Make Me An Offer

A Groupon by any other name still smells as sweet.  Now one of the Web's biggest players is taking on the market leader and with its huge resources it should be an interesting battle.

With new CEO Larry Page at the helm we should see more passion and slightly less arrogance from Google and even more inspired innovation.

When Google's recent $6 billion bid for Groupon spluttered to a halt folks wondered what would be next.  Well now we know.

According to a report in Mashable Google Offers is the new kid on the discount coupon block.  Google's own fact sheet send to businesses claims that " Google Offers is a new product to help potential customers and clientele find great deals in their area through a daily email”
Google Offers Fact Sheet



The daily deal competitve lanscape is becoming increasingly crowded and it will be interesting to see what impact Google's announcement has on Groupon's recently announced $15billion IPO?

Google has also responded to Mashable when asked for confirmation about their Offers trial:

“Google is communicating with small businesses to enlist their support and participation in a test of a pre-paid offers/vouchers program. This initiative is part of an ongoing effort at Google to make new products, such as the recent Offer Ads beta, that connect businesses with customers in new ways. We do not have more details to share at this time, but will keep you posted.”

And so shall we.

Related articles

• Google readies Groupon competitor (news.cnet.com)
• Google Set to Deal Groupon Some Competition with 'Offers' (marketingpilgrim.com)

Boku Garni And Other Micro Payment Recipes For Success

Micro Payment Systems can revolutionise business in developing countries and is doing so according to an early report from InfoDev that provided an assessment of mobile-enabled financial services in the Philippines.

Their crystal ball gazing in 2006 has turned out to be a very accurate prediction.

Cash is king in the rural hinterlands of most developing countries but this is a far from secure arrangement.  According to the report 3.5 million people in the Philippines were then using a service that allowed them to transfer money over the two major mobile networks.

The ability to make remote payments in this fashion is a  win-win for the consumer, the operator and the retailer.

In 2010 major credit card companies such as Mastercard have opened their API to App. developers and companies such as Paypal are keen to remind everyone that they remain very much in the game.  PayPalX has already been integrated into many applications and they have recently turned their attemtion to the possibilities of Google's Android.

Twitpay uses the power of micro blogging to make a micro payment and is also intregated with Paypal.

Another big mover in the micropayment market is Boku  which does away with the need for any form of plastic card.  They claim a 60% conversion rate as opposed to 7% using traditional credit cards on line.



 

Four key things to consider when selecting a provider:

• who understands the current digital climate best and is adapting their product to meet the market?
• who has the lowest fees?  - per transaction, hidden costs?
• which system provides the easiest integration with your current operation?
• who has a proven track record and longevity? (there have been many micropayment providers that have failed in the past so my advice is to stick to the tried and true)

Most of the past debate around micro payments has been in paying for content in publications, with Mr Murdoch (not surprising) being a staunch advocate.  The debate will rage until the case is commercially proven, either way. 

The fact remains that people are prepared to make micro payments for the services that interest them and there is also an opportunity to capitalise upon impulse buying.

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• Boku's new sugar daddies are Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz (mobile.venturebeat.com)
• PayPal Goes On The Defensive After MasterCard Opens Platform To Developers (techcrunch.com)