What do you guys think of this business concept, SpotOn?
I was reading Tech Deals on Bloomberg and came across an article talking about the company, SpotOn (http://www.spoton.com/), and was wondering what you guys thought about the business concept.
Essentially, the business is a loyalty program that lets small business owners (think restaurants, cafes, etc) monitor, track, communicate through social media, analyze, and reward their customers. I am assuming they use a card/smartphone to enable this process, along with the tablet for the vendor. So if you owned a cafe and wanted to have customers try a new baked good, you may choose that as one of the reward options, after say, five coffees purchased.
I know someone that started a business similar to this. They collect 2-3% on gross sales as revenue, have roughly 100 vendors signed, and are in talks with several chains.
Do you see any value in this as a merchant and customer? Any long term growth potential as a business?
I think it's a good idea, especially since it eliminates the need to carry a bunch of loyalty cards everywhere with you.
The downside, for SpotOn at least, is that it's becoming a super crowded space. It also requires some level of effort for customers to sign up for the program. While the level of effort required is minimal, it's still more than simply having a card to your favorite coffee shop or sandwich place.
Still, I think it's a neat idea.
I'm pretty sure American Express OPEN already offers a lot of this functionality.
I just had a look at the Amex OPEN, and still somewhat confused as to what it is. Aside from having some articles in the forum, it looks like it has the following services:
None of those are really similar to SpotOn. Also, I don't believe Amex OPEN is offered North of the border - so another bonus.
OPEN is just their small business unit. They have a technology and marketing platform specifically catered to small businesses.
I still don't see the relevance in OPEN, or how their tech and marketing platform emulates what SpotOn does. OPEN is like a social network for entrepreneurs. Again, not a feature available North of the border.
OPEN aside, what are your thoughts on the business process, duffmt6?
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