Devon Blog

Author: devon

  • Introducing APIs to create custom promotions in promoEngine

    Our mission is to help our clients grow their business. In interacting with various clients we have come to understand that most businesses do not spend enough energy in building a coupon or promo code strategy simply becuase its very hard to actually implement.

    We see a lot of traditional stores, particularly grocery stores and some big box stores spending a lot of their marketing budget in putting out weekly / periodic sales flyers that include a large number of items that are on sale. It is common sense to assume that this is quite an effective way to market your products because we’re seeing large businesses do this for decades now and the activity has not stopped. If this form of marketing didn’t work, then clearly the big box and national chain stores would have stopped doing this a very long time ago.

    Large e-tailers do the same thing by issuing 1000’s of sales & discount coupons on products and services from time to time. In fact, deal-finding sites make millions of dollars in commissions every year by simply helping consumers find the right coupon that they can apply to their shopping cart? So clearly coupons & promotions work

    Why does this work?
    1. Weekly ad flyers and coupons enable a business to stay at the top of mind of its customers. Brand retention and recall is half the battle in any competitive market.
    2. Coupons or special pricing can create that extra motivation a consumer needs to ‘tap buy’. It helps you capture customers whose need exists but may not be urgent yet.
    3. Impulse buyers can be motivated through coupons or ads
    4. Frugal buyers plan ahead, they closely manage their expenses and are most likely to buying products when they go on sale. They are also likely to shop at stores that they perceive to have ‘wallet-friendly pricing’
    5. Online shoppers can shop from a lot of businesses sitting at home, so ‘better prices’ play a greater role in their purchase decisions. The success of platforms like slickdeals, honey and various others are a testament to the fact that coupons & promotions work as well in the online world as in the brick & mortar business space.

    Despite all this traction, we do not see too many small businesses (brick & mortar or online businesses or even ecommerce businesses successfully executing a STRONG COUPON & PROMOTIONS strategy)

    How is connectchief helping businesses build a better coupon & promotions strategy?

    We strongly believe that discounts is not a good strategy for every business. If by giving a discount, the perceived value (worth) of your offering gets diminished in your customers mind, then steer clear of discounts & coupons. But if you are not in that category of business, then we’ve created promoEngine for you. Using the connectchief scan & connect code, you can present your customers with a promotion or discount right at the time when they are at your store. You can also distribute your promotions digitally via the connectchief platform so customers can see your promotions when they are patronizing a business that collaborates with you. As an example: A customer can a coupon to visit your ice-cream parlor right when they are done paying the bill at a pizza place. Ofcourse, you will be returning the favor back to the pizza place by sharing their coupons with customers who might visit you.

    We’ve created many simple coupon & promotions templates that enable our customers (business owners like you) to create coupons that can be published by them on the connectchief promoEngine platform.

    So what is the custom promotions API

    Sometimes, you need to be able to create custom promotions because the basic promotions do not quite fit in with your business scenario. You can now do that through our promoEngine API (application programming interface) and some simple programming activity on your side.

    As an example – An ecommerce website could design a promotion in promoEngine for its customers to buy a 1-year subscription to their service and receive 1 extra month if they purchased the subscription before January 10, 2023.

    They would simply define a promotion in promoEngine using our API and specify the customer facing parts as in a catchy Title for their promotion, Add a banner image, Add a description describing the promotion & its terms in plain text. In addition, they can now setup a small set of rules in their preferred format that they can save alongside the promotion for it to be provided back to their ecommerce software when that promotion is being redeemed by a customer on their website. See the graphic below as a simple explanation.

  • Unlocking success through collaboration

    Every small business owner we’ve spoken to is no stranger to the challenges and triumphs that come with running your own venture. Whether you own 1 storefront or a chain of 10, the challenges remain.

    When we looked around we have discovered something untapped. Hardly anyways has considered the untapped potential that lies in collaborating with fellow local businesses in the communities they serve. So, we at connectchief decided to build BizzConnect a way to help our patrons explore the power of collaboration, where the combined efforts of non-competing businesses can lead to unprecedented growth, mutual support, and an uplifted community.

    So, we delved into the world of collaboration, drawing inspiration from the successes of global corporations that have proven the undeniable value of working together. We found so many amazing examples and proof of yet another thing that all small business owners need to be doing more of – COLLABORATING!

    Think about tech titans Apple and Nike. While they operate in vastly different industries, their collaboration led to the creation of the Apple Watch Nike+, a marriage of technology and fitness that resonated with consumers worldwide. This partnership not only showcased innovation but also tapped into the strengths of both brands, enhancing their offerings and captivating a wider audience.

