Ox&Pen

In some ways, it feels like it’s been just a couple of months. In other ways it feels like it’s been…well, more than that. It’s been an exhilarating ride here at Ox&Pen thus far. A trip to Great America has nothing on this roller coaster we’ve all been on! Yes, we launched just five months ago. But how do you think all those merchants appeared on our platform on that first day? We’ve been working this from the West Loop since last September.

Perhaps the reason it feels like more than a year, is because it’s really been closer to two years since initially conceiving the idea. Here are a few fun facts as to what has transpired in that time:

Concept to wire frames to functioning site & app

• I have taken on a Dutch business partner
• The idea has gone from concept, to wire frames, to production web and mobile apps
• We’re on our fifth version of the mobile app, and have a few tricks up our sleeve as to how to improve it in the near future…Stay tuned!
• The company has grown from five employees to 14
• We inherited a mascot
• The Ox&Pen merchant base has grown rapidly…and continues to do so
  

  Office mascot, Madison!

• Peter’s hair is twice as long
• …and my hair is twice as grey

But in all seriousness, I am proud to be a part of this group. We have talented and motivated people who have really bought into the vision, yet know they have the voice to consistently challenge it to make it better. Do team meetings get somewhat “spirited” amongst the group at times? ABSOLUTELY. However, the one thing we all know is that whatever happens within these walls at our West Loop headquarters is with the intention of improving your experience. Everything we do is to provide our members with the most comprehensive, yet intuitive loyalty program at their fingertips,  and in turn, create loyal customers for our merchants. “Brick by brick,” as we frequently say here.

So, all this happened in just one year? Well, that’s pretty cool…seems like a lot of good stuff in a short amount of time…a lot of bricks, if you will. However, we’ve just begun to scratch the surface and there’s still a long way to go to establish the presence we’d like. We’re just an infant in this space. It will take a lot more 12-14 hour days from the whole team here to get us where we want to be, and to have the reach we will ultimately need to still be standing at the end.

We appreciate the support everyone has given us, and welcome more feedback on how we can improve.

I look forward to what the next year holds.

Continue reading “Has it been a year already? Really?…” »

Let’s talk about universal loyalty programs. Those of us earning frequent flier miles with an airline that is part of an alliance can likely redeem those miles for free flights on any airline in said alliance. The same is true of some credit card loyalty systems; every dollar you spend translates into a point that can be used at one of several merchants within the credit card’s network.

While the above examples truly embody the idea of a universal loyalty program, neither caters to small, local business owners or their patrons. Rather, those programs work best on a bigger scale; their loyalty networks are typically reserved for large, national (or international) chains.

In the very early stages of conceiving what would later become Ox&Pen, I knew supporting local businesses would be one of our critical objectives and that the loyalty component would be a huge driver in achieving that. I knew the network effect of the above mentioned loyalty programs could be extremely powerful for small businesses, but there were challenges in creating this with seemingly disparate neighborhood specialty shops.

Often, if our favorite mom-and-pop shop has its own rewards program, it involves a punch-card, where, you get something free with every 10^th purchase, but rewards can only be redeemed at that location. This system works well for people who live or work nearby. But if a particular vendor is on the other side of town, the effort required to get there 10 times might outweigh the benefit of receiving something for free. In this case, the punch-card loyalty program isn’t really added incentive to visit that store over another, and both the consumer and the merchant miss out.

However, with Ox&Pen, you can earn loyalty points for purchases and social engagement at a card shop near your home on one side of town, for example, and later redeem those points using your smartphone at that new lunch place near your work on the other. You feel good because you are shopping locally and earning loyalty points at the same time. The owner of the card shop is also happy; he gains an incremental sale that otherwise may have gone elsewhere. What a novel concept: creating a “loyal” customer, even if just a one-time shopper.

Not only does Ox&Pen’s model provide its members with plenty of flexibility in how their hard-earned points can be used; but business owners benefit by joining forces with other small, local establishments. As a network, they can much better compete against their big-box rivals in the loyalty game.

Continue reading “Universal loyalty network built for small, local…” »

There is a lot of action in the loyalty space now-a-days. Many entrepreneurs have identified that one thing missing from the omnipresent daily deal sites out there is helping businesses build customer loyalty.

Loyalty programs are nothing new. They’ve been around in some way, shape, or form since commerce began. But perhaps one of the first formal loyalty programs was the Green Stamps program, created by Thomas Sperry and Shelly Hutchinson back in 1896. The basic premise: the more a customer spent at any participating business, the more stamps she receives, and the sooner she would be able to redeem them for rewards.

However, there are loyalty programs sprouting up that have gotten away from this fundamental concept. More and more we are seeing reward programs that don’t take into consideration the transaction itself. For instance, if two friends walk into a merchant and “check in” (the digital version of a loyalty punch card), they would both be rewarded the same amount, even if one of them may spend $50 there and the other, nothing.

Does it make sense for a business owner to equally reward these two people? The customer spending $50 dollars will feel hoodwinked if she knows her budget conscious buddy received the same level of reward. Similarly, as a merchant, which of these two customers would you most like to incentivize to come back to your business?

The last thing any merchant wants is to make an unprofitable customer loyal. Yet, I would argue that the structure of many loyalty programs out there lend themselves to that outcome.

At Ox&Pen, we know there is value in driving someone to a business, so providing incentive for the member to “check in” and get them through the door is in the merchant’s best interest… but it’s just one piece of the puzzle. The goal for that business owner is to then have that member make a purchase… the bigger the better.

Our universal loyalty network is predicated on just this. For each dollar spent, our members receive points that can be redeemed ANYWHERE in our network. The more they spend, the more points they receive. This works out well, because our merchants like it when our members spend money at their establishments… so everyone wins!

While the technological landscape is completely different since the Green Stamps program initiated in 1896, there are timeless aspects of loyalty that are as relevant today as they were back then. Regardless of whether you receive those points via green paper stamps, or scanning a QR code using our smartphone app that then banks your points automatically, the objective is the same… I think Sperry and Hutchinson would agree.

Continue reading “Checking in is just one piece of…” »