Devon Blog

Tag: free

  • Every business MUST always have active promotions

    If your target customers aren’t aware of your existence, your products or services can’t thrive. Promotion ensures that potential customers not only know about your business but are also motivated to engage with it. Once they know you exist, the challenge becomes driving them through the door to try what you have to offer. This is where a robust promotional strategy comes into play.

    Promotions are not just a tool for visibility—they are a strategic weapon for long-term business success. While ads play a role in building awareness, they are often less personal and tend to be more expensive than other promotion strategies. While both have their place in your marketing plan, it always better to have an approach that scales non-linearly. A pay to play ads approach is like running a coin-operated machine. Pay for ads, get some business. But that brings you ZERO loyalty.

    Referral marketing and discount coupons, on the other hand, are powerful methods that leverage trust, customer loyalty, and the natural desire for value. With the power of the ConnectChief engines, these strategies deliver far better results than traditional advertising, as they engage customers on a deeper, more personal level.

    Referral marketing is a particularly effective strategy because it turns your existing customers into advocates. People trust recommendations from friends, family, and from other businesses they trust. Your business collaborators become great referral sources for you. People trust influencers in social media far more than they trust ads. This trust translates into higher conversion rates, lower customer acquisition costs, and a stronger brand reputation. Successful companies like Dropbox and Uber have used referral programs to grow exponentially.

    Dropbox’s simple yet effective program rewarded users with free storage space for every new customer they referred, which helped the company grow from a startup to a household name. Uber gave both the referrer and the new user ride credits, creating a win-win scenario that encouraged widespread adoption.

    Discount coupons, especially when targeted, create an immediate sense of value that motivates customers to act quickly. A well-placed, limited-time discount can bring new customers into your store or re-engage existing ones. By providing a tangible incentive, you’re giving people a reason to try your product or service now, rather than later.
    Businesses like McDonald’s and Starbucks have mastered this strategy. Starbucks often uses personalized, time-sensitive offers based on customers’ previous purchase behaviors, driving foot traffic and increasing sales during off-peak hours.

    Why are these strategies often more effective than ads? It’s simple: they build on relationships and perceived value. Ads interrupt people; referrals and discounts engage them. Referral marketing taps into the credibility of your satisfied customers, while discounts and promotions offer immediate rewards that are hard to resist. And with technology, these strategies can be seamlessly integrated into your business operations. Our customizable promotion engine allows you to build, track, and automate referral programs and discount offers. Combined with AI, our system ensures these promotions are strategically placed where they will make the biggest impact, creating stronger customer engagement and loyalty without the high costs associated with traditional advertising.

    By focusing on referral marketing and personalized discounts, your business can drive long-term growth. Loyal customers, drawn in through strategic promotions, not only return but also advocate for your brand, making your business more sustainable and resilient in the competitive marketplace.

  • A good promotion strategy pays dividends everyday

    Small businesses are low on resources. Whether that we time or money, we have neither to waste

    A coupon based promotions strategy is a must for every business – let alone small businesses. Yet, very few of us dedicate the time to think and develop a coupons based strategy for our business. While its one of the most cost-effective ways to promote a business, a coupon based strategy is hard to execute. There’s printing, distribution and all kinds of processing and tracking involved and that takes up time.

    Not with promoENGINE. promoENGINE takes the strengths of coupon marketing and amplifies it. And promoENGINE takes away the pains of running a traditional coupons based strategy by empowering it with technology. Using connectchief technology, promoENGINE can automate distribution, redemption, processing and tracking of coupons that your business distributes. Moreso, connectchief’s InsightsENGINE can help you breakdown key data metrics to determine which coupons are most effective and bringing you the highest ROI – whether your goal is to be attracting new customers or increasing engagement of your existing users.

