Group Buying Advertising is a media buyout not a sales promotional tool.

If businesses understood this, there wouldn’t be much of a complain as far as the group buying advertising concept is concern. In fact they would be glad they took up the offer and that it had worked tremendously to their advantage.

For those who still think that Group Buying Advertising is a generic sales promotion tool and expecting it to generate enough profits from volume sales, I dare say you are indeed technically wrong.

Let me tell you why group buying advertising is not a sales promotion tool. At least for me it is not.

1. Sales promotions are capped – Group buying does not.

By not capping the maximum request for an offer, group buying is really leveraging on the power of social networks letting it manifest to evoke a viral `word of mouth’ that spreads like wildfire. This gives you an infinite advertising mileage in terms of `buzz’ coverage.

2. Sales promotion anticipates sales – Group buying pre-sells.

“Group buying ” sales are made even before the stores are open. Pre-orders can be huge and need to be fulfill in a very short period of time. Sometimes too overwhelming to execute. The point here is, you have ready customers waiting out at these GBA websites, emails and mobile phones getting ready to snap up the next best deal.

3. Sales promotion needs a marketing budget upfront – Group buying pays you instead.

When was the last time you heard a sales promotion required no money down and instead giving you your share of cash when the deal closes. None! Spending money on traditional print ads, tv and radio is now non essential for smalll businesses because this particular tool is capable of doing very much the same if not better for less and gets you`guaranteed’ cash.

4. Sales promotion works within confinements of a store – Group buying reaches out organically

When you have a traditional sales promotion all planned and ready to go. Once you get your word out, you open your doors on that day and wait for response If you are the lucky ones, you have customers lining up at your doorsteps before you even start. Once the promotion ends, you calculate your takings and probably get a head count of how many customers you did that day. The head counts does not stop before, during and after the promotion as far as group buying advertising is concern.

5. Sales promotion ( in Malaysia ) strives on pulling in the crowd – Group buying works on getting the word out.

When you think of sales promotion, you start to worry about how many customers are going to come over today and buy your discounted product. When you do group buying advertising, you worry about how you are going to cope with the response from the customers who have already bought your product. Group buying advertising continues to virally spread the word about the deal even after you have executed it. Sales promotions stops sending signals once your sales campaign ends right at the store.

Group Buying Advertising have all the characteristics of a pure effective `viral word of mouth’ In fact it has taken the term `word of mouth’ to the next level. It leverages on the power of influential individuals residing on our social network platforms. And if this is not consumer media advertising, I don’t know what is.