For Leif Baradoy, president/CEO/founder of Kiind, prepaid gift cards are wasteful.
“They waste time, money, and energy,” Baradoy told Loyalty 360. “Kiind solves the problem of gift card waste by providing a smart, easy-to-use enterprise gift sending platform for professionals and organizations.”
Kiind customers can select and send personalized email gift cards to their entire lists quickly and easily. What’s more, they do not pay for a gift until it is redeemed by their recipient.
“We remove the waste of unwanted or unused gifts while improving the gift giving experience,” Baradoy explained. “Each gift is tracked, and we notify our customers when gifts have been redeemed. This provides an opportunity for follow-up and further engagement. In turn, recipients feel appreciated, building stronger relationships between our customers and their stakeholders.”
Baradoy said Kiind helps businesses reward their employees and customers with items and gift cards.
“You can easily send personalized offers to multiple contacts, but you only pay if and when the recipient chooses to use the rewards,” he explained. “Kiind’s patent-pending technology allows you to defer when you pay for rewards and gifts, thereby saving you money.”
Baradoy said his company helps make giving a more gratifying experience for givers and recipients.
“We exist to create a positive gift experience for everyone using our platform,” he explained.
Kiind launched a private beta version of its product in 2012 based on the concept of gift credits. Customers could send gift campaigns and then receive a credit for any gifts that were not used within a period of time.
“Customer response to the next evolution of our product was very encouraging,” Baradoy said. “Our customer base grew rapidly, media coverage followed, and people started using Kiind routinely. Now, Kiind is working with global brands, as well as local businesses, to make gifting more gratifying for people and businesses across North America. Ultimately, Kiind is a relationship-building tool.”
How does it work?
After creating an account, the user can select one or more marketplace gifts. Gifts range from coffee at a local shop to products from Amazon.com. By selecting more than one gift, senders can give recipients a choice in their gift. Next, sending upload import or manually add their contact list. After writing a personal message and adding their own brand elements, the user can send the gift to as few or as many people as they'd like.
The recipient is sent the gift email.
With the ability to set campaign expiry dates, the gift offer can expire. However, recipients receive reminder emails to encourage redemption. The giver does not pay for the gift if it expires or is declined by the recipient.
Kiind just launched across the U.S. in July 2013 and currently has 10,000 users, along with 100 vendors in 2,500 store fronts.
“We're about to launch across Canada with some major brands,” Baradoy said.
Baradoy believes his company is unique.
“We’re best because we are a digital gift card mall, but with a pay-later feature,” he said. “Along with campaign-specific metrics and the option to give recipients choice, this is what makes Kiind a win-win.”
Many Kiind customers use it to send birthday and holiday gifts.
“We’ve found that our customers like being able to give the recipient a choice, but also the pay later approach,” Baradoy said. “The recipient feels better appreciated and the company isn’t wasting money on gifts.”