Instant deals for your mobile customers

"Instant Deals" and "Groupon Now" were deals that would run for a very short period of time (less than typical daily deals) with the goal of sending customers "instantly" to the door of the business to give them a customer rush. They were valid for that particular day and time only.

The probelm with this concept for daily deals was not that people do no look for deals on the fly when they are about to go do something that is going to cost precious dollars, but that it does not happen in large amounts for a select business every day. Someone might love to get 50% off dinner, but just because the deal is live on a Tuesday night does not mean you can suddenly drop your plans just to take advantage. Some people might or will but the pay off for businesses or the deal site is not high enough for many items. Coffee from our perspective is a purchase that has a constant daily flow to it. IF you train your customers by have a regular special or offer they'll start to look at your coffee shop for their regular purchase.

But we are in the age of IMMEDIACY. People expect their needs and wants fulfilled instantly and in the palm of their hand--literally. 17% of our clients' customers visit their respective websites through mobile devices rather than on a regular computer browser. That number only continues to climb as iPads and smart phones become the norm. 

The failure of instant deals on daily deal sites still leaves small businesses trying to solve the problem of slow days and holes in the schedule. It would be nice to pick up the revenue in those slots and to have a proactive way to do so. Another problem with things like LivingSocial's Instant Deals was that, just like a regular daily deal, it had to be planned and you had to wait your turn. There is immediacy for the consumer, but not the business. Coffee shops posting a deal like..."Buy a large coffee and get a free cookie." have no constraints to rolling out simple effective promotions. (See FindMeCoffee Coffee Chat)

Business have the ability to reach a large network of people instantly on their own if they simply keep themselves in position to do so and that's by staying mobile. Mobile goes where the consumers go. You have someone cancel their 4 p.m. appointment at noon? Sure, you could wait to see if someone inquires about getting in last minute, or you can be proactive and let your network know that you have an opening. The news just might make someone's day. Got four muffins left at 3PM? Why not reach out to the local coffee buyers in your area and let them know.

Four first steps to becoming mobile friendly for your customers:

1.  Communicate Often

Many small businesses try these promotions once or twice and then give up. If you want a local mobile promotion campaign to succeed you need to post regularly. Run a morning promo and an afternoon promo evyday for a month. You'll train your customers to start to look for what you have to offer.

2. Monitor
Keep track of what is working but it's not a scientific exercise. Keep track of general times and days of the week and the type of deals that are working. If you have a chalk board or a white board where you post your specials make sure that you share it with your customers in store.

3. Use social media.

Tweet your offer or post it on your facebook page. Social networks have already mastered the mobile hurdle and are now soaring. Make sure you actively use at least one of the two primary social media site: Facebook or Twitter and actively use it--as in, don't just throw up a post once a month or so and hope you grow  a following. Work to grow your social network with interesting articles, pictures, contests and special offers. 

4. Find the "mobile finder" king in your industry and make sure you are on it.

While Instant Deals my not work for daily deal sites, they are working elsewhere and that is, the sites where consumers seek out specific types of businesses for a particular purpose. This article does a great job explaining how real time and mobile are cruical for small businesses. It also shows how these indexed, searchable sites do send consumers to doorsteps. FindMeCoffee.com is a website  that is growing in popularity. Not only will you find out what coffee shops are near you when making your decisions, but you can find what your competitors are doing at particular times. Research and find out what tool consumers are using to more readily find your type of customer while on the go.