7 Habits of Highly Successful Daily Deal Sites

By Marc Horne, Founder, Daily Deal Builder January 7, 2012

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Editor’s note: The following is a guest post by Marc Horne. Marc is a co-founder of DailyDealBuilder.com, and provides deal software solutions.

With a title like that, I must pay homage to 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  This article has nothing to do with habits of people; but rather common traits of successful daily deal sites.

These habits are not solely directed at daily deal sites and can be seen on many different levels, across many different industries.

Let’s dive right in…

1. The Use of Incentives.

As if great deals aren’t enough, some of the top-notch daily deal sites online use further incentives to encourage their users to share deals and tell their friends.  User generated recommendations are one of the best ways to sell a product and so if you can entice your user base and prospects with incentives you are putting yourself in a great position.

Notice Deal4Real.Asia’s use of incentives to refer friends, Eversave’s easy sharing capabilities, and iCouponOnline’s affiliate program.

The goal is to incentivize your visitors to share your website and great deals with their network of friends.  The easier you make it to share; the more people typically do share.

2.  “Innovators” and First Mover Advantages.

Being a “first mover” in nearly any industry definitely has its upsides (it does have its own set of downsides too), but in the daily deal industry; the first mover companies who got a jump on their competition have had a huge advantage and it has proven to be a wonderful thing.  There are many niche specific daily deal sites out there that have been popping up in random industries and the first movers have shown to be doing great.

Take Woot; they were one of first daily deal sites and really gained a following quickly and have maintained a massive presence in the deal space.  Groupon’s technology innovation and leadership with group buying and GrouponNow has been nothing short of incredible and has helped them maintain leadership in the industry.  GiltCity became a first mover in the more luxury, high-end type deals.

3.  Character / Animal / Food Usage

Using characters, animals, or food to connect with your audience has been proven over and over again, even well before the entire daily deal industry began.  If you can have your visitors connect with a character it can make them more comfortable with your company and add an instant level of credibility and connection.

AppSumo uses their Sumo Wrestler, the Groupon cat, The Master Thief at DailySteals, and the cartoon character on HomeRun are just a few examples.

4. The Use of Comedy and Sarcasm

By correctly incorporating comedy and humor into your marketing, message, advertisements, and email copy you can effectively connect with and engage your site visitors.

Advertising is a method of attracting a viewer’s/listener’s attention to your website / product.  Done right, it achieves success. Doing it right means not only engaging the prospect but getting them to remember the website.  Humor scares most us; most likely it’s the fear of falling flat as no one wants to be “not funny,” which makes this slightly risky.

With risk, however, comes opportunity.  Just take a look at DailySteals About Us section, and Groupon’s sarcastic writing style.  The important thing to remember when you use comedy and humor in your marketing that you do not “push the boundaries” too much and offend anyone.

5. Just Plain Awesome Deals

Getting back to the root of this whole industry; fantastic deals that appeal to various groups are the main reason why people buy deals in frenzy.  Quality offers – of a great product – at a high discount is the magic formula.

My personal favorite shining example of great deals is LivingSocial Escapes, however, each deal site appeals differently to different consumers.  Deals, discounts, coupons, and vouchers are the core competency of a great a daily deal site.

6. Convenience and Ease of Use

People have become very impatient in our mobile, high speed internet world that we live in.  When someone wants a deal, they typically want it right “now.”  Sites that are focusing on mobile development and making it super simple to make a purchase and redeem coupons and vouchers are going down the right path and continue to gain traction.

Take GrouponNow, for instance.  I can pull out my phone as I leave my house for a date with my wife and find a deal for dinner and an activity on the way out of my driveway.  By the time I leave my neighborhood, I can have already figured out where I am going, what I am doing, and I was savvy enough to save around 50% on everything on the date.  Score!

7. Great Customer Service

Proving timely and knowledgeable support to prospects and customers will help them feel confident in their purchases as well as keep them coming back for more.  AppSumo provides a live online support tab directly on their site making it easy for customers to get in touch.

There are many more habits and traits of successful deal sites in which I am sure I missed; feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you have seen helped a site stand apart.