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Angie’s List, the popular member’s only site that gives its subscribers unfiltered reviews for local service providers (such as contractors, dentists, physicians, etc…) just recently launched itself into the Daily Deal space.  Called The Big Deal, the site arranges deals from tried and tested service providers from Angie’s List, ensuring familiarity and quality for its loyal following.  The deals are atypical from traditional fare; instead of listings for massages, restaurants, and salon services, expect to see deals for more home services like window treatments, contracting, and housecleaning.  Furthermore, the Big Deal is all about quality control; only merchants on Angie’s List with a B rating or above are allowed to run deals on the site.  Combined with the site’s plans to be fully operational in over 40 U.S. cities and corner the under-served home services market, expect The Big Deal to become a major player in the Daily Deal market. We recently contacted Angie’s List Founder and Chief Marketing Officer Angie Hicks to tell us more about The Big Deal:

What’s “The Big Deal”?

The Angie’s List Big Deal is group couponing with a twist only Angie’s List can give: prior scrutiny from previous users of the service so you know you’re getting not just a great deal, but a great deal from a company with a great service track record. The Big Deal offers dramatically reduced prices for services including health care, home and property services, as well as personal services. The only companies allowed to participate in the Big Deal must have already earned at least a B overall grade from Angie’s List members. Big Deals give the greatest savings to Angie’s List members, but nonmembers can access significant savings, as well.

Why did you choose to launch it?

Angie’s List has offered coupons from highly rated companies for 15 years, but the only companies eligible to advertise with us are those that have first earned high grades from our members. We already have the infrastructure in place to establish grades and then monitor them. We also have a huge well of highly qualified companies, so it was a no-brainer for us to take our already established process that one step further.

What has the response been like so far?  Can Daily Deals work for home services?

In less than three months, we’ve sold more than 4,000 Big Deals, representing more than $500,000 in savings to consumers. Deals have included pest control, automotive oil changes, massage, teeth whitening and other dental services, HVAC service, hair and nail salon service, housecleaning and painting. We’re not offering Daily Deals though; generally ours are offered weekly.

How do you present “The Big Deal” with respect to other advertising opportunities on Angie’s List?

Our process is the same one we use with our traditional ad sales team, but we have a sales team dedicated to The Big Deal. Because we have relationships with hundreds of thousands of merchants/vendors, our reach is extensive, and we know who does good work and who does not.  We leverage those relationships to negotiate the best deal for our members, and at the same time, drive more business for those merchants/vendors.

Was it challenging to convince your businesses to run these promotions?

Not at all. In fact, we’ve added staff to deal with the demand for business participation, and we’re ahead of plan to add cities to the Big Deal list.

Do you think “The Big Deal” will help get more members for Angie’s List?

We’re already seeing people join as a result of the attention the Big Deal is getting. Many people think Angie’s List is only about quality, and we do place a huge emphasis on that. But most consumers like a bargain. We believe a bargain requires both high quality and good pricing, which is why we structured our advertising as we did. We monitor grades every day, and if an advertiser slips below eligibility, we act quickly to take them off the eligible list. A low price but poor workmanship doesn’t do anyone any good – whether it’s a group coupon structure, our traditional coupon structure or everyday business transactions.

Heard anything else relevant or want to add your opinion about The Big Deal or Angie’s List?  Leave us a message in the comments below or call us out on Twitter @yipit.  Otherwise we’ll get back to building Yipit, which finds and filters daily deals based on your tastes.