Everyone loves a deal, especially one at a deep discount. Social coupon sites like Groupon, Living Social and Restaurant.com have exploded onto the online scene with steep discounts—between 50% and 80% off—on retailers and restaurants in user-specified regions, as well as national deals available online.

It sounds like a dream come true for business owners and managers—attract a crowd of new people to your business with a deal and have them return again to pay full price. But for some businesses that participate in the social coupon craze, it has been a revenue-losing disaster. Take, for example, the cupcake bakery in London that made news around the world when it received an unprecedented 8,500 orders for a deal that offered 75 percent off 12 custom cupcakes costing only $10. All of the orders were fulfilled, although it cost the owner an entire year’s worth of profits, an experience she herself calls a “nightmare.”

However, there are ways businesses and restaurants can make these types of deals work for them. Limiting the number of vouchers available and setting an expiration date will help the business anticipate how many offers they will need to redeem.

Restaurant owners thinking of offering a “daily deal” to lure new diners should consider making the offer item-specific and stacking it with higher margin selections and upsell items that may not be as popular, such as desserts, sides and drinks.

Rather than offer a $25 for $50 at a restaurant, an item-specific approach gives restaurants the opportunity to prepare for a rush of diners who will all be ordering the same things.

An offer than includes a specific appetizer, two entrees of the diners’ choice and a specific dessert and drink will allow the restaurant to be more efficient in their operations, which should reduce the amount of waste in unused food and actually lower the cost per item. In addition, it gives the restaurant the opportunity to showcase upsell selections and beverages by including them with the offer. This gives diners the opportunity to try extras they may not have ordered otherwise, with the hope that they will enjoy the new items and purchase them again at full price.

By offering a stacked social coupon, restaurants can make these deals work for them. The coupon will draw new diners who are likely to frequent the establishment again and pay full price.  In addition, people who already dine at the restaurant will take advantage, but they will have the opportunity to try items they do not typically order, increasing the likelihood that they will purchase them in the future.

Much like Groupon, pcAmerica’s point of sale software can offer your restaurant or retail store solutions that will market to your customers and keep them coming back. To find out how visit pcAmerica.com or contact a sales representative today by calling 800.722.6374