Sparkbase, which is one of the largest processors of branded loyalty cards, has traditionally functioned as a white-label software provider that enables businesses to offer card-based rewards. But in recent years, the company has also been inching towards the consumer end of the rewards equation.
Earlier this month, the company launched its new mobile rewards application Paycloud, which allows small and medium-sized merchants to offer and track mobile loyalty programs to customers in the vicinity of their shop. Plenty of companies have been working on consumer rewards products in this space, but Paycloud is beating many of them to the market by using existing mobile technology that doesn’t require merchants to purchase NFC-enabled chips or antennae.
Street Fight caught up with the company’s founder and CEO Doug Hardman recently to talk about Sparkbase’s approach to scaling local merchant acquisition and why the company’s recent move into the mobile wallet space may have a year or two headstart on the competition.
There are a lot of companies who are trying to break into the mobile rewards space. What makes Sparkbase’s Paycloud different?
We’ve been doing loyalty rewards and gift card programs for about seven years, so we have a good understanding of what merchants want. We have a high focus on what the merchant needs, what the merchant is asking for, and we do a lot of testing and measuring to make sure our programs are effective in that space.
So, what do merchants want?
Merchants want to offer loyalty programs, but putting them on a card is expensive. We had put together these programs that had one universal piece of plastic, but the adoption was poor because there wasn’t any identity behind that for the merchant. The merchant didn’t have any incentive to offer that program because it didn’t help promote their brand. The whole point of a rewards card is to have a little billboard in your pocket saying, “Annie’s bagels is my favorite bagel shop.”
Read the full interview here.