The company offers one “Groupon” per day in each of the markets it serves. The Groupon works as an assurance contract using ThePoint’s platform: if a certain number of people sign up for the offer, then the deal becomes available to all; if the predetermined minimum is not met, no one gets the deal that day. This reduces risk for retailers, who can treat the coupons as quantity discounts as well as sales promotion tools.

But many companies have tried similar programs and failed. What has made Groupon a success in comparison? First of all, unlike others, it is geographically and behaviorally targeted. The coupon offers are specific to cities and/or metropolitan areas and the offers are specific to what customers say they are interested in. But most of all, Groupon is not afraid to be picky. They will only accept very legitimate savings offers from well-established companies. In other words, they have an air of trust. Who wants to use a coupon that doesn’t really save you anything? Most consumers fear looking foolish, so the trust factor in a coupon had better be high. And the higher the trust factor, the more successful the coupon.

Once again, successful marketing is all about trust. And Groupon seems to understand that.

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Most people know what OnStar is. Or even Lo-Jack. They’re computer and satellite driven resources that know how to find your car in case of trouble. Take that concept and put it on your mobile phone. Then look at your phone as having the capability of being OnStar or Lo-Jack headquarters, where you can see where everyone in your network is. Real time.

But say you have a lot of friends. And you only want to know where those geographically closest to you are. Just use your phone to “check-in”, sharing where you are (i.e. Kung Pao China Buffet). The technology Foursquare offers lets your friends see that you’re there. You can also see which of your friends are there, or at another place close by. Like maybe within four square blocks of where you are. Get it?

Then get the restaurants, movie theaters and retail stores involved and allow them the opportunity to entice you in. They’ll offer free food, special coupons, and even ego-centric virtual power trips like making you the “Mayor of Kung Pao China Buffet” with extra little perks. All because you frequent that establishment more often (or just first). There’s more to it, but this is enough to give you what you should probably understand.

So, who cares you ask? For now, only about 2% of America. But think about the implications of this technology being at everyone’s fingertips. Very Big Brotherish, but also very convenient. Now, think about what will happen when Facebook takes it and runs with it, which they intend to do very, very soon.

Stand by. It’s only just begun.

Case in point. You’re driving around an area looking for an interesting restaurant. You’d love to have a library of options at your fingertips but too many choices, especially irrelevant ones, are just as useless as none at all. So you push one simple button on your mobile phone and maybe add in the price range you’re looking for. And, oh, you’re in the mood for Thai food. As Emeril would say, BAM! You have the top options right there on your mobile phone, along with reviews. But that’s only the beginning. You also see who you know that’s eating there right now, how long the wait is, and what the specials are for that evening. And because your phone knows where you ate last night, last week, last month, it gives you a comparison in terms of how much you spent, and how many people who ate at the other places you ate at also ate at the restaurant options currently showing on your mobile phone.

This is a basic Geotargeting service that’s been around for a few years now. In the tech world it’s no longer a big deal. But the most important part of this technology is just now being realized, as people become more and more overwhelmed with the vast amount of information available to them (usually for free) online. When it comes to needing/doing things locally, this takes the online world and narrows it down to something as small as a neighborhood block.

Stop for a moment and think about how that can help your business. This technology not only allows them to find you, but you to find them. Hmmm…. Opportunity? We think so.