A lot of businesses go into Groupon thinking it'll be a great way for new customers to try it and then the business will get these great new repeat customers ou

A lot of businesses go into Groupon thinking it'll be a great way for new customers to try it and then the business will get these great new repeat customers out of it. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen... at least in any of my friends' businesses. You'll get people looking for a deal, looking to spend as little as possible, and not interested in coming back unless you give them the same or better deal again. Additionally, the customers are much more demanding than regular clientele, as can be common with deal-hunters. This has held true across different types of businesses and different deal sites. A business can make money off a Groupon deal if you don't think of it as a loss leader (since it will just wind up being a loss). You're not going to acquire new customers and they'll likely never come back without you offering another deal, so think of them as a one-time customer and make money off that one visit. It will only work for very high margin businesses where you can upsell a lot of add-ons. And only if you price it so you make money, even just a little bit, if the customer doesn't buy any of those add-ons.