Is your small business struggling to pick up? Can’t seem to figure out what’s running in customers’ minds? How does a business make decisions, processes, and strategies geared towards customers while boosting their growth? Companies have to take the customer-centric approach when offering goods or services. This enhances the quality and shows customers that they are being prioritized.
Simple, by choosing the right tools and accessing critical data that paints a clear picture of all customers. Easier said than done, right? Wrong, Podium is a prime example of how businesses of all sizes can level the field for all entrants. Curious to learn more? Here’s everything there is to know about Podium.
What is Podium?
Podium is a multi-product platform that offers local businesses essential tools for communicating with customers. It all started with a tire shop operated by the now co-founder and CEO, Eric’s father. Specifically, his father has had plenty of happy customers, but only the handful of angry ones would take the time to leave a review. This is undeniably frustrating to see how one or two bad experiences could put a business at risk. Eric and his father sent texts to get more reviews representing their services and values. This proved to be a better way to do business. And so, Eric built Podium to promote a modernized way for local businesses to communicate.
Established in 2014, it took Eric and his team just four short years to be recognized by Forbes as one of 100 companies to earn the title of “The Cloud 100”. The same year, Podium was listed as Forbes “Next Billion-Dollar Start-Up.” With offices in Australia and Brazil, they were quickly recognized as one of the world’s most innovative companies. For people who are wondering how far they’ve come, here’s a glimpse into the Podium’s success:
“We’ve powered over 17 million interactions. For more than 1 in 4 phones. Reaching 100k businesses.”
What does Podium offer?
Podium currently offers three groups of products. These include:
Growth
Local businesses looking to reach new customers to promote engagement will find Podium’s growth category of products extremely helpful. Presently, they can choose between:
Reviews
According to the team, local businesses that deployed this product saw over double the monthly review volume in less than 60 days. This product comes in an easy-to-use dashboard where businesses can automate review invites through text and manage their reputation across multiple sites. Merchandising Manager at LA Furniture, Madylin Sweeten, found this product helpful seeing how they went from “a 4.2 average star rating to 4.8.”
Website Chat
The importance of collecting lead information cannot be stressed enough, as this allows businesses to focus on delivering excellent customer experiences while successfully closing deals. With Webchat, local businesses can expect 11 times more inbound leads from their respective websites. Since this chat is text-based, businesses will remain connected with their customers even after the latter leaves the website. Owner of Portland Window Coverings, Joel Master, put WebChat to the test and found that their “web interaction has increased significantly,” adding that their clients “enjoy being able to chat through the widget and start the process with a simple click-to-talk to an associate.”
Text Marketing
Podium’s Text Marketing product allows businesses to target specific groups of customers with personalized content on an individualistic basis. This naturally leads to increased engagement and customer loyalty. With a 98% open rate on text campaigns that get immediate responses, it’s easy to see why this product works. The measurable results speak for themselves. Businesses can also choose to create their custom campaigns or start with a template. Both cases promote time-saving opportunities.
Communication
A series of communication products have been introduced to bring all conversations from every channel to one place.
Inbox
No matter how customers choose to reach out to a business, every conversation and touchpoint (i.e., chat, reviews, voicemails, single threads, etc.) will be brought to one inbox. This means instant responses to customers over a simple text rather than having them wait for 24 to 48 hours. Besides communicating with customers, accessing everything through an inbox also ensures team members are informed as quickly as possible.
Contacts
Podium’s Contact Profiles give the entire team a shared customer snapshot without having to do tons of manual work. Specifically, this product manages customer data and conversation history in the same platform where reviews, payments, feedback, and others are stored. Operations Manager of Van Horn Auto Group, Tina Tasche, believes the Contact Profiles is “for service […] for sales […] for the receptionists. All in one program.”
Channels
Potential customers cross paths with businesses from different channels. To ensure businesses are tapping into every opportunity presented without the hassle of monitoring several tools daily, the Channels product has been developed. Marketing Director of Lux Bond & Green, Andrea Mascaro, found solace in Podium because they could “respond to all text messages, all social media, all emails from customers within 10 minutes.”
Payments
Finally, Podium’s card readers or payment texts might be of interest to collect in-person and digitally. Each purchase gives businesses insight into a customer’s buying preferences. This information can then be used to provide effective, targeted outreach. VP of Operations at Genesis Dental, Hillary Smedley, shared that they “no longer use any paper statements and have put [their] entire revenue management team on Podium.” Why? Because it is convenient for both their team members and their patients.
All the above products can also be tailored based on the industry type. For the time being, Podium supports local businesses operating within the realms of automotive services, retail services, home services, professional services, healthcare, dental services, financial services, and agencies.
How Much Do Podium Services Cost?
To give businesses a chance to put Podium to the test without full commitment, the team is currently offering a 14-day free trial on Podium.com. Once this period ends, one of three payment options will be set up as automatic monthly payments. These have been devised according to business size:
Essentials (Monthly plan: $289/month or Annual plan: $249/month):
- For small businesses that are getting started or self-employed individuals
- Capture online reviews
- Text-based website chat and easy-to-use text-marketing
- 100s of app integrations
- Secure and simple payment processing
- 1000 contacts and up to 3 team members
Standard (Monthly plan: $449/month or Annual plan: $409/month):
- For businesses that are expanding online and in person
- Includes all the benefits of Essentials
- Personalized setup and onboarding
- Website reporting and customization
- Automated review invitations
- Customized branding
- Unlimited contacts and team members
Professional (Monthly plan: $649/month or Annual plan: $599/month):
- For advanced businesses
- Includes all the benefits of Standard
- Automations that streamline tasks
- Round-robin lead routing
- Personalized FAQs
- Multimedia marketing messages
Final Thoughts
Close to 71% of customers despise one-size-fits-all solutions. So, customers will want more for businesses to use customer information to tailor specific text messages and prices. Ultimately, Podium provides a comprehensive package of tools that save local businesses a lot of time and help them connect with customers on a personal level for maximum growth.
What started as an endeavor to drive positive reviews that reflected an automotive business’s accurate representation quickly expanded into one that streamlines communication for all. Businesses must incorporate readily available templates to connect with and maintain customer relations. No matter the good or service, the communication quality makes or breaks that company. Having this understanding is the first step toward growth. Everything that follows from there is taken care of by Podium.
From the above analysis, it should be clear that Podium has had and continues to impact businesses positively. By taking care of most of the legwork, said businesses can now focus on improving their services to fit their customers’ needs. Our editorial team was equally impressed by the multitude of resources that expound on best practices for local businesses. These are available in blogs, guides, webinars, customer stories, and a comprehensive help center.
After a full review of the company, we believe Podium stemmed into existence to lift local businesses to new heights. To find out how else Podium can help streamline certain aspects of your business, visit here! >>>.
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