    Now, consider the alliance between Starbucks and Spotify. Recognizing the shared interests of their customer bases – coffee and music – these two industry giants teamed up to curate unique playlists for Starbucks stores. This collaboration turned Starbucks locations into music discovery hubs, enriching the café experience and boosting Spotify’s user engagement simultaneously.

    These examples offer invaluable insights for small business owners –

    1. Elevated Exposure: Collaborations between global giants magnify their reach, driving awareness among each other’s customer bases. The same can be applied at the local level, where cross-promotion between non-competing businesses can lead to increased foot traffic and sales.
    2. Resource Sharing: Just as Apple and Nike combined their expertise, local businesses can share resources like marketing strategies, maybe space, or even staff training, amplifying their collective potential.
    3. Community Enrichment: Partnerships between big corporations often extend to social initiatives, displaying a commitment to community betterment. We’ve seen local businesses already mirror this by collaborating on local projects, fostering goodwill and positive impact.
    4. Innovative Synergy: The Apple-Nike and Starbucks-Spotify collaborations exemplify how diverse entities can come together to create innovative products or experiences. By working alongside non-competing businesses, you can spark creativity that might otherwise remain dormant. Think of the businesses that are around you and the ones that you need to be forming relationships with.
    5. Shared Growth: Just as global collaborations lead to shared profits, local partnerships result in a strengthened community economy, benefitting everyone involved. Most importantly, if you are serving a common customer audience, its a no brainer for your businesses to be finding ways to collaborate

    bizCONNECT by connectchief can make collaboration easy. We can help you promote each other. Keep track of your cooperative efforts and do this not just across 2 but across over a 100 potential simultaneous partnership arrangements.

    Drawing inspiration from these giants, local businesses can embark on collaborative journeys that enhance their own fortunes and that of the entire community. The lessons are crystal clear: unity breeds success.

  • What businesses can benefit from connectchief?

    We’re building connectchief as a collection of tools that help businesses be more efficient at utilizing their resources, tools can that help raise the value businesses can offer to their customers with the ultimate goal of helping you (the business owner) grow your business.

    There are many aspects to connectchief and many more to be added as time progresses however we can share with you a few things that your business could do with connectchief. So if you are a business that can envision doing one or more of the things below, we have the tools to help you succeed.

    1. Engage your customers as soon as they get into your physical store (scan & connect codes for every business)
    2. Grow your business network by partnering / collaborating with non-competing businesses so you can promote/introduce each other to your customers (see more about promoEngine)
    3. Capture 1 click input from your visitors about their experience (visitXP is coming soon)
    4. Ask repeat customers or satisfied customers to review your business publicly (see trustENGINE)
    5. Offer an instant discount to a customer who reviews your business publicly (trustENGINE & promoENGINE working together)
    6. Provide customers an incentive to spend with you (PromoEngine)
    7. On slow days, attract your frequent users to come in (Flash sales with PromoEngine – coming soon)
    8. Run ads without spending an arm & a leg for them (Virtual billboards on PromoEngine)
    9. Run special promotions on your website without having to build sophisticated coupon code software (Promo codes with PromoEngine)
    10. Send out important announcements to your customers via connectchief (Customers already get enough email. Send them a message they can see when they think of you next)
    11. Let your visitors know you are hiring (some of your customers can be your best future employees.)

  • Customers that are kept in the loop stay loyal

    Every business has customers who face problems. However, not all businesses are able to handle those situations very well.

    There is a simple formula when it comes to customer engagement for solving problems-

    1. Be transparent – when the customer is facing an issue, be transparent with them about your problem. Mistakes happen, its only human
    2. Be communicative – Keep in constant communication with your customer. Sometimes the problem you are trying to solve for them is taking too long. It may be a refund you need to process, something you need to fix or mend or anything else for that matter. As long as you keep them in the loop on your progress on finding a solution for them, they are a part of the process. Your customers will be OK with you taking the time to fix the problem if they know what’s going on.
    3. Be responsive – Always keep the communication channels open. Follow a simple protocol. When they point out an issue, respond quickly even if its simply to let them know that you are in receipt of their communication and will get back to them. Next, find the isssue and own up to it. Explain what caused it and ultimately always offer a resolution.

    Problems happen – almost every day. Challenges and problems are part of learning & growing. The important piece is to respond, to constantly communicate and finally to learn from it so those problems do not reoccur.

