The Client: Balani Custom Clothiers has been creating high-quality, custom-tailored clothes for the men of Chicago since 1961. The small family business, currently owned by Sonny Balani, is a Chicago staple synonymous with style. Balani’s marketing typically includes advertisements in high-end magazines and business journals, as well as online marketing through PPC and SEO.

The Challenge: When sales and marketing professional Jake Cremer was brought on board, his job was to bring in more business among affluent men in their 20's and 30's, many of whom were not aware that they could get clothes custom-made or how it would improve their image. When Cremer suggested running a feature on Groupon, Sonny Balani was skeptical. The Balani brand had never discounted its products or run a sale during its 50-year history. The Groupon consultant showed Sonny how the Groupon model works, and how the Groupon demographic is looking for new experiences, not deals. Sonny realized that working with Groupon would expose his brand to over 100,000 young, affluent individuals who would likely become return customers. Sonny also liked that Groupon only made money if he made new clients. Unlike traditional advertisers, which tend to focus more on generating ad revenue and less on how they would benefit Sonny's business, Groupon had a vested interest in Balani's success.

The Deal: Sonny and Jake worked with their Groupon representative to craft an offer that would attract new customers and maximize the long-term value of those customer. They offered $225 worth of custom clothes for $95. This very specific price point would pay for several custom shirts. They also allowed customers to combine two Groupons, which would pay for the majority of Balani's entry-level suits. This way, Balani could upsell to customers and generate more profit.

The Results: With more than 800 Groupons sold, Balani gained more customers in one day than they had from any other promotion-- over 90% of the customers are new clients. While many of have redeemed their Groupons for the shirts, a significant percentage have applied their Groupons toward more expensive items such as blazers and suits. Balani has also taken the opportunity to educate its new customers about different types of fabrics and styles of suits. This education helps Balani build its long-term client base by developing a relationship of trust- one that will keep its Groupon customers coming back for new clothes for years to come.

The Proof:

• Immediate jump in website traffic
• Hits on review sites such as Yelp tripled
• Immediate return in the form of in-store customers who had seen them on Groupon, but had missed the promotion. One of these customers spent over $2,000 within one week of the feature
• Sales pipeline filled for the next 2-3 quarters