

How does Groupon succeed while doing everything "Wrong"? - replicatorblog
http://replicatorinc.com/blog/2010/09/groupon-the-anti-web-service/

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thejash
How is groupon doing everything wrong? That doesnt make sense. Responding to
the points in order:

1\. "No Customization" -> I've certainly never seen a rule saying that
everything needs customization. If anything, the advice for startups is to
focus on doing one thing right, and NOT have options and customization.

2\. "Anti Social" -> Wrong. It IS social, but in the GOOD way. Those facebook
and twitter buttons rarely cause people to share something. Instead, I've had
lots of people (via email and real life) tell me about groupon deals because
of: A. How good they are, and B. There is a time limit, so it's an implicit
call to action.

3\. "Anti Tech" -> I'll give you this one. It's surprising that there is
basically no technology behind it, only because, well, why didn't someone else
think of it first? This is also leading to their major problem--lots of
competitors because there is such a low barrier to entry.

4\. "Anti Posterity" -> It's like those TV ads "If you call now, we'll through
in X and Y!!!". The two approaches are mutually exclusive--if deals didn't
expire, why should I bother sharing it with my friend right NOW?

5\. "Anti Targetted" -> Nope. They're targetting a demographic that is willing
to make an indulgent, instantaneous purchase. That's exactly the same people
who buy cupcakes, cookies, and donuts. It would just be more expensive to get
high quality photos from all the local cookie sellers in each city, that's why
the image is the same, but people never see groupon for another city, so it
doesnt matter.

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catone
It seems to me that all of those arguments could be applied to Woot, which did
quite well before Groupon. They're at least following a once-proven model.

(Woot has always had a tacked on community, but so does Groupon.)

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jbail
It's simple and it works.