    You must remember – Customers that are kept in the loop stay loyal

  • How can your business get excellent customer ratings

    Customer service is a process. It begins even before the moment a customer raises a concern with your business. From the moment a business comes in contact with the customer, the goal needs to be to assure that we’re working towards building a relationship that (mutually) matters. .

    Customers can reach out to a business for many things and over various media like emails, phone, social media or even in-person. Clear communication, good listening skills and positivity in all interaction is the recipe to success. We must all realize and acknowledge that problems always do happen. The difference between a highly rated business and a not-so-well rate business is in how they handle the situation. See some tips here from another post on this topic.

    enables the agent to calm frustrated customers and ensure successful resolution.

    Set a target to ensure that every customer experiences an excellent service from our team. To do this a step by step approach, that relies on empathy, care and timeliness in responding & resolving inquiries or complaints.

    Customer satisfaction is most important for repeat business and continued growth.

    Most businesses who get 5 star ratings have the following things in common –

    + Friendly people

    Friendly people are kind, caring and loving. They empathize with others and are approachable. In an organization it is very important to have employees who have a friendly attitude. But it not necessary that everyone is naturally friendly. It is a skill and with time it can be developed with practice and awareness. They have respect for others. Customers always want to communicate with individuals having these qualities as they feel more comfortable and know that their problems will be solved easily.

    Giving a 5 star rating to the business by a customers means they are fully satisfied with the service provider and the team members.

    + They care about their customers experience

    Customer service is very important in any business. If you do not have the right people however good your product is, you are bound to see the downfall. To get the best reviews for your company the team has to go out of their way and provide excellent customer service to their customer and a happy experience from purchasing the product right upto solving any related issues. If you are kind and empathatic towards the customers, nothing can stop you from getting a 5 star ratings at times.

    + They are quick to answer customers questions

    In this fast paced digital world, time is an important factor, everyone needs quick and honest answers to their problems. They make their customer feel important not only by answering them quickly but also helping them with positive responses because they know about their product.

    + They take pride in the product or service they sell

    Having pride means you are satisfied with your contribution towards your work. They are extremely proud about the products and service they sell to thier customers as they relate to the people, focus on their goals, give quality customer service etc. They are confident about the products they sell as they know deeply about the product and how it will benefit the end user.

    + They measure how they are doing, so they can keep improving

    All such businesses engage with their customers and ask them for feedback. Customer feedback tells them where they are doing well and where they need to be doing better. Because they genuinely care about their customers and their business these businesses are on a constant improvement path. Eventually these businesses become those that continuously get excellent ratings from all their customers. These businesses are customer magnets, new customers keep coming to them because existing customers only have good things to say about them.

    trustENGINE helps business owners building awesome businesses manage & own their improvement process.

    Regardless of whether you are on a free or a paid plan, the real benefit comes when you use the trustENGINE platform to engage every customer and learn from the feedback. On trustENGINE businesses can & must actively invite customers to share their reviews. As the first step – create or claim your business profile on trustENGINE so you can be well on your way to build a 5 star business that is loved by customers & is on the path of continuous improvement.

  • Why should anyone use trustENGINE when so many other review platforms already exist?

    We created trustENGINE because every business whether big or small that registers with us gets unbiased reviews. The foundation principles of trustENGINE are the following –

    • Reduce fake reviews
    • Help proliferate the truth
    • Accelerate the opportunity to receive feedback & improve
    • A single venue for consumers to interact with the business
    • Promote reviews from verified transactions
    • Build trust through transparency

    See here why we created trustENGINE and how we are innovating to make trusted reviews a reality. Many review platforms already exist in the market but they all have a few gaps which cause significant challenges for consumers & for businesses too

    + Many online review platforms have a pay to play business model

    Businesses that pay can get preferential treatment. This monetization strategy may be good for the review platform provider but is harmful for the consumer. trustENGINE works on a common set of guidelines that promote transparency & fairness to all users & businesses alike

    + Fake reviews can proliferate on public platforms

    Fake reviews are common on the online platform. They are either negative or positive. Some organisations, to promote their own products and business even hire people to write fake reviews and cause harm to their competitors. Customers rely on reviews to buy products and services. But these reviews sometimes can create problems for consumers and small business.

    + Businesses must have an opportunity to challenge suspect reviews and ask for transaction verification

    Businesses can be vulnerable to frauds. Customers to get something in return or to defame the company write fake reviews about the product they sell. You can reduce the risk of negative reviews by addressing them in a positive way and fix it.  This risk can be reduced by asking the customers for their verified contact details, transaction ids or some proof of purchase of the goods or services brought from them.

