and if the people they refer to the site buy a deal, then the consumer who referred the person gets a free deal.
Groupon
Groupon is a deal site that has customers sign up for the daily deal email. These customers are then sent an email every day with the daily deal from their local market. Consumers are encouraged to share the deal with friends by passing them along through an email or other social network. Once purchased, a voucher can be printed or brought up on a mobile device for their use. However, each deal has a set number of vouchers that must be bought. If this number is not met then nobody gets the deal.
Google Coupons
Through a recent deal with the Valpak group, Google has begun a campaign to revive their coupon program. The latest information about the program reveals that businesses that are a part of Google maps will now be allowed to add coupons to their site. This is a great way to increase your brand name as well as get new customers that may be visiting your area and trying to save some money.
Coupon Sites for Marketing Purposes
When thinking about marketing strategies for your business, a coupon site should be on the list of things to do. This type of marketing program can be very beneficial for any business, but especially if you are relatively new. The role of a coupon site for your marketing program is to get new customers in your door. The strategy is relatively fail-safe as there are typically no out of pocket expenses.
ROI – One of the best things about this program is that the ROI is simple to perceive. You will know exactly how many deals are sold, which means that you will know the amount of new and repeat customers that have been gained from using the site. Coupon sites are relatively easy to sign up for and you will be able to choose how many deals in which to participate. This makes it a very simple tool to use and access how much your business is helped by doing one of these deals. One fact that is crucial to any business is that most of the people who use your deal from any website will likely return to your business if their experiences were good.
Brand Recognition – A coupon site is a great way to get your brand out there. These sites reach hundreds of thousands of people and are set up to target individuals living within your business area. While social media plays a part in reaching a broad customer base, a coupon site does a better job of targeting individuals who are specifically interested in the products or services you offer.
Is it Worth the Effort?
When it comes down to it, you really have nothing to lose by using one of these sites. You will be able to track the business that you gained from the deal promotion and determine whether it was worth the time and the investment. If it was not, simply remove it from your marketing campaign and go on. If your deal does well, you will increase the number of customers you have and can consider using the site for future marketing campaigns.
Management
Colin MacDonald - President & Founder
Colin is a seasoned consulting entrepreneur. He has worked throughout North America at Board and Executive levels for Accenture, Best Buy, ICBC, Oracle and Vancity. Colin specializes in mission critical financial systems and high volume transaction processing, having been a hands-on Senior Consultant to Central 1, Sears, Shoppers Drug Mart, Yahoo, Rogers and Future Shop. Colin is passionate about usability and accessibility, and tirelessly looks for ways to maximize the potential of mobile and online technologies.
Tony Cinotti - VP Mobile Banking
Tony is the co-inventor of two method patents for processing transactions on a video enabled phone (Smart Phone) US Patent numbers 5,606,361 2/25/1997 and 5,724,092 3/31998. The system basically allows for an interactive mailbox, a method of user identification, an encryption process, a means of viewing information and the interaction with merchants and financial institutions to conduct a transaction over a network. The system demonstrates a process for shopping online, stock trading and making payments by various methods via a video enabled phone with immediate confirmation of the transaction.
Andrew Strauss - Business Development
The co-founder of leading couponing platform I Like A Deal, Andrew is committed to changing the way online collective buying takes place in the US. Andrew's strengths include managing Internet Technologies, leads operations, logistics and business development. Andrew has enjoyed over 14 years of success in web development business, running a highly successful e-commerce pet supplies company prior to founding I Like a Deal.
Ryan Andrews - Director of Golf Operations at eTeeoff
The son of 1961 Walker Cup Golfer Gene Andrews, who is known as the father of playing by yardage, Ryan Andrews has dedicated much of his life to the world of golf. A passionate entrepreneur and salesman, Ryan took his father's legendary chipping guide and helped create the iPitching Guide mobile golf app (available on iTunes). He also patented the divot repair tool, the Divvy-Up™, which is currently on sale at many of the finest golf courses in the world. Since 1999, he has owned and operated Nectar Golf, Inc. in Los Angeles and Atlanta, which annually sells golf related products to over 400 golf courses in the U.S., Asia and Europe.
