SpotOn Launches Digital Loyalty Network for Local Merchants and Consumers
Founded and funded by serial entrepreneurs, SpotOn aims to help businesses build loyalty with customers and attract new ones through social, mobile and email marketing
SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Aug. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SpotOn (http://www.spoton.com) today announced the launch of its new digital loyalty network for local merchants and consumers. SpotOn installs tablets in places like cafes and salons so consumers can easily check-in using a smartphone or card to earn rewards and incentives. SpotOn's founders, who have deep experience building and selling services to help small businesses, have provided an initial $5 million in funding.
Since starting its tablet-based program in April of this year, SpotOn has attracted over 1,500 merchants and is currently signing-up more than 500 new businesses a month.
"Local businesses are waking up to the fact that deepening their relationships with existing customers is more cost-effective than recruiting new ones through group buying deals, ads or paper coupons," said Zach Hyman, co-CEO of SpotOn. "Yet many business owners don't have the time or know-how when it comes to connecting with their customers using social, mobile and email marketing. Our tablet-based approach provides at-a-glance customer profiles making it really easy to run targeted campaigns."
Increased revenues
With the ongoing uncertainty of the economy, many local businesses are still concerned about their future and need ways to keep customers coming back to sustain and build their revenues. Cary Truett, owner of YoGo Creations, a frozen yogurt store in Greenville, South Carolina, chose to work with SpotOn because he wanted an easy way to build loyalty with the store's numerous customers. Since installing SpotOn's tablet at the end of April this year, Truett has seen over 2,500 check-ins from SpotOn members and typically experiences an increase in sales of about 30-35% each time he runs a special promotion to fill slow periods.
"SpotOn has worked phenomenally well for us," said Cary Truett, owner of YoGo Creations. "Customers love the simplicity of checking-in on the tablet while we're ringing up their purchase. And now, when we run specials we know exactly how many people we've reached, how many responded and how they've used the promotion," said Truett.
SpotOn Pricing
SpotOn charges merchants a low monthly fee for a consumer-facing tablet and a merchant dashboard for a complete view of their customer-base. With just one click, they can see additional customer information like typical spend, redemption activity on deals and Facebook activity. Redemption of loyalty rewards costs the merchant nothing. Additional marketing deals can be created for free with a small fee charged per redemption depending on the individual business.
SpotOn was founded in 2011 by three serial entrepreneurs, Matt and Zach Hyman, co-founders of Central Payment (http://www.cpay.com), a transaction processing company, and Doron Friedman, founder of Arroweye (http://www.arroweye.com), a payment card marketing company. The founders have previously built and managed successful sales-based organizations selling to small business owners and created SpotOn to fill what they perceive to be a large gap in the market.
About SpotOn:
SpotOn offers a consumer-facing loyalty platform and a merchant-facing marketing machine. For consumers, SpotOn eliminates the need to carry multiple punch cards with a seamless digital check-in to access rewards and perks. Using SpotOn's tablet-based dashboard, merchants now have an entirely new and simple way to connect with their customers using social, mobile and email marketing. With one click, merchants can learn more about their customers by viewing typical spend and campaign redemption activity. SpotOn was founded by serial entrepreneurs with decades of experience helping local businesses increase profits with technology solutions. SpotOn is headquartered in San Rafael, CA, with offices in Chicago, IL. For more information visit http://www.spoton.com.