A new Bethesda deals app is promising an easy and cheap way for small businesses to attract customers.
Pluck It, recently launched by Blake Grandon and two of his friends, has about 15 Bethesda restaurants and small businesses signed up and offering discounts, buy one get one free deals and happy hour specials, with discussions with about 50 more ongoing.
Grandon, whose family owns the Party Mania store (4910 Cordell Ave.), said the idea came after years working in small business retail, where exposure on mega-deal sites such as Living Social and Groupon come with high fees and commissions.
“We just came up with the idea on a whim and decided to go for it because we noticed a lack of cost-effecting marketing out there,” Grandon said. “We know what small businesses want and what they don’t want.”
Mostly, what they want are cheaper ways to get marketing. Pluck It doesn’t charge a sign-up fee or user commission to businesses who put deals on the app.
Grandon said the app will draw some revenue from paid featured content to be installed later on, plus small banner ads.
“We have yet to have a business say no to us because it’s free for them to sign up and they can run what they want to,” Grandon said. “We’re not locking them into 15 or 20 percent off.”
Most of the businesses running deals with Pluck It so far are in Woodmont Triangle and the immediate vicinity of Grandon’s Party Mania store.
PizzaPass (4924 St Elmo Ave.) is running a buy one, get one half-off deal, Bethesda Curry Kitchen (4860 Cordell Ave.) is running a 10 percent off discount and Caddies on Cordell (4922 Cordell Ave.) recently signed up to run a half-off lunch deal.
The app is available for iPhones and Android devices. The process for claiming a deal involves “plucking” or passing the offers as they appear on the screen.
Once a user claims the deal, he or she can show it to the restaurant server or store employee to retrieve the discount.
The program has been in the works for about six months and Grandon said there are plans to add more features as more businesses sign on.
It was just a few months ago that two locals launched the Spotluck app featuring locally-owned Bethesda restaurants. That app provides demand pricing by altering the level of restaurant discounts based on the day of the week, weather and other factors that influence how busy an eatery might be.
Photos via Pluck It
