Groupon CEO Andrew Mason on Charlie Rose Show

CBS News : CBS Sunday Morning: Groupon, LivingSocial Provide 21st Century Coupons

Bloomberg.com : Groupon Said to Seek Venture Funding That May Value Company at $3 Billion

Groupon Inc., owner of a daily coupon website with 20 million subscribers, is seeking venture funding that may value the company at about $3 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter.

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Groupon Releases Merchant Redemption Application

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Groupon has debuted a mobile redemption-tracking app to enhance and streamline the merchant experience. Available as a free download in the Android Marketplace and soon in the Apple App Store, the Merchant App allows staff to scan and verify Groupons using their device’s camera. In coming months, Groupon will ship Android phones and iPod Touches with the app preloaded to thousands of businesses as part of their featured promotion on the popular site.

“The Merchant App makes it dead simple for merchants to track their Groupons, which is especially helpful for businesses that have sold thousands of Groupons or span multiple locations,” said Andrew Mason, founder and chief executive officer of Groupon. “We’ve worked closely with our merchants, and their feedback has shaped a robust arsenal of services that we’re excited to roll out.”

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SocialBeat : Andrew Mason: Groupon is a “human-technology hybrid”

Had the company started in Silicon Valley, he might have felt pressure to automate its sales, he noted in an interview at the Stanford Accel Symposium on the university’s campus. Instead, Groupon went with the “pragmatic” decision to hire people to call on the small businesses who advertise deals through its website and email newsletters.

“It’s a hybrid human-technology company,” said Mason.

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Groupon Reinforces Commitment to Content and Audience Quality With 2-Way Ratings

Group buy industry pioneer Andrew Mason of Groupon.com has announced via its blog the addition of ratings functionality to it's site.  The big news is that the ratings will be bi-directional, meaning that business will have the opportunity to provide feedback to Groupon on specific "Groupies" redeeming vouchers. 

This may allow Groupon to remove "bad apple" customers (maybe someone who tips $0 at a restaurant with a Groupon, for example) from its list, providing businesses more of what they want (good customers) and less of what they don't want (the tiny fraction of coupon customers looking to abuse the offers and the businesses that sometimes can give the whole industry a bad name).

Here's what Mason has to say about Groupon's latest innovation in coupon marketing:

There’s one more cool thing about Groupon ratings – they’re bidirectional, meaning that merchants can rate you too! If you get an award from a business owner, we’ll reward you with G’s to spend on Groupon. Merchants can also flag the rare troublesome customer, so that we can keep an eye on the bad apples and keep the quality of our community high.

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