anyone use Groupon?

[wlw33]

We ran a Groupon special for....way too long.
Everyone's responses here reflect how we felt about it at the end.
Our campaign ended over 2 years ago and every once in a while we STILL get people with their "expired" Groupons, which means they still are entitled to the amount they paid. Example, our offer was a tour, tasting and pint glass for 2 people for $12. Once expired, the $12 value is still valid and you're supposed to still offer that. So we just give them a couple tasters or a full pour of something and fume about it afterwards. At this point I'll probably start denying them despite the fact they say "promotional value never expires"

It's a good way to get people in the door, sure, but barely any of those people became regular customers, and it brought in a lot of people expecting a tour of the Budweiser plant and being sorely disappointed by not having a lite beer and seeing a little brewpub startup.

[Jose A.]

What Rosie said. Groupon will bring the wrong people in.

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Not always but 50% of the crowd will be looking for cheap offers and the rest are potential customers. It all boils down to your capacity to engage them. Obviously when you ofeer cheap you will get cheap, but at the end of the day you want peaople walking in the brewery after that its a matter of convincing them.

[roc-craven]

What Rosie said. Groupon will bring the wrong people in.

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[Rosie]

Just to re-iterate, Groupon will bring the exact opposite of the type of people you want in your establishment.

[AmbrosiaOrchard]

Have any of you used Groupon at your brewery? If so, are you glad you did? Do you wish you never had? Any feedback welcome.

Thanks,
Dave

In our State of Indiana, using coupons on alcohol is illegal. Any offer has to be offered to all patrons and it has to be all day. That makes the decision easy for us. But I would say coupon users are not what you typically want to attract. You are better off printing a stack of "free tasting glass" tickets at an event. That's what we do at the Farmers Market. A few cent's worth of booze gets them in the door and get's their wallets open. Remember the goal is to have your patrons pay for your items.

I have seen some groupons that may be worth doing for the business, like those that offer a tour with guided tasting. When the group gets there, explain what is included and ask if they would like to start a tab for any full glass purchases or merchandise after the tour.

[Jose A.]

We did Groupon for about 3 months and did not enjoy the experience at all. Here were the issues:

1. "Grouponers" do not tip. It does not matter what the message on the coupon says or how much you mention it, the people that use Groupon would never tip our employees. Even on the discounted amount. Nothing.
2. "Grouponers" exist to use Groupon. They do not become fans of your brewery and come back to spend full price - they will only go to wherever Groupon tells them to go next.
3. Groupon continued to see offers even after I asked them to stop multiple times. Guess who is the asshole when the Grouponer comes in with an invalid Groupon? Not Groupon, but we are.

Same experience here, we have worked with them for a couple of years and they keep rising their comissions plus never stop our campaigns so we keep getting people with cupons and in order not be be the bad guys we end up losing money. If you want to get your brewery name out there it is interesting but think very well what you want to offer!!

Good luck,
Jose

[barleyfreak]

We did Groupon for about 3 months and did not enjoy the experience at all. Here were the issues:

1. "Grouponers" do not tip. It does not matter what the message on the coupon says or how much you mention it, the people that use Groupon would never tip our employees. Even on the discounted amount. Nothing.
2. "Grouponers" exist to use Groupon. They do not become fans of your brewery and come back to spend full price - they will only go to wherever Groupon tells them to go next.
3. Groupon continued to see offers even after I asked them to stop multiple times. Guess who is the asshole when the Grouponer comes in with an invalid Groupon? Not Groupon, but we are.

Thanks for the feedback -- I appreciate it.
Dave

[fstmatt]

Don't do Groupon

We did Groupon for about 3 months and did not enjoy the experience at all. Here were the issues:

1. "Grouponers" do not tip. It does not matter what the message on the coupon says or how much you mention it, the people that use Groupon would never tip our employees. Even on the discounted amount. Nothing.
2. "Grouponers" exist to use Groupon. They do not become fans of your brewery and come back to spend full price - they will only go to wherever Groupon tells them to go next.
3. Groupon continued to see offers even after I asked them to stop multiple times. Guess who is the asshole when the Grouponer comes in with an invalid Groupon? Not Groupon, but we are.

[barleyfreak]

Have any of you used Groupon at your brewery? If so, are you glad you did? Do you wish you never had? Any feedback welcome.

Thanks,
Dave