I’ve been a long time Money magazine (AKA CNN Money) subscriber. I’m into Money Mag because, unlike Fortune and Forbes and so many other financial publications, they’re gear toward regular (middle class) people, who may not be livin’ the big pimpin’ lifestyle dropping thousands on latest hot stocks or pouring cash into the gold-star  REIT de jour.
People like me.
People like most small business owners, working hard and doing their best to make a living and grow a successful business.
The cover feature from May 2012 issue of Money touts the Best Deals on Everything – 89 Smart Buys on Everything – from stocks and real estate to cars and travel and more.
And that got me thinking about the allure  of special deals, deep discounts and the rush of getting a Good Deal, because…

Everybody Loves A Good Deal!

Sales, special discounts and good deals are among the most powerful tools in a small local businesses Marketing Arsenal.
So if you want to drum up new business of bring back old customers  – why not offer them a rockin’ good deal?
like what you say? Well I’m so glad you asked, because here’s Marketing Expertise:

Top 10 Good Deals Small Local Businesses Can Offer Their Customers

1. Get Down With the Discount – Let’s just get right down to it – consumers love discounts. They’ll buy something they might not have intend to if the they can pick it up at discount – SOLD! They’ll buy from you instead of someone else if you offer a deeper discount. However you want to serve it up, serve up a nice pipping hot discount – and they’ll come running just as fast as they can.
2. SALE! SALE! SALE! – My mother spent my entire childhood scouring the Saturday and Sunday newspapers, store circulars, special inserts – you name it – in search of the ALL MIGHTY SALE. A sale is like silver mine: you can probably pick up a pretty good load. A “special sale” is like a discovering a nice thick vein in a gold mine – you’re assure of a great return. A clearance sale is like striking platinum – it doesn’t happen everyday everyday. And the going out of business sale – forget about it – that’s like inheriting a South African diamond mine: a girl’s real best friend! Suffice it to say: everybody loves a sale!
3. Themed Sales – Annual sale. Spring sale. Christmas sale. You name it – somebody’s looking out for it. As stated in item #2: Suffice it to say: everybody loves a sale!
4. Sidewalk Sale – You know you can’t resist checking out that garage sale down the street. And even after you realize it’s just a bunch of junk your neighbor is “recycling,” how often do you end up buying something anyway? The Sidewalk Sale exerts the same magnetic pull – how can you resist just taking a quick peek? You don’t need, or even want anything, so you’re safe, right? Sure you are – the best laid plans of mice and men all begin with “just taking a peek at the discount table” walking by a local businesses Sidewalk Sale.
5. Customer Loyalty Discount – Marketing your business to a green (completely new) prospect is three times harder and more costly than selling to existing customer. Issue them a special card (works great for Ralphs and Vons Grocery Store – I exclusively grocery shopped at Ralphs for nearly a decade, periodically cashing in Discount Points for free wine!), hand them a flyer on the way out the door, or sign them up for an email list – they’ll be banging down your door after every email blast!
6. Special Deals for New Products – Offering a new product or service? No better way to generate a buzz or entice customers to try something new than offering a New Product Discount.
7. Online Deals – Got a website (if you don’t, you should!)? Offer special discounts for printing out and bring in a coupon or referencing a special code listed on your website.
8. Email Discounts – Email marketing is one of the most powerful sales tools currently available to small businesses, especially for marketing to existing customers. Offer a discount for signing up to your email list – now you can hit them up with all your latest news, new products and special offers, all with the click of a button.
9. Get in on Social Media Marketing Madness – Got a Facebook page for your business? How about Twitter? Offer customers special deals and discounts in exchange for  following your social media pages. Also, offer regular “social media” discounts – you’ll have drovers of Facebookers and Tweeters pouring in!
10. GroupOn & Living Social Discount Deals – I’m not necessarily sold on these services. Small businesses offering GroupOn and Living Social deals don’t always make a profit (and some purport to lose money). But all-in-all, these service are still pretty hot, and seem to work out well for many businesses. So hey – give it a shot. Why not?
These are the Marketing Expertise Top Ten Deals. Now I’d like to hear about some of your most creative and most successful Discounts and Special Deal offers.
What worked? What didn’t? And why not?
Let’s hear about!