I started my Google mail account several years ago out of necessity, having purchased a Droid phone. Fast forward to today, and I use that account daily for a variety of reasons online including this blog. While I'm generally not afraid of change in my life, the changes Google made a few months ago to platform did not thrill me.
To their credit, Google was able to create a new revenue source with the new Google email ads on the promotional tab. But the three tab approach, primary-social-promotional, seems like a layer that I could easily do without. Apparently, I'm not the only one that feels this way.
Groupon, the daily deals company, would love to eliminate that promotional tab as well. Since implementation, Groupon has seen a decline in click throughs and thus profits. While their revenue was up, 4.7% during the reporting period, they reported a deficit of $2.58 million in income.
Of note to me also is the fact that Groupon now only gets 40% of its revenue through email campaigns. To their credit, they have diversified what they are doing as a marketing company. Unfortunately for them, the cost of doing that business is more expensive, and thus they continue to struggle.
Groupon is still a company to watch in my mind. Having largely invented an entire marketing platform, they have good people in search of that next big thing.
To learn more about their latest earnings report, check out: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303309504579184160007333006
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