When I checked around, many people know about the existance of Groupon, even fresh graduates who have just entered the workforce. Many may not know about Dealmates yet but when I asked them about Groupon, almost all nod their heads- either they or their family members have utilized the service.
An online company have relatively low overhead cost. If a telco company is trying to spread their wings far and wide, they would need to recruit sales people to cover every nook and corner- and that have not include cost of materials, rentals and hidden costs like training the staff, etc.
When I first started monetizing my site, I saw a lot of ads by Groupon appearing on my blog as well as blogs of others- if I surf the blogs from Malaysia. However, in recent months the advertising was not so intensive as previously. Online merchants would use online advertising- and compared to advertising in the newspapers, magazines and TV, the cost of advertising online is so much lower.
Everyday their banners appear in countless websites and sooner or later most would be tempted to go to their site to find out more. It is no surprise that the popularity reaches far and wide.
Secondly, the company was able to secure good deals which provided a win-win situation for both the company and the merchant. With consumers tightening their pockets and saving on expenses, any discounts would be most welcomed. The merchants wanted more business and was willing to offer some discounts (discounts are a lot cheaper than conventional advertising). If the deals are no good, the company would go down in no time. The company was able to sustain and increase popularity due to the good deals it was able to provide.
For any companies to continue to thrive, it must provide a win-win situation- for both the company and its customers. Else, there would always be the competitors that would come in and snatch the market share away. Online business is really competitive – often more so than a traditional business. When others see that you are doing well, there would be a lot of other sites who would copy your business concept and try to emulate your success. In order to stay afloat, the company must remain competitive and continue to deliver value.
Anyway, I manage to upload a short snippnet featured by 8TV- in Mandarin but the short interview is in English. I have been looking forward to that slot since online business have always interest me. Sorry all, it is my first video so my apologies for the background noise of my barking pet who eyed on a cat and quality.
