Groupon, Groupon, Groupon … That’s all anyone in the world of discount marketing has has heard for the past 5 years.

Is it really worth it to use Groupon as a tool for marketing?

Groupon is a beast when it comes to providing an almost ‘hands-free’ marketplace for merchants. The idea is that the merchant provides the discounted product or service, the digital assets for the deal, and the sales start flowing in. But is it really that simple?

Well – yes and no.

Here are some Groupon pros and cons to consider before hopping on the platform

Pros

Increased Exposure

Groupon’s ability to provide merchants with increased exposure to specific markets is quite valuable. Once a merchant establishes a deal on Groupon a series of testing takes place to ensure markets with the highest performance are targeted.

Link Building

Groupon uses their API to promote their deals on thousands of websites, thus creating a large amount of links that potentially link back to your website. This process affects SEO in a HUGE way.

Cons

Groupon’s take on commission is HUGE.

Although commission rates vary greatly based on product/service, their commission rates are notoriously high. Don’t be surprised to see a 50% take on commission.

Deal maintenance can be a disaster

Perhaps the biggest drawback in using Groupon as a tool for marketing is that once you establish a deal, you lose direct control over the details of the deal. The best way to illustrate this ‘Con’ is by giving an example:

Let’s say I own a website that sells sunglasses. I decide to put together a deal for a select seasonal line of sunglasses for 50% off.

I take pictures of the seasonal line, develop marketing copy, detail shipping information as well as other pricing information. I create a landing page with the seasonal line and provide the new URL as well as the other assets to Groupon

Now that Groupon has all of the assets to create the deal, the deal will run and you can just sit back and watch the sales flow in.

Except not quite.

If you sell out of a pair of sunglasses that are in the deal image, you are responsible for it.

If the URL you provided changes or doesn’t work, you are responsible for it.

MSRP changes on your site? Yup, you’re responsible for it.

Moral of the story: Groupon will actively advertise your deals with the information you provided when you set up the deal, and will only change information on your deal when you notify them to do so.

There is no easy way to modify deal information

The only way to change deal information is to contact the Groupon representative that is ‘in charge’ of your deal, and most of the time, it’s via email. This can be a big risk for merchants that need changes and updates quickly.

Well now that I’ve ranted enough about the Pros and Cons of Groupon you can decide for yourself wether or not it’s worth it to go ahead and hop on the platform.