Daily Deals (sites like Groupon, LivingSocial, and local equivalents) are a popular offering from float tank centers, and consumers tend to gobble them up. When a float center runs a Groupon or other daily deal we are able to profit immediately and do not feel a strain on our resources when customers redeem them. After all, it costs nearly the same amount to maintain an empty float room as it does when someone floats with us.
That’s all well and good but the overall aim of Groupon is to gain customers, right? How well does Groupon work for client retention? How can we create a higher retention rate?
Measuring the overall effectiveness of Groupons is a difficult task. The Float Shoppe has had a very positive response rate from customers. According to Groupon’s own feedback tracking, 97% of customers would recommend us to a friend. 99% of Living Social customers had a postive experience, with 95% of customers saying they would return. Yet, despite the positive feedback we have found that overall most customers do not come back.
If so many daily deal customers enjoy the service, why aren’t they all coming back? Something I’ve learned from others in the wellness industry is that people are terrible at self-care. This holds true with float tanks as well. No matter how much a person enjoys their float, they are very unlikely to book again once they leave the building. If they do, it can be a very long time before they come back.
Bridging the Gap
Since opening, we have attempted to bridge the gap between someone’s first float and potential subsequent floats by offering a ‘three 90-minute floats for the price of two’ starter package ($120) and it has worked very well for us. [Read more…] about Groupon – Bringing more customers back to your business