    Here are some strengths and challenges of running a coupons based strategy –

    • Unlike advertising where your goal is to simply raise awareness of your brand, promotions seek your audience to take action. Coupons are an amazing way to drive action because the highest cost of your coupon is only incurred when the customer redeems the coupon. This core nature of coupon based promotions makes it the most cost-effective method to promote your offering
    • Coupon promotions are super easy to track. You can give out a 1000 promotional coupons, and you have a clear measure of effectiveness in the count that were redeemed. So you immediately know, you reach a 1000 people and lets say “50 of them” redeemed the coupon. Thats a 5% redemption / conversion rate
    • Its easy to keep coupons fresh – every new product you introduce is an opportunity for a coupon, every change of season is an opportunity to invite customers back to the business with coupons. Coupons a great way to sell that little extra thing that the customers. A free coffee means that the customer will be happy to spend on a bagel. A free trial lesson means they would consider learning a new skill. A discounted oil change or A discounted vehicle checkup. The sky is the limit if you take some time to think it through.
    • Traditional coupon strategies are hard to run. With promoENGINE by connectchief its super easy. Simply, define your coupons, set the count and timelines and we’ll start distributing them to customers. connectchief will keep count of coupons distribution, redemption, effectiveness and help you keep refining your strategy by showing you which coupons work and when.

    Technology is changing the game in many industries – particularly with digital marketing. connectchief has focused itself on building amazing technology for small business owner. Contact us to try promoENGINE free for 30 days

  • Why we’re building loyaltyENGINE?

    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?

    Having a loyalty program is crucial for businesses of all sizes and industries. It offers numerous benefits that can help drive customer retention, increase revenue, and build brand loyalty.

    Here are some key reasons why every business should have a loyalty program:

    Customer Retention: A loyalty program incentivizes customers to continue engaging with your business. By rewarding their loyalty, you create a strong incentive for them to keep coming back. This leads to higher customer retention rates, reducing the need for constantly acquiring new customers and increasing the lifetime value of existing ones.

    + Increased Sales: Loyalty program members tend to spend more and make more frequent purchases than non-members. By offering exclusive rewards, discounts, or personalized offers, you can motivate customers to choose your business over competitors. This, in turn, leads to increased sales and revenue generation.

    + Word-of-Mouth Marketing: Loyal customers who are part of your loyalty program become brand advocates. They are more likely to recommend your business to their friends, family, and colleagues. Positive word-of-mouth marketing can significantly impact your business’s reputation and attract new customers, helping to expand your customer base organically.

    + Data Collection and Customer Insights: A loyalty program provides a valuable opportunity to gather customer data and gain insights into their preferences, behaviors, and purchasing patterns. This data can be used to personalize marketing efforts, improve products or services, and tailor the overall customer experience. Understanding your customers better allows you to make informed business decisions and deliver targeted offers that resonate with them.

    + Competitive Advantage: In today’s competitive marketplace, having a loyalty program can give your business a competitive edge. It differentiates you from competitors and creates a sense of exclusivity for your customers. A well-designed and rewarding loyalty program can attract new customers and retain existing ones, positioning your business as the preferred choice in the market.

    + Emotional Connection and Brand Loyalty: Loyalty programs foster a sense of emotional connection between customers and your brand. By consistently rewarding their loyalty, you build trust, strengthen the customer-brand relationship, and cultivate brand loyalty. Customers who feel appreciated and valued are more likely to remain loyal and become long-term advocates for your business.

