Punchey

The Move to Loyalty Platforms: Yodle Founder Launches Punchey

August 22, 2012

In a reflection of the industry's ongoing interest in developing SMB promotional and loyalty services, Yodle founder Nate Stevens' venture fund announced last week that it is putting $1.7 Million into Punchey, a new mobile-oriented payments and promotions platform.

The 12 person, Boston-based firm was founded in late 2011 and is focused on SMB "upstream marketing initiatives," notes Stevens. Features include promotions, customer communications, digital receipts and analytics. About a dozen SMBs have been testing the service in different markets, with new clients signing up daily.

The company's ambition is to replace cash registers and stand-alone dial terminals. Vertically integrated POS solutions will be dealt with through integration/partnership. Today, businesses working with Punchey can accept cards via a mobile phone, iPod, any PC using an independent mobile card reader or a countertop card reader that is compatible with in-store computers. While the whole loyalty and rewards space is converging in many ways, the emphasis on alternative POS suggests that it will seek to directly compete against players such as Square.

Stevens sees a natural progression between Punchey and his work at Yodle, which has focused on getting businesses online and developing their Web presence. While there is "a perennial need to upgrade and improve SMB websites, what we learned is that there is also an opportunity on the processing and loyalty/retention side of the house," he says. "Everything can be tied together, pre-sale, point of sale, post-sale through an intelligent and integrated payment processing engine," adds Stevens.

Retention is another big focus for the company. "A critical learning at Yodle was that client retention is important, both as a marketing services provider and as an SMB," says Stevens. "It allows you to reduce advertising costs and increase overall lifetime value and profitability."

Defining the customer base is also key. "If (SMBs) can't define their customer base, how can they even begin to communicate and market to them after they walk out the door?" says Stevens. Data from the processing side combined with loyalty programs gives Punchey that capability, he adds

Read the original article

Previous Next

About Punchey

Punchey is a revolutionary marketing and payments platform company that help small business grow. Success-oriented small business owners select Punchey for its turnkey ability to attract and retain customers while maximizing their lifetime value. The company provides an end-to-end payment processing and marketing solution for small and medium-sized businesses, enabling them to get paid wherever, whenever, while giving customers a reason to come back again and again.

Punchey was founded by the noted serial entrepreneur and investor Nathaniel Stevens. Stevens previously founded Yodle.com, an Inc. 500 company that provides local online advertising and lead generation services. He also runs Stevens Ventures, a technology and media investment fund.