Can’t Snatch Groupon, Then Google ‘Em
Any company that won’t just roll over before Google’s goals of grandeur must be as sure of themselves as a mouse on a cheesy moon. We’re referring to when Groupon turned down Google‘s 2010 six billion dollar offer to purchase. Fast forward to 2011-Articles like Mashable’s Google to Launch Groupon Competitor, rang in the news about Google’s plans to compete with Groupon by dealing out it’s own discount alerts. This June a google of rats began raiding Groupon’s chedder.
According to the screen grab to the right, Google is taking only measured steps into Groupon’s territory; they’ve only made Google Offers available to subscribers in Portland OR. Then it’s a tiptoe through NYC, Oakland, and San Fran. -and who knows where next.
Groupon’s secret technique to dangling the discount carrot has always been The Groupon Voice. Google Offers attempted to emulate The Voice to some degree in that it’s slapping down a two-step “catch” formula, as referenced below, and filling it with creative prose that seems to be a hackneyed version of the bold and beaming copy style Groupon emails to subscribers.
Number of bristles in your toothbrush: 37. Number of times you’ve forgotten to floss in your lifetime: 3,479. Number of dentists with a friendly office dog named Willie: 1. Today’s offer gets you a $421 dental package including exam, full set of X-rays, and take-home whitening for life at Mt. Tabor Dental - office dog is included in your visit.
THE STORY
Mt. Tabor Dental in Southeast Portland, helmed by pro dentist Dr. Todd Beck, provides professional, compassionate general dentistry services for those looking to whiten, brighten and improve their smiles. Enter this serene, inviting space where you’ll be greeted by…
In this war among internet advertising titans, the best and most pervasive product/service is likely to win the market share. But what’s ironic is that Google’s scion-facsimile of Groupon’s business model seems to violate the same principles of intellectual property as those encroached upon when Bing allegedly took the short way ’round by copying Google’s search results. One might expect a more innovative tack from Google, but if you’re as ubiquitous as Google, who needs its own voice when you own the world of search and Gmail. But Google is not alone in its quest to snatch the ad vim from Groupon’s clutches-consider Facebook’s Deals , which is yet another “clone” vying for discount industry market share.
With the public light now on all the “Groupon” copy cats, one might wonder whether Groupon itself is so unique, especially when their international acquisitions are put under a lens. What seems evident is that it’s anybody’s game out there, and for Groupon to stay competitive they best avoid laryngitis.
This has been a subject on a number of my posts on the NMOA group. Groupon should have took the money and ran. The business model is too simple to imitate. Being first to the market in this case is their only advantage, and that’s not that big a deal with the likes of Google and Facebook and their access to large audiences.
Who comes up with the best ROI tracking tools for retailers using the system will take giant strides forward in securing advertisers. If Groupon does this first - and does it well, then they stand a chance. But right now my money is on Google for this, although I’m not sure if they have any direct marketing experts on staff to guide them.
Facebook on the other hand has so many people that are already sharing information with groups of friends seems to be in the best position, but from past experience with them, they may have some internal marketing/business philosophy conflicts that get in the way. And I’m not sure they can organize and run a sales team to hit the streets and sell the service. Google might have that problem as well.
JDS
http://twitter.com/jdschulte
Groupon are proving to be untrustworthy. Their Valentine’s Day massacre was when they jumped the shark (nice mixed metaphor, eh?).
Facebook continues to push “fauxial” around every user action; simply, every time you shop for a bargain or deal you don’t want all of your “friends” knowing what a cheapskate you are.
Google has more gravitas and trust than just about anyone else in the business right now. Whether it’s earned, deserved or foolish is another issue. But, it’s there.
I’m seeing Google/Deals in Portland working exceptionally well. In may be that, in part, because Google has had a presence in Portland since November when they started their Places/NFC trial (and handed out a lot of beer and donuts along the way).
I’m sure that those who do Google/Deals will also get a light SEO kick for good measure? It’s probably an unwritten rule, but, it wouldn’t surprise me — and, SEO remains important for small businesses.
Jonathan,
Thanks for the post. I’ll side with John in that Groupon should’ve taken the money when it had the chance. Groupon still seems to be lacking in their ability to accurately gauge what a user wants. I subscribe to Groupon and of the several emails I get every week less then 20% are even relevant to my preferences/needs. With Google’s analytics and FB’s huge(detailed) demographic data, they are much better positioned to offer deals that matter. Plus you throw in sites like Yelp and regional specific sites offering deals and you can easily see the dilution happening pretty quickly. If I’m going to get deals thrown at me when I visit these other sites(which are going to be more relevant) why would I even bother going to Groupon?
One last point; while Groupon is spending a ton of money to build up their sales side, I’m aware of the huge hiring push Google has made to put feet on the street in their targeted local markets. For a company that somehow is managing to get the entire world on Google Maps (and doing a darn good job) I wouldn’t want to bet against their ability to blow up their presence and scale up quickly.
Portland 1: Thanks for commenting-you make a good point regarding FB and that users may be averse to having their friends know how cheap they are (or what they’re even buying)…also,interesting insights on what Google is doing in Portland; nice to see someone is watching from the field. The assumed SEO boost myth via Google Deals is definitely floating around, like it did with Google Buzz. I’m not convinced on this one yet though, especially after the big “Buzz” flop. Everyone who eventually found out they were doing Buzz (Google didn’t do a great job informing users they were interacting on Google’s attempt at a new social platform) just kept doing it because they thought it would help SEO…I never saw where it did . The Buzz debacle also brings up the issue of trust (Google not only forced Buzz on Gmail users without asking, but then went a step further and assigned friends too, some of which weren’t even user friends; just barely acquainted Gmail address book contacts) that makes sharing cheap purchase habits with FB friends pale in comparison to sharing such with the world of search.
David: Thanks for bringing up the relevancy issue of Groupon’s emails. Google or Facebook should have no problme nailing it better than “20%.” I bet most would agree that Groupony should have taken the money…now we’ll all have to sit back to watch the trio slug it out to see who’s left standing…but I think most people would agree that Google and Facebook are the contenders on which to bet.
John: Good points, especially as to whether Google can mobilize and manage a sales force. Groupon has perfected the solicitation, but how much of this process can be automated by Google has yet to be seen. And you’re definitely right about the need for better ROI tracking…Groupon done have some of this in place for merchants using it’s service, but it’s not nearly as advanced or complete with live-share options as a Google Analytics version of this kind of tracking might be.