Monday 20 May 2013

What to look for in an offers platform

If you're an offer taker:

The problem is we are all suffering from information overload at the moment. We are constantly bombarded with adverts from the moment we wake to the moment we go to bed. You probably don't even notice many of them as you end up 'tuning-out'.

Of course what does pique our interest or perhaps make us sit up and pay attention is things that are relevant to us. And this is where advertisers need to get much smarter. If they personalise their offers and only show deals that are of interest to you then its a win/win. You probably notice the deal and could very likely take up the offer and the advertiser gets a return.

Sadly many offer platforms don't work like this. They simply blast out deals based on a location with no regard to your individual tastes. What happens is you get bored of receiving offers that are of no interest, or worse still, the ones you are interested in, are buried deep within other non-relevant ones!

If you're and offer maker (a business owner):

Many of the existing offer platforms want you to heavily discount your offering. You could argue that is because it needs to be compelling enough to draw people in. The issue you challenge as a business owner is how do you close the gap between your normal price and the discounted price? In many cases if this is 60-70% the harsh reality is that you can't. You end up with voucher hunters who have only turned up because of the cheap deal and they have no intention of returning and paying full price.

Also you really need the flexibility to control the offer more tightly. With a typical lead time of 1-2 weeks if the offer starts and does poorly, you can't tweak anything to improve matters. If the offer does extremely, perhaps even too well you can't 'turn the tap off slightly' to cope with the demand.

What's the solution?

The solution is a platform where you control the offers. You decide what offers you are putting out and how much you discount by. A real-time platform that allows you to create an offer now and for it to be immediately visible to prospects on their mobile devices in the immediate vicinity.

You need a return on your investment, Something where you pay for the service but are not tied in to a lengthy contract. One that perhaps runs monthly and allows you to cancel if it doesn't deliver the results you want it to.

For something like this you really need 59offers.com