Monika Sagar - CFO, Director
Monika Sagar has been a director, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Company since inception in January 2007. After obtaining a B. A., Political Science, (1996) from Punjab University Ms. Sagar worked in a variety of administrative positions. For the past five years Ms. Sagar has held administrative and loan officer positions. From 2001 to 2002 she served as an Assistant Loan Officer with HSBC Bank. From 2002 to 2004 Ms. Sagar was a fulltime student obtaining her M.A. in Political Science from Punjab University in 2004. From her graduation in 2004 to the present, Ms. Sagar has been employed by Standard Chartered Bank as a Customer Care Executive, supervising the processing of personal loans for real and personal property. Since 2004 Ms. Sagar is also continuing her education on a part time basis, working on an MBA degree. From the Company's inception in January 2007 to August 2011, Ms. Sagar also served as the Company's Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer.
Dave Froggatt - Technical Architect
Dave was instrumental in developing PayPal and brings strong technical e-commerce and mobile development knowledge to the team. As a senior software developer, he is currently a Senior SharePoint MOSS 2007 Developer. Dave's passions are multimedia knowledge exchange and personalization. Some of his major projects include creating an innovative knowledge-sharing platform incorporating published articles, personal blog entries and a video streaming solution, as well as a hyper-personalized corporate SharePoint site with custom skins and menus, a location map, picture sharing, and an advance profile property editor.
Anthony Charles - Director of Design
Anthony has 15 years experience designing and building large-scale projects an international portfolio of clients, including Sesame Street, Ninth House, Motorola and Citigroup. Since 1995, Anthony has been a multimedia developer, interactive designer and a co-owner of io media productions limited, a multimedia design and production service. Known for bringing a fresh, user-centric approach to mobile design, he also teaches a variety of courses in new media and web design.
Jemi Rajan - Communications/Data Analytics Specialist
Jemi is a web analytics and content specialist, experienced in developing content for the online, mobile, and social media channels. She has worked with digital communications for e-Commerce sites, digital publishing platforms, and the financial services industry in both North America and the UK. Jemi firmly believes anyone can understand anything as long as it's written and designed the right way, and works tirelessly to ensure all her online content achieves this end.
Barry Forward - Executive Vice President, Communications
Barry is an Executive and Marketing Coach with 25 years business and executive experience including CEO, President and Board Director (public and private companies), Community Governance Board Member, Executive Vice President, and Vice President Marketing and Communications. No stranger to the mobile arena, Barry worked with Broadburst Technologies to build mobile marketing applications and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi network in Toronto. He is also a new media and a marketing specialist working in social media, mobile, and marketing communications. Barry is experienced working with large corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, early-stage start-ups, government agencies and the non-profit sector.
Recent News:
April 25 - Marine Drive Mobile has Accumulated Over 7,000 Plus Followers Combined in its Social Media Networks
Marine Drive Mobile Corp. (MDMC.OB - News) ("Marine Drive Mobile" or the "Company") announced today that the Company has made significant strides in its social media effort and now, collectively over all of its social media networks, has accumulated 7,000 plus followers.
Social and mobile media marketing is at present, are two of the most effective marketing conduits of our time. This isn't fleeting, either; on a global and more all-inclusive scale, the world is adapting to quicker, trimmer and more streamlined versions of marketing because we're operating at a faster pace.
Virtual social networks are stronger, easier and more flexible in today's market landscape. This industry has realized a boom in popularity and Marine Drive Mobile is at the helm. We don't shirk the costs onto the merchants but implement a fair, moderate cost to interested consumers to purchase our e-coupons quickly and redeem them at the relevant retailer. Pair this with our thriving social networking and you have a recipe for success and modernization into the 21st century.
Colin MacDonald, CEO and President of Marine Drive Mobile, stated, "With our combination of photos and crafted text, utilizing mediums like Facebook and Twitter, we are able to achieve a platform that is pleasant to access, easy to use, cost-efficient and effective." He continued to say, "Our current goal is to double our growth on Twitter and Facebook by Summer's official start, thus offering both our merchants and consumers additional value. We plan to spread far and wide so that retailers can achieve additional revenue and consumers can enjoy savings in a whole new way, without emptying their wallets."
