Note: ‘The Integration of the Day’ is where I take two or more web services and create a HYPOTHETICAL integration. This is not an announcement or breaking news, just the thoughts of a fellow entrepreneur. I’d like to thank Charlie O’Donnell (check out his blog) for the idea.

Today’s “Integration of the Day” is a pairing of business oriented social network LinkedIn with daily deal site Groupon. With over 45 million users, LinkedIn is a large community of affluent professionals with considerable buying power. While profitable, LinkedIn only monetizes its members through display advertising and premium subscription fees. Groupon’s daily deal scheme requires a minimum number of purchases before the discount is available. Groupon users share the deals on Twitter and Facebook. The time and volume restrictions have been incredibly successful monetizing users personal networks, with Groupon projecting $100 million in revenue for the year 2010. Imagine if they could create deals to harness LinkedIn users’ professional networks.

User Experience: I install the Groupon application on my LinkedIn profile, checking for new deals everyday. I would find deals from LinkedIn users offering discounts on local enterprise services, for instance an IT consulting or accounting firm would give a 50% discount on a 20 hour package.  I’d check out the provider’s LinkedIn profile before making my purchase, reviewing recommendations and getting feedback on their work through mutual connections. If I decide to buy, I can then promote it through my network, sending out messages to individual LinkedIn contacts as well as tweeting out the offer. My purchase would also appear in my activity stream and in my profile.

Montetization: Groupon has previously worked to draw users to local consumer businesses, but expanding to enterprise sales could prove difficult on the local level.  A LinkedIn integration would allow Groupon to penetrate the enterprise market, opening up a potentially lucrative new revenue stream. Consultants and service providers could leverage their LinkedIn networks as a business development tool, using a Groupon sale to more efficiently lure in first time clients. Providers’ LinkedIn recommendations and connections would allow potential clients to vet them through the LinkedIn network, reducing the time it takes to find qualified consultants. LinkedIn would open up another revenue stream while increasing user engagement as service providers augment their profiles to  utilize the network for business development purposes.

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