How local businesses using Groupon are attracting bad reviews?

Businesses using Groupon are attracting fair share of bad reviews along with the customer traffic to their business. The easy come easy go groupon effect has left businesses wondering about the long term usage of groupon and other daily deals sites. Advertising coupons and giving out small coupons to bring returning customers is one thing, but using coupons as the business model for your business is the road to crash course in brain surgery (it is almost a thumb rule in business).

These are some of the papers already published discussing the relationship between online reviews and reviewers who were using daily deal sites like Yelp. Below are sample points from the study

Here are some of the key points from the study

1) Good news! The reviews are real. Most of the people who say the word "Groupon" in their reviews seem to be pissed about their experience.

2) Most businesses get business through Groupon by using attractive coupons that promise the world to the customers for a super low price. Of course, the shiny ads attracted customers, but I think the customers world wasn't as pretty once  they saw what was on the other side of the coupon.

3) It shows how the U.S small business economy responded by  trying to attract customers at any cost. That cost proved to be decrease in customer experience. 

4) Customer acquisition is good for business. But to maintain a healthy competition and a healthy online space, is it good to go to any lengths to get extra customers?

Is your business attracting new customers using groupon? Have you heard of customer retention? Do you know that if you retain all your customers you will always have customers and the cost of acquiring new customers is always high (at least in the long term after Groupon Wave passes)? As opposed to "seasonal" or "pay for hits" marketing,  it is always important to have permanent online assets which will bring you customers in the long run. Such a online building takes time, lot of effort and strategy which sometimes need professional help. KeepCustomer is one such customer retention company that will take care of your entire online strategy and put you in control for permanent success.

Notes: the graph and ideas came from this blog

Up, Up, and Away...

 So are you all so very proud of me for having a post every single day of this week? I can't remember the last time I have done that..crazy! 

So, anyway, here is another outfit. 

This is my first time to use chevron. I have purposefully not bought or used chevron in anything, whether it be in clothing or in decor because everyone else was doing it, and I was being a rebel....obviously my rebellion was short-lived. I finally broke down and got some from Nauvoo Quilt Co.

I decided to name this little outfit Up, Up, and Away because of the appliqued balloons, and now, much to my dismay, that song is stuck in my head..bah!

For a long time, I have wanted to make an apron skirt. It's amazing how inspired you get when you have great fabric:o)

 This is S.R.'s favorite part...the pocket. That was the first thing she noticed when I showed her the skirt.

 I wanted it to truly look like she had an apron tied around her waste, so I made the apron ties for the back of the skirt. This is my favorite part:o)

 This is a close up shot of the balloons. I used baby ric-rac for the balloon strings. This shirt isn't one of my faves, but it gets the job done.

I have a dress to share as well, but I need a bit more fabric to finish it. I'm waiting on it to show up in the mail. The dress is S.R.'s fave out of all of the new outfits. Can't wait to share:o)

Have a great weekend. Next week, I'll show you guys some fall crafts we're taking on around here. 

Candy Shop Outfit

 I found a new-to-me Etsy shop called Nauvoo Quilt Co.

They have some of the most fantastic fabric choices. They also have some pretty rockin' customer service as well:o)

So as I was perusing the many, many choices in my new favorite Etsy shop, I spotted and  fell in love with the Candy Shop fabric from Michael Miller.

 I am a sucker for anything that looks vintage:o)

It had to be mine, and so it was.

And here is what it became.

 A two-tiered skirt, with matching appliqued shirt. 

The yellow gingham was also purchased from the same shop. The perfect complimentary fabric, and when turned on it's side, makes the perfect waffle cone:o) 

Don't you just love all the little cuties on this skirt? 

 Easy-as-pie applique. 

I am so glad that Walmart still carries plain shirts in S.R.'s size...not for much longer though:o(

I had so much fun putting this little outfit together, and best of all S.R. loves wearing it:o)

Stay tuned for other outfits!! 

Pool Noodle Light Saber Tutorial

I know that if you have seen a Star Wars party, then you have seen these pool noodle light sabers. They are easy and extremely inexpensive to make, so that's why everyone is using them. 

I saw several different types of light sabers, but never saw a tutorial on how to make them. 

One of the problems I kept seeing with most of the light sabers was that the bottoms were kind of bubbly. The tape wasn't smooth. I knew how to remedy that, and I wanted to share with you how to do it as well.

 Your supply list:

Pool Noodle

Knife

Tape Measure

SHARP Scissors

Silver Duct Tape

Black Electrical Tape

You will want to measure your pool noodles and cut them in half using your knife. Then you can begin taping.  The pictures, I hope, are self explanatory...so I'll let them do most of the talking.

 Snip to the edge and overlap, all the way around each side.

 Smooth bottom of pool noodle.

