Pushback aganist discounting coupons?

Can any business survive a discounting effort, be it Groupon or their ilk? No is the short answer however if the only way to survive in this environment is through traffic than what other options are there? At best the exercise is a break even proposition, at worse it can dilute your brand and the game is lost?

MP Mueller explains

Wow, will discounting be good for this brand?”

As more and more people are learning, social coupons can give businesses exposure to an affluent and educated audience. Rob Solomon, Groupon’s president, told me that the company’s 25 million subscribers are mostly between 30 to 50, college-educated, men and women with a household income north of $50,000. The company is active in 100 markets in North America and just announced a deal with eBay that will highlight Groupon’s regional daily deals on eBay’s pages. 

The two-year-old service is so popular that the term “Groupon anxiety” is now an entry in the Urban Dictionary, and Forbes has called Groupon the fastest-growing Internet company ever (be sure to see the reader comments after the article, which include some interesting first-hand experiences). While there are no upfront costs for businesses that sign on with Groupon, the businesses do have to offer their products or services at a significant discount and they do have to split what consumers pay for the coupon with Groupon, typically 50-50.