EMC Business - What's in a name? If it's Spoonity, there is meaning and value. The name is a combination of "spoon" and "community", reflecting the food-based community value of Ottawa's newest customer loyalty reward program.
Founded by young entrepreneurs Max Bailey and Myron Gomes of Kanata, Spoonity partners with local businesses to solve a common problem with a high tech solution.
Amid a sea of multinational high-tech companies in Ottawa there is a relatively small group of local start-up companies developing cutting-edge technologies.
"Spoonity is poised to redefine the concept of a rewards program for restaurants and cafés," says Myron Gomes.
"Spoonity uses a unique key-fob wireless device that diners can "wave" near a Spoonity reader in the restaurant that tracks reward points. Those points become tasty restaurant rewards such as coffees, lunches, desserts and more. Diners can use that same wireless tag at any restaurant in the Spoonity Community."
It's a win-win for both the customer and the retailer, says Max Bailey.
"Customers enjoy the benefits of rewards for loyalty while businesses benefit from return customers and increased volume."
Spoonity virtually pays for itself by gleaning a commission from sales. There is no direct cost to the customer for joining Spoonity and no cost for retailers to participate.
At present, Max and Myron are working with a handful of local businesses such as Luna Crepes and Café on March Road in Kanata and Gaia Java in Stittsville in a pilot project of the system with plans to expand to more than 20 locations across Ottawa in the coming months.
"We spent most of 2011 researching and planning our business," said Gomes. "Then we had to make the software function properly and now we're into our first pilot phase."
So far, the results have been rewarding for everyone involved. Spoonity is catching on with regular customers and those who appreciate being rewarded for return business.The young businessmen have high hopes for the company, and plan to develop new ideas to keep the concept new and fresh.
It's not surprising for the pair who has been entrepreneurial since an early age.
Max Bailey of Carp, is a winner of an Ottawa Young Entrepreneur Award. Bailey recently graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from Queen's University who started his first business on his family's farm in Carp, at the age of eight.
Myron Gomes of Kanata, is a recent Commerce graduate from the Telfer School of Management at University of Ottawa with six years in the restaurant business. He has excelled in national business competitions placing first in the Entrepreneurship Case at the 2011 JDC competition and in International Marketing at the 2010 Happening Marketing. Through his own family's restaurant, Gomes experienced many of the problems a small business runs into with limited resources.
Both are graduates from All Saints Catholic High School in Kanata.
The company also recently received a $30,000 grant from Coral CEA to develop its unique technology, which is based on Near Field Communication (NFC).
"We're very excited about developing this concept. We are both entrepreneurial and we recognized a need for this service in the local market."
Though the company is focused on Ottawa area locations at present, the partners agree that the concept could easily be expanded into markets coast to coast, and beyond.
"We offer the small retailer the same advantage that large corporate outlets get with their reward programs. We are cost effective and loaded with benefits for both the business and the customer," added Bailey.
"The idea for Spoonity came about as a way for restaurants to get to know their customers better and be able to reach those customers after they had left the restaurant. Spoonity's goal is to bring restaurants and consumers closer using technology to make it as easy and cost effective as possible," said Gomes.
Retailers are free to offer whatever rewards they want in the program, though Spoonity will provide guidelines to help newcomers get the program established. There are three levels to awards, the 'Teaspoon' for occasional users, the 'Tablespoon' for weekly regulars and the 'Big Spoon' for daily customers.
"In a global economy, ingenuity is our advantage," said Gomes. "We are a knowledge based economy and service-based industries are part of the intellectual property services that we can offer to expand outside our country," said Gomes.
"Spoonity can be part of the sales voice of a privately-owned restaurant. The low overhead makes us an affordable vehicle with plenty of benefits."
You can find out more about Spoonity online at www.spoonity.com or visit a participating location and pick up your tag.
Originally Posted on emckanata.ca Please take a moment to check them out!
No comments:
Post a Comment