A Question For Reef Club Members out there

[saltwaterfish.com]

Our new website has the capability to offer groups a special offer for a period of time. We are thinking of trying this out with a few reefs clubs in the coming weeks and would appreciate your opinions on the best way to do this.
Our thinking is to offer a special discount for reef club members that do a group buy. The larger the order the better the discount. There would be a window of opportunity (say 2 weeks) where the offer would be valid.
What do you think would be a good way to get more groups interested in buying from Saltwaterfish.com?
Your thoughts are appreciated.
Scott

 

[meowzer]

Sounds like a great idea.....Maybe you can do something "special" for those of us who live in the middle of nowhere

 

[mrdc]

Yeah ... My reef club only has one member!

 

[reefraff]

Why limit it to 2 weeks? I would think offering a decent discount for a large group order anytime would be better than having a limited time super deal.
Another thing that might be worth considering, assuming you have to capability would be to host club forums and offer the group buy deals to those clubs that choose SWF as the host for their club forum. Might or might not be worth the hassle but it would drive more traffic to the site.

 

[btldreef]

One of the reef clubs that I belong to has a section where companies can come on and post a special discount offer for a 1-3 week time period and also offers group buys from time to time. It seems to work well. Many people join to get the discount, which is applicable even with some local stores (usually 10%) off everything except exotics. I definitely joined for that reason.
I don't know how you would get the word out other than just posting on the reef clubs forums though.
Meowzer, many reef clubs don't have set meetings and are solely online, you should just join one.... I know there is a Manhattan one that has members from GA and FL because we get special deals on stuff and they wanted in.

 

[stdreb27]

Trying to expand your pie is always a good idea. But instead of limited time offering special offers (which may force you to include being a sponsor), I'd think about setting up a group buy guy, maybe get him to sell B2B style. Make a few influential contacts within some major reef clubs, like MARSH or DFWMAS (I'm from those areas), then get those contacts to call your group guy to get special group buy pricing. And toss a few bones to the influential member of the reef club when he makes a group order... As incentive. I think that way your offers can be more flexible when trying to reach your targeted group. Plus it builds a more personalized relationship than just an internet business...