    But traditinal loyalty programs aren’t exactly easy to run…

    • Tracking and Administration – Managing a physical punch card system requires meticulous tracking and administration. It can be time-consuming and error-prone to manually keep track of customer punches, verify their eligibility for rewards, and handle card replacements or transfers. This process becomes increasingly challenging as the number of customers and transactions grows.
    • Limited Customer Insights – Punch card-based loyalty programs often lack the ability to gather meaningful customer data. Without capturing customer information, businesses miss out on valuable insights that can help them understand their customers’ preferences, behaviors, and purchase patterns. This data is essential for making informed business decisions and delivering personalized experiences.
    • Lack of Flexibility – Traditional punch card programs typically have limited flexibility in terms of reward options and customization. This lack of flexibility may not align with the diverse preferences and needs of customers. It can also make it challenging to offer personalized rewards or adapt the program based on changing market conditions or customer demands.
    • Ineffective Communication – Communicating with customers and keeping them informed about program updates, rewards, or promotions can be challenging with a physical punch card system. Businesses often rely on manual methods like in-store signage, verbal communication, SMS or emails (and we know how much customers hate being spammed), which may not effectively reach all customers or provide consistent messaging
    • Limited Scalability – As a business grows and attracts more customers, managing a physical punch card-based loyalty program becomes increasingly difficult to scale. The administrative burden and logistical challenges can become overwhelming, especially when trying to provide a consistent experience across multiple locations or channels.
    • Inconvenience for Customers – Carrying physical punch cards can be inconvenient for customers. They may forget or misplace the cards, leading to frustration or missed opportunities to earn rewards. In today’s digital age, where customers expect convenience and seamless experiences, relying on physical cards can be seen as outdated and less user-friendly.
    Digital loyalty program platforms offer greater convenience, flexibility, and data collection capabilities, allowing businesses to deliver more personalized rewards, track customer behavior, and create a more engaging loyalty experience.

    We created LoyaltyEngine to help our clients harness the power of loyalty programs while helping eliminate the challenges with traditional loyalty methods like punch cards. A well-executed loyalty program is a powerful tool for businesses. It enhances customer retention, drives sales, generates positive word-of-mouth marketing, provides valuable customer data, creates a competitive advantage, and cultivates brand loyalty. By implementing a loyalty program on LoyaltyEngine, your business can establish a strong foundation for sustainable growth and success.

    What makes LoyaltyEngine so cool!

    1. Its completely digital – so its brings to you all the advantages of digital platform like promotion flexibility, data collection capabilities, personalizated rewards, and a more engaging experience for customers
    2. No punch cards to carry. No apps to install – Simply scan the QR code at the store and your loyalty points are right there for you to redeem.
    3. Your customers hate installing apps – so no app is required
    4. Your customers get too much email or SMS – so we do not send emails or SMSs. Customers can receive announcements from you when they scan the QR code (in the moment) or the ones who install apps can receive special promotions & announcements (opt-in only) within the app
    5. The end-users experience is completely personalized – your most loyal customers can get the most royal treatment 🙂

    Ultimately, and as its goes for everything with connectchief. You, the business owner are in control. We’re simply making software tools to help you supercharge your business!
    Try out our LoyaltyEngine for free for the first 90days.

  • Why we chose QR codes as the gateway to the connectchief platform

    The COVID19 pandemic taught us all to use QR codes.

    Here are a few reasons why QR codes are already widely embraced as a means of interaction:

    1. Contactless and Convenient: QR codes provide a touchless way for customers to access information or perform actions using their smartphones. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the contactless nature of QR codes became even more appealing.
    2. Ease of Use: Scanning a QR code is simple and requires minimal effort. Most smartphones have built-in QR code scanning capabilities in their cameras, eliminating the need for additional apps.
    3. Versatility: QR codes can be used for a variety of purposes, such as accessing websites, making payments, downloading apps, redeeming coupons, and more. Their versatility makes them applicable across various industries and use cases.
    4. Cost-effective: Generating and implementing QR codes is generally affordable and accessible to businesses of all sizes. It doesn’t require expensive hardware or infrastructure.

    connectchief runs in the cloud. So there’s little reason why our clients (businesses) need to invest in a tablet or other hardware for taking advantage of our platform. Simply generate QR codes on our platform, customize the designs to meet your businesses aesthetic guidelines and keep your focus on growing your business.

    We will keep our focus on building technology that is important for YOU – our customers so you can succeed with your customers. Have an idea for something we should build for your business – write to us

  • What are the benefits of referral marketing techniques?

    PromoEngine by connectchief promotes referral marketing techniques over traditional online marketing approaches like ads, email newletters or social media marketing. Get started with connectchief for free to find out how well it works for your business

    Here are some of the advantages of Referral marketing over traditional or online ads?

