The now popular and well-known social coupon site Groupon has quadrupled in estimated value over the course of six months. This is an incredible increase, but is it worth it? I believe so. Groupon (along with a couple other similar services) have capitalized on a unique idea that allows them to be the middle man and get the best of both ends of the deal: marketing for the consumer and money from the consumed.
The company functions under quite a genius idea, and as one article mentioned, it is in an ideal position because Groupon is allowing and encouraging companies to follow the market to online marketing (something most companies know they need to do anyway).
So yes, I think Groupon holds immense value now, but as other competitors jump into the social marketing race, Groupon will lose its edge (go into a “stoop” – if you will – as it loses market share). The best idea for Groupon is to capitalize on its value, access to capital and cash flow while it has the opportunity, and use that to open doors to future opportunities. It seems this is actually what is on some of the Groupon co-founders minds as it is reported they are looking to invest $1 million in a future monster called Qwiki. Qwiki “is a technology platform that uses data to create multimedia presentations.”
As long as the minds running Groupon keep a competitive eye out for chances to advance the future of the company, rather than just maintaining the current idea, it has a chance of surviving. However, like in the story of the tortoise and the hair, there is a chance that Groupon – as the lighter, more easily steered company – starts with the sprint, but the larger, more cumbersome organizations – such as Google –will catch up in the long haul to win the race.
Check out these articles on the future of Groupon:
And Qwiki here:
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