Tom Church founded Latest Deals as a community to sniff out the best deals in the UK. Two friends and Tom started the business when they couldn’t find a money-off coupon to offset the price of a Brazilian steak dinner. That must have been devastating for them! But, Tom considered this a real opportunity to make a difference. Most of the competing deals sites were focused on men, Latest Deals turned to women.
The Original Story
Graham asked Tom what the business is about and what it does for people.
Tom’s community has grown to 2.5 million members. Demographically, their members are 21 to 65+, mostly female.
Britain’s Sexiest Man Targets Females Shocker!
Tom took the ribbing in good part. They did target females for differentiation. Tom tricked Google into them believing he’s Britain’s Sexiest Man (everyone in the know, knows that it’s Kevin really).
More about Latestdeals.co.uk
It’s just like a shop, but when you look closely one thing is at Amazon, another is at Argos and another at eBay, etc. Latest Deals makes money by affiliate marketing. That means if someone clicks on the All-New Fire 7 Tablet from Amazon and buys it, Tom’s firm will make money.
What is allowed on the site has to be products at the best prices on the market.
“It’s a community site for passionate bargain hunters.”
With Energy Costs Going Through The Roof, Does Tom Expect a Huge Increase in Members?
Tom and his two partners all agreed to set aside income payments for 6 months when they started the venture. After 3 months they were just profitable. Now they employ 30+ staff.
So what was his secret sauce?
Partnering
Tom mentioned Google Shopping. I think they are using the URL froogle.com, but click on this image and it’ll take you there if you haven’t checked the site out yet.
Kevin asked the question – how do you know it’s the best deal or a good deal? They check. On Amazon, Google etc. They also rely on their community for moderation. Members can get points for pointing out chinks in these deals (like added postage).
Is the future all about the App?
One of the challenges for Latest Deals has been distribution channels.
Tom shares useful information about affiliate marketing
Those AFFILIATE NETWORK links:
Tom Church provides a glowing Testimonial for The Next 100 Days Podcast
So, what did Tom say in this glowing testimonial?
” a lot of inspiration and value waiting to be gobbled up!”
The Next 100 Days co-hosts…
Graham Arrowsmith
Graham runs Finely Fettled to help organisations that want to market to affluent and high-net-worth customers. He also runs Meet Professionals which is being offered to financial advice groups as a white-labelled lead generation and conversion system. Contact Graham on LinkedIn: Visit Graham’s LinkedIn Profile and by email.
Kevin Appleby
Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He’s the COO of GrowCFO who provide both community and CPD accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com
