A young entrepreneur is promising to lead a revolution in Bahamian marketing by harnessing internet-based technology to offer businesses efficient, direct reach to customers with measurable results. "There is absolutely no marketing business that will do what Dealzone (Bahamas) does, " Lincoln Deal II, founder and CEO of the company told Guardian Business yesterday.
"Dealzone is structured whereas you don't pay us upfront costs, but we still will ensure you get customers," Deal said. "Traditional forms of marketing are more costly and don't guarantee customers."
The concept behind Dealzone Bahamas is that companies with a product or service pitch a real 'deal' - an offer with a kicker incentive - which customers visiting Dealzone's website can take advantage of. If enough customers take the offer, they all get to benefit from the incentive. If enough don't, then the company has incurred no costs, but got their name or product in front of customers, potentially gaining benefits from testing the market. Customers would lose on the offer if target numbers are not achieved.
The entrepreneur said he expects however, that because of the minimums that will be necessary for an offer to become a true 'deal', customers who really want the incentive will utilize their social networks to promote the deal to friends and family themselves. As for business being 'guaranteed' customers -- businesses actually just will not incur any charges from Dealzone for an unsuccessful promotion. Their costs would involve the research necessary to come up with the right incentive, such as the calculating the volumes needed to make the deal work for them.
Deal offered the example of an upcoming deal, wherein Dealzone shoppers will access a special offer from a popular restaurant. The restaurant will essentially offer a $100 dining experience for $50. "It's a win-win for everyone," Deal said. "The consumer is happy, and [the restaurant] is happy."
A number of businesses are already signed up and 'ready to go', according to Deal, who did not disclose that number to Guardian Business. He said the current number of participants was a moving target, with many businesses still signing up since the company's launch on Wednesday at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort.
Dealzone conducts due diligence on all participating merchants, according to the entrepreneur, in order to ensure among other things that they can deliver on whatever promotions they offer. He said it was a component of the company's serious approach to customer service. "We take full responsibility for any bad experience," Deal said. "Customer service is life at Dealzone Bahamas."
The public will be able to investigate incentives early next week on the company's dealzonebahamas.com website.
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