Collective buying is one of the hottest trends on the web right now, and it’s a timely introduction to the South African market. The concept was pioneered by Groupon, the American powerhouse in this field who offer deals in 54 American cities, and a company which is now valued at over $1-billion. Essentially, businesses use Twangoo to offer group discount prices that only apply if enough people take advantage of them. Once the prescribed number of customers is reached, the deal is activated. If not, then the deal is off for everyone.
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Twangoo helps drive customers to businesses without any added cost or risk by offering a new deal every day that members can take advantage of. Founder and CEO Daniel Guasco explains that “By using the web to give consumers buying power through the leverage of groups, Twangoo is a great way to find new and exciting things to do at an unbeatable value.”
The proposition is simple. Twangoo goes out and makes exclusive deals with aspirational brands in your city. Then it sends out a message via email, Facebook and Twitter publicising the deal. If you are interested in the deal, then you click the “Buy Now” button and enter your credit card details. Once enough people have decided to take advantage of the deal, then it becomes activated and you receive a voucher via email and your credit card gets charged. However, if not enough people sign up to the deal, then the deal is off and nobody pays.
Twangoo features exclusive deals on products and services from diverse retail partners such as restaurant meals, spa treatments, VIP club events, and even financial services.
It’s an interesting example of social networking being used to gain advantage in the real world, and encourages you to spread the word amongst your network of friends and contacts in order to get the deal that you’re interested in.
And the proposition seems to offer real value to businesses as well, as it helps them to generate more revenue without the cost of advertising as well as garnering more exposure on social networking sites and building customer loyalty.
Twangoo is currently only available in Cape Town, but will be launching all over the country in the coming weeks.