 Turn noodle on it's side and begin taping around, making sure to keep it close to the bottom of the edge.

 Make sure you keep the edges lined up when you go around.

 Overlap just slightly for the next row of tape.

 For mine, I used 3 rows of tape. That seemed to be the right amount for the hilt.

 Next you will need to cut your black electrical tape. I cut multiple strips at 2 & 3/4" and just played around with the designs of the hilts...there is no right or wrong way. Just use your imagination, or look at a real light saber toy for inspiration...that's what I did:o) 

And then you should end up with something like this. Easy and best of all..CHEAP:o)

Hopefully this helps you in your endeavor to make a great party favor without spending a whole lot of money:o)

Star Wars Party Details

 I was given a strict budget for this party, and I actually stuck to it:o)

That NEVER happens, but the hubs cracked down on me, and I had to follow instructions...there's a first time for everything, right?;o)

So here is a break down of some of my purchases for the party.

Let's start with the party favors, since that was the first thing that I purchased.

I bought these Star Wars trick or treat buckets off of our local Facebook yard sale page. I paid $2 for the lot...super score:o)

 I bought the blue crinkle filler at the Dollar Tree. It took the entire bag for one bucket. I purchased the note pads and pencils from Target. They were in the party supplies section. I found the Star Wars playing cards in the toy section and they were clearanced at 88 cents each. I also found some Star Wars fruit roll ups. 

 Each of the kids got to take home a pool noodle light saber as well. Pool noodles were purchased at the Dollar Tree. (I'll share a tutorial on how to make those in my next post.)

I made these chocolate Millennium Falcons for the parents. You can find the molds at Amazon.

 For the girls, I found these little baskets in the dollar section at Target. They also got the note pads, pencils, and fruit roll ups. Their fun little party favor was Princess Leia headbands.

 I found a tutorial to make these at Disney Family. I made 2 changes. I wrapped the yarn around the headband, and cut extra circles to cover the backs of the buns, to give it a neater finish.

I had the headbands and felt on hand. I only had to buy the yarn, which was purchased at Walmart.

 I made two table runners. One for the food table and one for the dining table. The fabric was purchased at Hobby Lobby. I bought two yards total, and used a 40% off coupon. By cutting the fabric in half lengthwise and then folding it in half again and stitching it together, I was able to get 2 runners at 6 feet long each.

 The Star Wars poster was free. I had purchased the project board from the Dollar Tree a few years back. I spray painted it with silver spray paint and used a Star Wars font for the lettering. You can find the fonts HERE. I played around with the fonts in Publisher and blew them up to 300. I cut each letter out, and used double sided tape to attach them to the board.

 The cupcakes were one of my favorites. The cupcake liners were purchased at Party City. They were $1.99 for 50. S.R. and my mother made the cupcakes. I made the icing using a recipe from allrecipes.com. I added a drop of black food coloring to turn the icing grey. I also had unopened fondant leftover from previous parties, so I was able to use that to make the little cut-out faces.

 The cookie cutouts were found HERE.

The table decor was a mix and match of things bought and borrowed. The large Star Wars toys were borrowed. The shelf on the table was a yard sale purchase that I spray painted, and is now hanging in the kids bathroom:o) 

The table cloth is just gray velvet fabric that was given to me. 

The garland on the front of the table was created by using my 2" circle punch, and then stitching the circles together on my sewing machine. 

It was "sew" easy....pun intended;o)

Everything else, was recycled from previous parties.

  My absolute favorite purchase for the party was these two adorable Star Wars shirts. I had Kera from Sisterbug Monograms hunt down these appliques and she did great! I am so thankful to have her as a friend and as my monogramming gal:o) Definitely check her site out. She also did the Little Red Riding Hood Applique. 

So that's basically a break down of what I did for the party. 

I kept the menu simple with just cupcakes, ice cream, veggies (to counteract all of the unhealthy stuff), chips, dip, and punch.

Everyone enjoyed themselves, and this was the least stressed I have EVER been when doing one of my kids parties...crazy! 

If you have any questions, feel free to email me, or ask away on Facebook.

Star Wars Birthday Party

Saturday was E's 6th birthday party. E requested a Star Wars theme this year. I am no Star Wars buff..I have watched almost all of Episode 4...I fell asleep before the end...so I had a difficult time getting jazzed up about this theme. Thankfully the internet helped me out, and I was able to pull his party off without having to actually sit through any of the movies(yes!!)

Today, I am just sharing highlights of the decorations and the invites. I'll get a little more detailed in the coming days.

Enjoy:o)

The invitations.

The food table

I opted for cupcakes this year. Easy, and quick.

The dining area.

The boy party favors

The girl party favors

The adult party favors.

And some happy kids:o)

Stay tuned for all of the details of this party and a few cost break-downs.

Have a great Monday!