The AlwaysOn OnMobile Conference
RewardMe was recently featured at AlwaysOn’s OnMobile Conference in Redwood City; a 2-day lecture-heavy exposé of the mobile and tablet industry.
AlwaysOn has been one of the most prominent business media brand networking the Global Silicon Valley, with attendees of top executives from Fortune 500 Companies as well as successful technology startups. Most of the conference was set around B2C businesses, but there were a few interesting B2B startups that could create some waves in the Restaurant and Retail industries. Here are some highlights: Mobile Technology Advancements For Restaurants & Franchises
Two things stick out here: automation, and dynamism. There were some big leaps in terms of automating various elements of the ordering process, but taking out the cashier can just be too automated in some cases. One startup is trying to take the online-ordering process to the next step — automating the process by taking the order directly to the POS and getting it ready for delivery. This could potentially help serve more customers during high-traffic times and lower waits for everyone.
We were one of a few other companies in the loyalty space, and the most common thing we can see moving forward in the industry is the destruction of ‘traditional’ punch- and card-based programs. The future is in being dynamic and interactive: customer engagement, and having technology that is constantly updating and analyzing to create better experiences for both customer and merchant.
Mobile Technology Advancements For Retail: “Geofencing” means creating a virtual perimeter for a real-world area. For example, you can create a geofence around your store so that linked devices (say, by an app) can receive a notification when they step inside the boundary.
There were a few startups working on this concept for large retail chains so they can step up their customer engagement. Is it creepy for your phone to go off when you get near your usual retail store, or is it really something consumers could get excited about?
The last big movement we saw was in expanding a brand’s interactive capability. It’s not so much just about your food or service anymore, so we’re seeing companies providing services such as: brand-based games, apps and app-stores for your customers, and content creation for a brand’s web and mobile presence.
RewardMe’s Social CRM and Loyalty Program for Retail Stores takes home the medal
RewardMe also presented at the Startup Competition, judged by two prominent VCs, Mark Gorenberg of Hummer Winblad, and Jules Maltz of Institutional Venture Partners. RewardMe won first place, with the judges stating they were very excited about RewardMe and that we would be the company that they try to meet immediately.
We’re very excited to continue to deliver excellent innovation in the Online2Offline industry and bring the powers of online Social CRMs into retail stores.