    + Most platforms cater to large or online companies

    trustENGINE is designed to help the small business owner build their brand and to build awareness with customers. By enabling small business owners to collect reviews online or in-store, we’re focusing on helping consumers discover that amazing business that is within their community or neighborhood.

    + Consumers have a hard time knowing the businesses actual rating based on verified transactions

    On trustENGINE any consumer can provide a review for any business. We clearly highlight whether a review is based on a verified transaction or not. Every reviewer must confirm their contact information before they can write a review on trustENGINE. This ensures that a review received can lead to a conversation between the business and the reviewer and provides the business owner an opportunity to make good on the customers experience.

    In summary, trustENGINE works on transparency & fairness to all users & businesses alike. Curbs and flags online fake reviews. Enabling small business owners to collect reviews and focusing on helping them and the consumers to discover businesses in their neighbourhood.

  • What is a ‘virtual billboard’ and how can it help me promote my business?

    Advertisements are a great way to get consumers to discover a business. Up until today advertisements have been posted either in the physical world (newspapers, magazines, billboards, hoardings or other print media) or in the digital world (TV ads, radio ads, cinema ads, website ads, mobile app ads, video ads etc).

    Pretty much most of the above ads are encountered in-the-home – either on your digital instruments (TV, Radio, mobile phone or PC) or in print media (newspapers, magazines etc). Billboards are the most common Out-of-home (OOH) forms of advertising available in the market. We’ve seen these as massive public display ads on the sides of roads, highways, at busy intersections, in shopping centers or on the side of large buildings. They are available in traditional poster formats and over the last two decades also in digital versions, which can take the form of animations and video, as well as still pictures. 

    The connectchief team has developed a unique concept of a virtual billboard. The talk of virtual reality is all round us. The metaverse is the future. A virtual billboard is a billboard that has been placed at a physical location.

    Businesses use Virtual billboards to display advertisements to users in the connectchief platform. Users receive these ads in their mobile apps and as mobile notifications when they are in the vicinity of a virtual billboard. A user is presented with a virtual billboard in their mobile phones in a ways that’s very similar to a real billboard that they would see when crossing one on a street.

    Whats more interesting about virtual billboards is that their content and context can be completely personalized to the end user. So the same virtual billboard can present me with one promotion while you see a completely different one.

    Another huge benefit is that 100s of businesses can put up virtual billboards at the same physical location without any risk of overcrowding or running out of physical room.

    Most importantly, Virtual billboards are far less costly, more effective, impactful, flexible and engaging than traditional billboards.

    Traditionally, Businesses end up spending a large amount of time looking for the right spot to advertise their brands and products. With virtual billboards businesses can experiment with their ad formats, locations and time of day.

    As is the case with all forms of advertising, Your products or services should has an impact on your preferred ad channels and on your shortlist of locations. For instance, if you sell books and stationary then your billboards should be carefully placed around education institutions and be presented to your target clients when they are most likely to be making a buying decision that’s in favor of your business.

    Connectchief’s virtual billboards, allows business owners to advertise and to connect with customers digitally using the industry’s most cost-efficient approach

    Our software enables any business owner to advertise in the specific location they choose in any city. By using virtual billboards businesses can reach out to a larger audience in any desired locations at a minimum cost. Virtual billboards help in presenting your ads or coupons to customers when they are at a location where you wish to be on top of their mind

  • How do I know trustENGINE is an unbiased platform for customer reviews?

    trustENGINE’s mission is to bring customers and companies together by taking a fair, impartial and equal stance towards reviews. Every business has to follow the same rules, maybe free or the ones who have subscribed to our services.

    We are committed to be fair to all business and our customers consistently and build trust through the act of honesty.

    + On trustENGINE reviews can never be deleted or hidden by the business owner.

    Once the customers had created their account and verified it on trustEngine, when they write reviews they are the sole owners and only they are the who can edit or delete their reviews. We keep reviews of verified customers as long as they are users of trustEngine.

    + ‘Incentivized reviews’ are always tagged. We put transparency first.

    Many times businesses offer incentives like, discount coupons, free stuff, or even receiving a product before its launched to motivate their customers to give feedback and write reviews. In return it helps businesses to attract more customers and increase their profits because of repeat business.

    When we come across such customers and their reviews we tag it as an ‘incentivized review’

    + ‘Verified transactions’ are promoted.

