I thought this was a great example of an air conditioning company taking advantage of social networks.
They ran a special on Living Social this morning and so far they have already sold 51 tune ups. See the screen shot below.
Click Here for Bigger Picture
How Does This Work?
There are several networks similar to Living Social - Groupon, Urban Dealight, Dealfind, etc. These networks want
to provide deals to their customers. So you typically have to give a discount of 50% or more to even be considered for their program.
However, there is one twist. As the vendor you get to set a sales goal that must be reached otherwise the deal does not go through.
For example, using the Living Social deal from above, the air conditioning company might have set a sales target of 100. Now, if Living Social cannot sell 100 tune ups at the discounted rate, then the air conditioning company is off the hook.
This gives you, as an advertiser, control and guaranteed results.
Now the network is not a non-profit, so they will be taking half of the sale. In fact, the customers
purchase the deal/coupon/offer directly from the network and then the network
pays you after they have taken their share. Again, using the example above, the air conditioning company
is really only getting roughly $23 for each tune up.
So, all things considered, if your phone is not ringing, you need work for your guys and you are willing to
give a significant deal for your service, then this is one method to pick up customers in large chunks.
Home owners buying this type of deal either have bigger issues with their systems than just wanting a tune up or
see the value in preventative maintenance - either way that sounds like the customer you want to have.
Sincerely,
Brian Starzec
HVAC Business Solutions