    Trust: Referral marketing is built on the trust of personal recommendations from satisfied customers, making it more credible and trustworthy than online advertising.

    Cost-effective: Referral marketing is often cheaper than paid online advertising.

    Targeted audience: With referral marketing, the target audience is more likely to be interested in the product or service being offered.

    Higher conversion rates: Referral marketing typically leads to higher conversion rates, as the people being referred are already pre-qualified and interested in the product or service.

    Better customer retention: Referral marketing often leads to better customer retention, as referred customers tend to be more loyal to the brand.

    Viral potential: Referral marketing has the potential to spread quickly through word of mouth, leading to a wider reach and increased brand exposure.

  • How much does a typical small business in the US spend on online ads?

    The amount that small businesses spend on Google or Facebook or other online Ads varies widely, and there’s no set “average.” The amount a small business spends on Online Ads depends on several factors, including:

    1. Industry and competition: Some industries are more competitive than others, and therefore require more investment to drive results.
    2. Budget: The budget available for advertising will directly impact the amount spent on Online Ads.
    3. Target audience: Reaching a specific target audience will impact the cost, as more specific targeting often requires a higher budget.

    A small business can spend anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per month on Online Ads, but most small businesses typically spend between $500 and $1,000 per month. It’s important to note that the best budget for a small business will depend on their individual goals and advertising needs.

    In addition, Businesses can spend anywhere from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per year on third-party social media management and online review management, with most small to medium-sized businesses spending between $2,000 and $10,000 per year.

    As opposed to the above, a small business can utilize the tools from connectchief to reach their target audience at almost half the cost of their typical online ads budget. Get started with connectchief for free while the software is in beta phase.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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!

  • How you can grow your business faster with connectchief

    1. Why we’re building connectchief…
    2. How you can grow your business faster with connectchief

    Every business owner knows they need to innovate and grow their business. What isn’t clear is how to methodically go about doing just that…

    Growth comes from recognizing the need for change, effectively adapting to shifts in your environment, having strong customer insights and finally turning this information into better customer experience and service.

    Connectchief helps businesses to better engage with its target customers, improving the effectiveness of their marketing, and enables them to find new ways communicate their value propositions.

    The digital revolution has unleashed rapid and significant changes in how business is done today. A businesses ability to engage customers, understand their changing needs and to keep up with them determines its success and growth rates.

    The connectchief team deeply understands how technology can play a significant role for your business to grow. We’re been rapidly innovating and responding with creative ideas to help small businesses build a competitive edge. With connectchief every small business can –

    + Collaborate with other businesses to promote each other

    Any business can get started with connectchief for free. Once registered, identify and invite other businesses nearby to collaborate with you. Each business can promote coupons & offers form its partner businesses to its own customers. Referred customers are more likely to do business with you over those who were attracted simply through a discount or a one-off advertisement. Referrals can cost almost 10x less than traditional advertisements when it comes to finding new customers.

    + Engage with your customers

    At connectchief, your business receives a personalized QR code which is powered by our platform. We chose QR codes so you do not have to many any investments in buying equipment or other technology to grow your business. A simple QR code puts the power of the entire connectchief platform behind your business. Place that QR code (we call it our Scan & Connect system) within your premises to present customers with promotions, solicit their feedback, showcase your reviews, get customer reviews, make announcements and so much more. Better engagement translates into improved loyalty and more business.

    + Create promotions, discount coupons and vouchers for customers and business partners.

    Through connectchief, every business can also utilize our promoEngine to generate coupons & promotions that can be distributed to visiting customers on your website, in-store or even be distributed via other businesses that collaborate with you (your business ofcourse has to reciprocate with promoting those businesses as well).

    Businesses that use innovative ways to find new customers & to retain existing ones tend to grow faster. Those that continuously learn from customers to provide better service and products discover paths to greater profits and lasting loyalty.

    At connectchief, we’re committed to helping you power up your business with innovative, cost-effective and technology-powered approaches that have been afforded only to big businesses until now.

    Find your path to growth – register for free on connectchief