The world has taken a hit from the economy’s instability. The many financial pitfalls that we can come across in life do not have to hold us back. How can we overcome these obstacles? One method that has proven successful over an over again is teamwork. With social shopping networks and group buying organizations people can get phenomenal deals in a time that can seem confusing and discouraging.

Take, for instance, the online shopping network, Groupon. This budding online ecosystem shows that if people work together, progression can be very easy. All you have to do is shop and tell your friends about the deals you have discovered. The bigger your shopping group becomes, the more savings you will earn. Not only is this cost effective, but it also makes the chore of finding local deals more enjoyable.

In order to gain better deals in your area, there needs to be communication with local business. A representative that actually vocalizes the needs of the people needs to be in place. What the people need are discounts and coupons! Not just any type of coupon, but locally targeted coupons. Groupon is one of those few cases where having a middle man is a good thing!

Groupon reaches out to local businesses or local chain stores, and encourages them to offer an outstanding deal. Once they make an agreement on the deal, on a daily basis spectacular offers are listed on the local version of the Groupon site. By communicating with potential customers through the medium of Groupon, shop owners are able to create local deals that serve local needs. Businesses are able to offer deals on supplies that people actually want. This in turn helps business owners increase their sales and shoppers are able to save money.

Right now, Groupon has over 35 million customers and counting! Google even tried to buy Groupon for billions of dollars. Not too shabby!

When you are having financial problems, who do you talk to? Most people would usually go to their friends or family for advice. These are the people who live nearby and experience the same types of struggles you do and who can relate to the problems you face. Communicating problems with friends helps us to create solutions. Groupon capitalizes on our natural style of socializing with each other and takes it to the next level. What if talking to your friends could actually help you make money? With Groupon and other local deal sites it can! Not only do you get savings for shopping via the deals found on Groupon, but the more friends you introduce and get to sign up for the daily deal, the more savings you get in theory. When multiple friends use a coupon, you can actually receive 50-90% savings on a product. However, if for some reason the number of people who sign up does not reach to a certain point, then the deal is off all across the board.

How can businesses benefit from the savings? The whole system is geared around communication and consistency. If a shopper sees savings on a product or a service they enjoy, he or she will most likely continue to purchase from that company.

The system is amazing because shoppers gain major savings and businesses are able to prosper. Shoppers buy because of amazing local deals and shop owners benefit by repeat purchases and gaining new consumers. Darcy Kniefel, marketing manager for Spendard Roadhouse tried the plan. Groupon estimated that joining their network would gain Mrs. Kniefel 500 customers. Instead of 500 new customers, Spendard Roadhouse actually gained 2,000!

Groupon is a social network. With the media explosion of Facebook, shoppers and businesses understand that internet communication is a winning format. Shopping networks like Groupon are the wave of a new shopping era. Each day other sites with similar, yet unique, ideas surrounding this social deal design are popping up. Living Social is another site that is growing in popularity. The Green Pocket Network is another local deal shopping network that not only creates major savings for customers, but shoppers actually get money for referring friends! You not only save on your shopping, you get paid when other people sign up to shop as well.

Didn’t your mother always tell you its better to share your toys? Well now is high time to share the amazing deals that are springing to life everyday and that will help get the economy back on track.

This post was written by guest blogger Damian Edwards, of New Epic Media.