Has anyone thought about doing a LivingSocial Deal??

[topshelf1042]

Hey everyone.I am about to run a livingsocial deal at the end of March has anyone ever thought of this?? How it works is you don't pay anything up front. My deal which I will be selling for $75per works like this they offer your deal for 7 days on there site and and then the amount of deals sold say 50 you would get $37.50 a deal a 50/50 split. Total for the 50 deals 37.50x50=$1875 then 10 days after your deal runs you get 70% of the 1875 and the remaining 30% balance 25 days later.

my deal is an express detail which includes
1.wash and dry
2.vacumn
3.leather conditioner
4.windows
5.dash shine
6.express wax
7.tire shine
8.air freshner

Now remember when you get paid you have 50 customers that have prepaid for your services. SO DO NOT SPEND THE MONEY UNTIL THE CUSTOMER REDEEMS THEIR DEAL!!!

So I schedule 4 deal customers a day on off days say Mon, Tues, Weds $37.50x4=$150 and it fills in the days that are slow. You would then deduct that $150 from your $1875 and so on.

Some may say this is crazy to discount your services this much.I say no because your goal here is to have these customers be repeat customers. If you provide quality work like you say you do these customers will come back believe me they do and then I get full price the next time around.

Another thing to think about and positive thing is this gives your biz mass exposure, be prepared for your phone to ring like crazy during the time your deal is running.

If your not detailing everyday in your biz this is something to think about. Think of it as a jump start.

RLC Mobile Auto Detailing - Augusta GA car wash and detail, car detail and auto detailing ,mobile detailing

Top Shelf Auto Detailing - Top Shelf Auto Detailing Columbia, SC-car wash in Columbia,SC that offers auto detailing and car detailing services at your location.

happy detailing!!!

[ProDetail]

I'm personally against doing a living social or groupon deal. You are already reducing your price to attract business but at that the same time both of them take a cut (up to 50%) from the total sales so in the end you can end up eating a big loss that may or may not actually make you sour to the customers who have bought the deal. Often times these very customers are the ones we try to avoid that want a $300 job for $50 and will bad mouth you all the way if you don't. So it's even hard to justify word of mouth also. My .02.

[2BlackChevys]

Interesting. Subbed.

[topshelf1042]

Originally Posted by ProDetail

I'm personally against doing a living social or groupon deal. You are already reducing your price to attract business but at that the same time both of them take a cut (up to 50%) from the total sales so in the end you can end up eating a big loss that may or may not actually make you sour to the customers who have bought the deal. Often times these very customers are the ones we try to avoid that want a $300 job for $50 and will bad mouth you all the way if you don't. So it's even hard to justify word of mouth also. My .02.

I agree William and I had to do a lot of research to see if this would be a good fit for my biz and I do agree on the customers that want more for less. But here is an example of a week I had with the deal included

Monday 4 deals=$150
Tuesday 5 deals=$187.50
Weds 3 deals=$112.50 $120full detail=$232.50
Thurs 4 deals=$150
Fri $210 office park I visit bi-weekly
Sat 2 deals=$75 Full detail $150

total deals 18=$675
regular customers=$480

total=$1150 gross

numbers I can Deal with.

I would say do your own research and it may or may not be a good fit for your biz. But for me it has paid off.

Like us on FB
http://facebook.com/TopShelfMobileAutoDetailing

http://facebook.com/RlcMobilAutoDetail

happy detailing!!!

[rustytruck]

It looks like you are a mobile detailer, if that is the case I think it is a bad idea. Renny Doyle said one thing in his book about mobile guys doing the coupon deals. DON'T DO IT. I agree 100%

So you are willing offer your service for half off, then give half of half to the company who ran the offer. So now you are down to 25 cents on the dollar. now on that 25% you are going to pay taxes, cover business expenses, do the work and try to make money? sounds like a good deal?

Google search a deal by a mobile auto detailing that ran an offer like this, Then Google search reviews for that same company. Do you want the internet filled with bad reviews about you?

One more thing. You won't turn those people into regular customers they are on those sites because they like getting deals. Next time they want a detail they will see who is running a deal on detailing. They will not pay you to come out for $150 when there is someone offering it for $75 or maybe less. All these deals do for auto detailers is drive down the perceived value of what a auto detail should cost.

All you are doing is hurting the auto detailing business in your area. It is not good for your business or any detail business around you.

[VP Mark]

Every marketing technique should fit every business. As long as you are comfortable with the numbers, are confident you can handle the business and not compromise quality you should go for it.

A lot of people (like rustytruck) say steer clear of coupon sites, others say go for it. It is really up to you. You can use this to make your business better by adding a new customer base, branding, and filling your schedule. You can also hurt your business by taking on too much low paying work, rushing through it and getting poor reviews, and not having the time to focus on your full paying customers.

Just some things to think about. I definitely want to hear your results if you go through with this or not. Keep us updated!

[ProDetail]

I don't comment on post like this without either experience or research which is why I commented. I agree with Rusty, unfortunately I bought Renny's book too late. I did it in 2011 in Amesbury, MA and it was an absolute nightmare for me. I didn't realize that they took 50% when I started the deal so that was a shock. But I didn't let that compromise my quality, but the complaints because they wanted more for less are what really soured me. I actually ended up losing $1900 between loss supplies and my hours and the percentage they took. I did retain a few customers but neither of them ever purchased a complete detail and I don't know if they referred me to anyone so it's hard to say if I even recovered my losses in the long run.

[Pureshine]

The only thing you will get out LivingSocail and groupon is no repeat customers and people only looking the todays hot deal. You will just be giving your hard work away to someone who doesn't care.

[scrace]

Originally Posted by Pureshine

The only thing you will get out LivingSocail and groupon is no repeat customers and people only looking the todays hot deal. You will just be giving your hard work away to someone who doesn't care.

This.

My exact thoughts, no repeat customers just looking for a good deal.

[My Detailing Guys]

Originally Posted by rustytruck

It looks like you are a mobile detailer, if that is the case I think it is a bad idea. Renny Doyle said one thing in his book about mobile guys doing the coupon deals. DON'T DO IT. I agree 100%

So you are willing offer your service for half off, then give half of half to the company who ran the offer. So now you are down to 25 cents on the dollar. now on that 25% you are going to pay taxes, cover business expenses, do the work and try to make money? sounds like a good deal?

Google search a deal by a mobile auto detailing that ran an offer like this, Then Google search reviews for that same company. Do you want the internet filled with bad reviews about you?

One more thing. You won't turn those people into regular customers they are on those sites because they like getting deals. Next time they want a detail they will see who is running a deal on detailing. They will not pay you to come out for $150 when there is someone offering it for $75 or maybe less. All these deals do for auto detailers is drive down the perceived value of what a auto detail should cost.

All you are doing is hurting the auto detailing business in your area. It is not good for your business or any detail business around you.