A recent article in the New York Times reports that Google has offered $6 billion to acquire Groupon. Recent reports have also indicated that Groupon's annual revenues exceed $1 billion and the sites subscriber base has tripled this summer. So now, the multi-billion dollar question is should Groupon sell to Google, or should they maintain ownership?
Despite an influx of imitators joining the industry, Groupon has managed to stay head and shoulders above the competition by expanding the website to far more locations than other sites. Groupon is also more flexible with their vendors by offering different commission levels and allowing vendors to promote deals through microsites. These innovative approaches in the industry are what make Groupon such a lucrative acquisition for a company like Google. They have been able to grow their company and dominate an industry on their own merit, so it does not seem to be in the owners' best interest to sell the company at this point.
As far as an IPO goes, it is still early for Groupon (started less than two years ago) and a struggling economy is not the best of times for an IPO. It would be wise for the Internet company to wait and see how Facebook's IPO performs, whenever it is released.
The best thing for Groupon right now is to continue to grow its website and increase market share. The company strengths that have established Groupon's success, innovation and steady expansion, are the types of success factors that all companies strive for, but cannot always attain. If Groupon continues operating as it has, the growth of competitors should not threaten Groupon considering how far behind imitators are in the process. There are specific reasons Google offered $6 billion to acquire Groupon, and those are the reasons the same reasons why Groupon is too good of an idea and brand to sell this early in the process.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Can Neuromarketing Increase Sales?
Recent success for companies adopting neuromarketing techniques has demonstrated the importance of such techniques for consumer goods companies. An example would be New Scientist magazine, which used neuromarketing technology in order to select their recent August issue cover. The issue saw a 12% increase in newsstand sales in an expected quiet month for the magazine. The magazine measured three different covers with the technology and the one chosen tested exceptionally well. New Scientist believes the experiment was a big success and recommends neuromarketing for any company in the magazine industry.
The company pushing neuromarketing technology is NeuroFocus, the market leader in bringing neuroscience expertise to advertising, branding, product development and packaging, and entertainment. NeuroFocus is all in on neuromarketing and works with various consumer products companies to help increase their sales. The company focusses on helping companies build relationships with their customers through their products, by strengthening brands and innovating the product's packaging.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of neuromarketing, lets consider packaging or labeling. When a company is deciding what kind of label they want for their product, or how they want it packaged, the decision usually comes down to a few choices. Neurological testing can determine which label or package would be preferred by customers with pinpoint accuracy. It can answer questions such as: does it entice the brain to pick it up? or does it "pop out" at the shelf? Having the answer to these questions provides companies with a level of certainty over their product that never could have existed before.
Neuromarketing has proven to be very spot on when it comes to getting into the minds of the consumer. Isn't this exactly what a company feels is paramount in order to sell effectively? NeuroFocus appears to be providing positive results for various companies by appropriately using the technology. With the technology that is available in today's world, it would seem foolish for consumer products companies to not embrace neuromarketing as a strategic tool. To answer aforementioned question, yes, neuromarketing can increase sales.
Referenced: http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.fiu.edu/pqdweb?index=11&did=2127664271&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1290387499&clientId=20175
The company pushing neuromarketing technology is NeuroFocus, the market leader in bringing neuroscience expertise to advertising, branding, product development and packaging, and entertainment. NeuroFocus is all in on neuromarketing and works with various consumer products companies to help increase their sales. The company focusses on helping companies build relationships with their customers through their products, by strengthening brands and innovating the product's packaging.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of neuromarketing, lets consider packaging or labeling. When a company is deciding what kind of label they want for their product, or how they want it packaged, the decision usually comes down to a few choices. Neurological testing can determine which label or package would be preferred by customers with pinpoint accuracy. It can answer questions such as: does it entice the brain to pick it up? or does it "pop out" at the shelf? Having the answer to these questions provides companies with a level of certainty over their product that never could have existed before.
Neuromarketing has proven to be very spot on when it comes to getting into the minds of the consumer. Isn't this exactly what a company feels is paramount in order to sell effectively? NeuroFocus appears to be providing positive results for various companies by appropriately using the technology. With the technology that is available in today's world, it would seem foolish for consumer products companies to not embrace neuromarketing as a strategic tool. To answer aforementioned question, yes, neuromarketing can increase sales.
Referenced: http://proquest.umi.com.ezproxy.fiu.edu/pqdweb?index=11&did=2127664271&SrchMode=1&sid=2&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1290387499&clientId=20175
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