Recently, Google took Offers away from the Groupon model and simply made it a portal for savings. Rather than pay for an offer which may or may not be redeemed, Google decided to simply make Offers available like coupons: save it to your device, then have it scanned when you go to the store. Now, that functionality will get a little richer with Maps integration.
Now, any business can create an offer and have it go live in a matter of hours. Users — meaning potential customers — can then find the offer via Google Maps when they search for the business or listing for the services which brings up the business. Once saved to the device, customers can simply present their device to take advantage of the offer.
While Maps may be the best way for businesses to take advantage of Offers, it’s not the only way. Any special deal created will still manifest itself into Offers, or the various Google apps which support Offers, like Field Trip or Wallet. This comes on the heels of Offers having a complete overhaul, and Google refunding the value of unused Offers to users.
Best of all, an offer created by a business will only be targeted to customers who search for the business or service offered by them. There is no spamming, and no obnoxious pop-ups or banner ads. It’s all handled within the drop-down menus, and businesses only pay when the offer is saved.
