Odds are that the number of reviews you have written is a small fraction of the ones you have read. Whether it’s a lack of time or convenient technology, us average consumers seldom share valuable feedback to small businesses, leaving (often public facing) reviews to the extremely satisfied or dissatisfied customers.
This distorted view can leave both small businesses and the customers who use them with an inaccurate perception of how good things may actually be going. Add onto that the time and costs involved of implementing an automated customer feedback system (Yelp, Customer Lobby, etc.) and you’ve got a large number of owners asking big questions about how to effectively monitor the life-blood of his/her small business.
This is a pain that I know all to well, as I have managed my dad’s small business’ customer satisfaction reporting for the past ten years. It’s a hairy mess, and I think we’re actually doing it well!
That’s why when I met Joe (co-founder of Elevate) and heard about his solution, I was pretty excited. He and his team have built an effective way to gather feedback that is easy and affordable for small business owners, while at the same time engaging for the average consumer. But enough from me; here’s Joe’s perspective on the subject…
Q: Joe, where did Elevate come from? How did you get started?
A: The idea for Elevate started over three years ago as the result of a phone call with a small restaurant operator. He wanted a better way to measure the customer experience in his restaurants and was frustrated because he couldn’t afford our full-service offering, or our competitors for that matter. Add onto that, Survey Monkey wasn’t meeting his specific needs as a restaurant operator with multiple locations.
Basically, there was no easy and affordable solution for him, and that’s why we started Elevate. Elevate is the first pure customer feedback SaaS product created specifically for restaurants and retailers.
Q: Great! Any major successes to date?
A: We recently secured $500k in seed capital, which will be used to fuel the expansion of our sales and digital marketing efforts worldwide. We’re also finalist in the MN Cup, having just won the High Tech Division.
Q: Congrats! Where do you see Elevate one year from now?
A: We see Elevate as the clear market leader in customer feedback surveys for small to mid-size restaurants, retailers and hotels. I truly believe that we are poised to disrupt the bigger-end of the market with our easier and more affordable solution; that also better meets the needs of the modern small business owner/operator.
You are on your way. Keep up the great work!
If you’d like to know more about Elevate, and perhaps give them some feedback, you’ll want to join us at the next Beta.mn event on Sept 9th. Over 250 guests have registered, but there’s room for just a few more. Get your tickets, here.
