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Passbox East Bay

Passbox East Bay. Chances are that even if you live in the East Bay, California, you have not heard of them yet. But I wouldn’t expect you to. After all, they just launched their Website last week.

If you know me, then you know that they are one of my clients. You can say this post, then, is biased. But give me 2 minutes and I’ll prove to you that Passbox East Bay is more than just a client to me – I truly believe in this company. They will be a phenomenal resource/marketing arm for Local Business and a trusted “deal source” for the Local Consumer.

What is Passbox East Bay: Passbox says that, “Everyone loves a great deal.” Accurate. These days I don’t think anyone goes anywhere or does anything without expecting a deal of some sort. Because of this, Passbox East Bay delivers great deals each day (Passbox Deal of the Day) from local (East Bay) businesses. These are deals you can purchase online via the Passbox Website (Visa, Amex, MC) and in return receive a deal voucher (kind of like a plane ticket).

What is a Deal of the Day?: The Deal of the Day is simple. They look similar to this (currently going on today):

“PAY ONLY $15 for $30 of Central American Cuisine at Mi Casa Restaurant in Walnut Creek.”

Each deal is a big discount (up to 80%) and will only be available to purchase for 48 hours. Once 48 hours expires, the deal closes and a new deal (from a new business) appears.

But Wait….That’s Not All:

Give back 5% to the Local School of YOUR Choice

When you buy a deal, five percent (5%) of your purchase goes to East Bay public schools. If desired, you can choose the exact school by selecting it from a drop-down menu during your purchase. This 5% is being allocated by the Passbox East Bay Business offering the deal.

The Difference for the Consumer: So you are thinking, “Yeah, but how is Passbox East Bay different than, say, Groupon?” The biggest difference is that with Passbox East Bay you don’t have to hope that “x” amount of people buy the deal in order for you to take advantage of it. If you want it you buy and it’s yours! Another difference is that Passbox East Bay is truly localized. Passbox East Bay will have deals in East Bay cities (ie. Livermore, California) that typically will not get great deals brought to them. You don’t go to the deals. Passbox brings the deals to you!

WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) as the Business: Passbox East Bay will not collect any money up front from you. As a matter of fact, Passbox will never collect any money from you. The only money that is exchanged is the check they send to you once your deals are sold! They will even Market your business for you for free. They will “craft a deal” with you, and then have the Passbox Graphic Designer put your “deal” web page together for you. The Passbox writer will write a “sneak peek” feature on you to showcase to potential buyers. Your business and your deal are then featured on the Passbox East Bay Website and distributed through their Social Media sites and various other strategic partnerships.

It’s a Wrap: I could probably sit here all day and spell out each and every thing about Passbox East Bay. But I won’t. The concept is simple. The people behind it are passionate about growing the East Bay Business. They want “butts in seats.” They want business owners to have existing customers visit more often and new customer’s faces coming through the doors. They want local consumers to be out and about, doing things and going places as often as they can, no matter what their financial situation may be. And equally, they want to see a portion given back to the local schools. After all, the East Bay Children today are tomorrow’s East Bay business owners and consumers.

You can find East Bay Passbox online via:

Questions? Comments? Are you a Business that wants to run a deal? Or a Consumer who wants to see a deal from a certain business? Contact Me!

Facebook and Revenue: A Little Thing We Call Business

As I was reading through the San Francisco Business Times this week (March 19th-25th), I ran across a short article entitled, “Report: Facebook tops Google for visits.”

There has been speculation as to how Facebook is going to create revenue. Upon reading this article, it dawned on me how I feel they can really begin tapping into a revenue stream, while also regulating the (oftentimes) annoyance of Fan Pages.

Here is my suggestion for a Facebook Revenue Stream: Charge for Facebook FAN Pages.

I’m hearing the yelling and screaming at me already. But hear me out. Here are my 3 reasons how/why:

1. Numbers Don’t Lie.
Fact: “Facebook tops Google for visits.” If marketers and advertisers are willing to spend hundreds, thousands and even millions on more “traditional” marketing and advertising (TV, radio, magazines, etc.) then why should they expect to pay nothing for utilizing the Facebook Platform? Even if a company wanted to utilize Yellow Pages for Business, they would have to pay. Facebook clearly has an enormous reach. They have done this through years of building, developing and maintaining a fabulous platform that people want to go to. From The Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come.” Facebook has done their part. They have built this commonplace – this field of dreams – for any and all to take advantage of.

2. Facebook Allows Prospects to come Knocking on Your Door.
Revenue Stream #1: Charge for the Fan Page Database. When someone becomes a “fan” of your Fan Page, more often than not it’s because they already use your product, want to learn more about your product or are thinking of purchasing your product in the near future as a customer or consumer. In any case, they are there. They are waiting on your doorstep.

Facebook should charge Fan Pages on a “Pay Per Fan Base.” Google charges for “Pay Per Click” Advertising.” Constant Contact charges for the number of emails you store in their database. And Facebook could charge for your total number of fans, incrementally, so that there is an “equal playing field” for smaller companies/brands and larger companies/brands.

This, in turn, also makes it a more effective Fan Page. Smaller companies/brands may not feel the inclination to “spam” anyone and everyone to try to reach “x” amount of Fans.

3. Regulate Fan Requests & De-Clutter Feeds.
Revenue Stream #2: Charge for the Creation/Implementation of Fan Page. How many times a day do you get a Facebook message or notification from someone that says something to the effect of, “Susie Q. suggested you become a fan of 33 ways I’d like to tell my daughter’s teacher that homework on weekends is not okay?”

And of those times, how many times are you either: A. Super annoyed B. Ready to “de-friend” that individual or C. Willingly accepting the “Fan” invite? I would gather more often than not you are in the A or B, not C, categories. Many times, someone sends you the request because they have some vested interest in the Fan Page. They are either the creator of it, are paid to promote it or they simply work for the company/brand. But if Facebook were to charge first for just setting the Fan Page up, that would discourage many of those in the first place. Furthermore, if it’s an honest and true Fan Page for a company or brand, then they may be more strategic about “who” they are inviting to become Fans. (Because remember, you would be charged incrementally for the total number of Fans you have.)

The Bottom Line: Clearly Google has been a marketing and advertising venue that companies have been more than willing to pay for. And now that the numbers have started to depict an image where Facebook is having a similar reach, why can’t they make the case for charging in some way, shape or form? Because it offers such value, I would have no problem paying for these Fan Pages if it meant that my client’s reach would still be widespread, while reducing the amount of “clutter.”

Don’t charge people for using Facebook, charge people for using it to profit. It’s called business. And at the end of the day the goal for your business and for Mr. Mark Elliot Zuckerberg’s business is profit and success.

Passbox East Bay

Facebook and Revenue: A Little Thing We Call Business

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