Week 12B: Other Social Media Tools

The two suggested activities that I decided to pick where Coupon Networks and Yelp. I think both of these groups will help with marketing and promotion along with helping me understand what product/services work and what doesn't sell. Groupon and Living Social both give the business owner feedback on how many people were interested in the coupon, how many people got the coupon, and this could help with future product/service development. For my first campaign on a coupon network, I would offer by E-design services at a discounted rate. The reason I chose E-design, which is a service that I provide online and through the phone, is because it is easy and doesn't take up too much of my time to create and implement so it doesn't require a lot of overhead cost. Plus, it allows customers to get to know me, see what I can do, and it gives them a sneak peek into what you would get if I came to your home to do a private consultation and design job. It gives the customer a chance to see if I am trustworthy. Once I can gain the clients trust, then the more jobs that I may receive from them or friends of them. The only downfall that I see from coupon networks is that it only attracts a certain type of customer, which is usually the budget friendly. So I may not get customers that are willing to give me larger projects or jobs because they cannot afford this service. I also fear that I will get cornered into a market that I won't be able to get out. I do not have a yelp account yet. But I plan I getting one soon! I think Yelp is once again very beneficial to the consumer and the business owner because it provides a platform in which business owners can interact and hear from the customer. This can be a good thing or bad thing. It can be a good thing because it can allow your customers to see that you are transparent, trustworthy, and get feedback on your past projects and resume. However, Yelp can be a bad thing for your business because your business can have no reviews or lots of bad reviews. With bad reviews, you cannot try to rectify the situation but it becomes a blemish on your resume which can deter customers away from your services. No reviews, for Yelp, is worse than bad reviews because it means no one knows or cares about your business. This can hurt you greatly because it just looks like you are a start up even if you get 10 clients a month. It also allows your competition to frequently check up on your progress and services, which they can steal because you do not have an online presence. I think business owners must be careful of Yelp. Make sure that you have an established business with a few clients that could provide reviews. If you do not have that yet, do not create a Yelp account until you do. That way you can regulate, at least in the beginning, the first impression you give to potential and past clients.