LivingSocial announced the launch of a new toolkit for merchants called Connect, which is geared toward letting them better engage and build relationships with customers acquired through the LivingSocial platform.

The offering lets businesses personalize thank you emails, customize promotion expiration emails, send additional offers to customers who purchased deals, communicate with customers via multiple social media channels, and review new customers’ ratings and respond accordingly.

“Small and large businesses alike turn to LivingSocial for introductions to high-quality customers,” said Kerry Lenahan, vice president of product management at LivingSocial. “With Connect, businesses now have new ways to communicate with those customers, reaching them across multiple channels before they ever come through their doors and increasing the chances that newcomers become loyal fans.”

“This is a valuable tool to let customers know that we appreciate their business and to keep them coming back,” said Arthur Hartunian at the Napa Valley Distillery, who used Connect during a pilot. “We were able to choose an incentive that made sense for our business and was meaningful for our customers.”

LivingSocial tested Connect with over 2,000 businesses in eight markets ahead of launch. These businesses sent over 18,000 thank you emails, and provided 8,500 additional offers, which were claimed by 10% of available consumers.

LivingSocial was in the news earlier this month as it said it would eliminate 20% of its workforce.

Image via LivingSocial