    A transaction takes place when a customer has purchased the product online or in store. When a customer wants to write a review on the trustEngine platform, they need to create their account. To write a review about the product they have purchased from a business, some proof of purchase is required to verify the transaction. Once that is done, the review is tagged as a verified transaction review.

    + Reviewers must have a verified contact information before they can write a review

    We require reviewers to allow us to save their IP address and location when they are writing a review. This enables us to correlate the users location to the business location and flag any reviews that seem suspect.

    + We are constantly at work to block or mitigate fake reviews

    Fake reviews both positive and negative about a product can harm the business as they sometimes have a positive impact on the customer buying decision. Some businesses, to promote their own products and business even hire people to write fake reviews and cause harm to their competitors. Fortunately our platform helps prevent this by a verifying process compulsory for all the users who want to write reviews on trustEngine.

    It is mandatory, the reviewer loads proof of transaction done with the business, if not they cannot post their reviews on the site.

    On the other hand our technical team constantly is developing and is improving the tools required to fight suspicious and fake reviews.

  • Consumers are four times more likely to buy when referred by a friend 🔗

    Did you know?

  • Why are we building flexxWORK?

    1. Why we’re building connectchief…
    2. Every business should build its ecosystem for growth
    3. Why did we create trustENGINE?
    4. Why we are building promoENGINE?
    5. Why are we building flexxWORK?
    6. Why we’re building loyaltyENGINE?

    The Internet has changed too many things – infact almost everything. It’s become our go-to place for information and influences how we make decisions.

    Today, we can get a degree without ever stepping foot in a school or university. We can shop for practically anything without visiting a store. We order food for it to be delivered to where we are. We can even order services like a cab at the press of a button on our mobile phones. Very few things require us to leave home. After the pandemic, ever more of us realize that while offices are needed for somethings, they’re not required anymore.

    In fact, one can start and build a successful business without ever renting or owning an office.

    A laptop and a phone is pretty much all that most people need to work productively. While there are enough coffee shops that offer you access to free internet, every business still needs a respectable address for receiving its official communication. Businesses also occasionally need that office space to bring teams together to collaborate, have meetings or sometimes simply socialize. This fractional model of utilizing office space is our new reality.

    Hybrid work is a powerful force being felt all over the world. flexxWORK software is making hybrid work happen for office real estate providers & business owners

    While co-working spaces offer subscriptions to enable flexible usage, most business owners prefer not being limited to a single provider or a single city for that matter. flexxWORK is software solution by connectchief which gives glocal business owners the flexibility they need while creating a positive outcome for office real estate owners globally.

    The flexxWORK platform enables real estate owners (office building owners, co-working providers and anyone who owns real estate) to maximize the monetization of their assets. Our platform provides all the software necessary for real estate owners to –

    1. Create, manage and rent out subscriptions to virtual office addresses with the flexxWORK software
    2. Offer usage of their real estate facilities like desk space, meeting rooms, event facilities and more on a pay per use basis.
    3. Stay in control of their property while maximizing the revenue opportunity with shared use.
    4. By being part of the flexxWORK alliance you are continuously introduced to new entrepreneurs and business owners from other towns & cities across the globe.

    flexxWORK provides everything you need to serve today’s digital nomad. Office/Commercial real-estate owners & co-working providers can each offer & advertise their services like virtual office addresses, hot desking, events spaces, meeting spaces and more. Users get the option to use one ore more services on a subscription or a pay-per-use basis.

    Business owners have so much to gain by using flexxWORK –

    1. Rent a virtual business addresses in one or more cities across the world. You receive digital copies of all your business mail directly in your flexxWORK app. Physical mail is forwarded to you upon your request at an additional cost (we provide all the software you need)
    2. Subscribe to one or more desk spaces in one or more cities where your staff resides. Reserve meeting rooms or larger event spaces at any office location across our network. Meet with client(s) or hold conferences any many of the facilities that are a part of the flexxWORK alliance.
    3. Get favorable pricing from all participating facilities for being a flexxWORK user/member.
    4. You and your business are no longer limited to a single office.

    By being part of the flexxWORK network, business owners & office space providers both become omnipresent. A business owner from Austin, TX can have a subscription to an office space in Austin and they can book ahead & access office spaces in Los Angeles or other cities when they are visiting those cities.
    An office space provider in Los Angeles may be renting out their premises to various local businesses but they can also be reselling virtual office subscriptions to their clients for virtual office locations or selling hotdesking credits to their clients for use in many other cities across the nation.

    Being part of the flexxWORK network creates a win-win for everyone!