Working to Rebuild "Downtown" America

A hundred years ago, a city's downtown district was typically the lifeblood of commerce & economic development. One could purchase almost anything that was needed or desired. But the shift to motorized transporation & dispersement of the population into suburbs, brought about the malls and eventually, the now infamous, "big box" retailers.

This new competition and shift in our way of living, devastated many of the small, locally owned & operated, retail establishments on our Main Streets. These businesses often occupied quiant and many times, historically significant buildings featuring beautiful architectural designs. They had character like the store and were fun to shop in. You also had the opportunity to see the actual owner. However, in a typically price driven economy, many of these were unable to complete. The result of years of this decline, was to see shops closing and empty storefronts as one drove through town.

Recently again however, many of us have realized that for a community of any size to have an excellent quality of living, it needs good schools, smart leaders, plus an active, diverse & vibrant downtown as well larger retailers. If an individual wishes to walk across a gigantic stretch of an asphalt parking lot to purchase cheap underwear, that is they choice of course. However, many would also like to peruse unique displays along shady walks at a more leisurely pace. And who among us doesn't want to see the "little guy" do well and prosper? It's the American way.

But the "little guys" need help if they're going to continue to survive against their big box challengers.

One problem small business owners constantly face is marketing. Just letting people know you exist can be a lot of work. Then getting customers in the door and purchasing is another matter to contend with. Spending money without certainty of return on investment is scary & difficult. Especially when faced with a usually limited advertising budget.

Several years ago a company called Groupon was created with a somewhat unique idea to fill these needs. As it turns out, they did a pretty darn good job of it too...for a while. Within a couple short years, Groupon's owners got an offer to buy them for six billion dollars from Google. They promtly rejected the offer as being to low for what they were making in profits.

Unfortunately for Groupon, their business model has lead to problems for the company. Expensive marketing, bloated over-staffing and unhappy business clients currently leaves the company in a vulnerable state. Their stock continues to decline.

TCA founder John Milanoski knew there had to be a way to take this model & turn it into an entity that benefitted everyone. John knew that decentralization and streamlined processes were going to be key to making his idea a success. John knew that the businesses TCA worked with needed to be treated with dignity & respect. John knew if his plans didn't "work" for them, the whole thing was doomed to fail. John knew he needed an organization that would be by it's members, for it's members. John wanted everybody to win or he wasn't going to spend his time trying.

So The Customer Advantage is what came from all of this! Simple elegance.

Subscribers sign up for a free account & receive an e-mail every day with a product or service that a local business is offering for a discount. The discount will always be at least 50%, if not more. The subscriber has the option to purchase a voucher which is then redeemed at that business. But there is never a requirement to buy anything. So far, this is just like Groupon.

But let's talk about where things get way, way different. Whereas Groupon has chosen to spend it's profits on buying costly campaigns and paying dividends to it's stock holders, TCA is doing something different. They share a majority of the profits with folks like me (& you too maybe?)! They can do this because TCA pays it's members to spread the word instead of using other costly gimmics. It's so simple, it's almost hard to believe!

In addition, Groupon has also chosen to market their services more toward larger companies. TCA is looking to work with the many locally owned, "mom & pop" operations that make up a majority of employers. The Customer Advantage believes that together, we can rebuild our Main Streets to their former glory!

So here's a quick picture of how it all works. After you get your free membership, if you happen to see an advertisement for something you need or want, simply click the button to purchase a voucher. Print it out and take it in to be redeemed.

If you have a friend that might be interested in the offer too, you just forward them your e-mail. Tell them if they'd like to take advantage of the special, they just need to click your link to register. It only takes a minute & it's free. Chances are, they'll appreciate the fact that you were thinking about them. When your friend makes any purchases through TCA in the future, you'll get rewarded for inviting them in! Check out my previous post for more on that. Talk about exciting! That's all there is to it friends. Done. Finito!

So what's next?

The primary mission for me going forward, is to find businesses that have used Groupon in the past, have thought about using Groupon or are simply in need of some new customers. Even if they used Groupon and didn't like them, they'll like us! TCA uses independent Field Coordinators, like myself, to help merchants get set-up & run their offers. We're compensated based on our performance. Hook me up with these people & I can make it very much worth your while!

As you can see the program really does work for everybody. Businesses are in complete control to get guaranteed, paying customers for a guaranteed, fixed cost. Subscribers get a fantastic deal, keep shopping dollars in the community and they get paid just for helping to share. Not a bad deal if you ask me! :-)

But I need your help please.

I'm also really wanting to work with non-profit and charitable organizations that are trying to raise money for their causes. As such, all future invitations from me will be in support of an organization I work with.

If you'd like to sign up for a TCA subscriber account, please click here. This will take you to the invitation page for the Stoughton Area Youth Center. Rewards from from your future purchases will help support programming for the kids. You can learn more about what's going there via their Facebook page or web-site.

If you have a group that you're trying to raise money for, contact me. I'll help you get set-up and also start promoting your organization here too! I want to help as many people as I can. :-)

Until next time, I wish you peace, love & cheers,
t

TCA Is Looking For Partners!

Hey friends!

Well Spring is just days away now although the weather here is still more winter-like than many of us would prefer. It seems like most people I talk to are ready to get back outside again in warmer temperatures! I couldn't agree more. :-)

Since I'm sure you've got lots to do, today I'm going to keep things a little more brief.

I'd like to ask you to do something quick & easy for me if I could please? The Customer Advantage is looking for non-profit organizations and charities that would be willing to partner with them to get the word out about what we're doing. In return, TCA is going to give 5% of all future sales for anyone that signs up through their link.

It's really simple. Just sign up for a free account. Then share the link with other members of the group. There's nothing to buy or sell, and no purchases are required.

What makes this program so special is the way the founder, John Milanoski has structured it to give back to the members. This is accomplished in such a fashion that there could be literally thousands of people contributing to your organization! This is because TCA pays dividends on all purchases of members through five levels deep. Let me give you a quick example using the number 10.

Let's say that your group is the point at the top of pyramid. Now you & 9 other people register for their account. We'll refer to them as Level 1.

Then the ten people on Level 1 each find ten of their friends and family to sign up. We'll call these 100 people Level 2.

If everyone on Level 2 finds ten friends and family to sign up, that's another 1000 on Level 3!

If Level 3 all get ten to sign up, Level 4 is up to 10,000 people!

Finally, if Level 4 get their ten signed up, add another 100,000 people as Level 5.

In all, that's 111,110 people contributing 5% of all future purchases to YOUR organization.

John Milanoski is determined to make a positive difference with The Customer Advantage and I agree 100% with his plans. So I'm looking to help groups get registered. When things start rolling here soon, you'll be in a very good position to capitalize on this great opportunity!

One of the things I'm doing is helping to promote anyone that signs up through one of my existing partners. Here's a link to a new group called The Luttig Family Foundation. Yes, it is a non-profit organization that I started and am working to promote. Please read more & contact me with any questions.

Peace, love & cheers to you all,
t