Perka
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Portland, OR & New York City, United States |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) | Alan Chung, Robert Bethge, Robert Coury, Joe Stelmach, Jay Harlow |
| Employees | 60 |
| Website | perka.com |
| Type of site | Loyalty Marketing |
| Available in | English |
| Launched | April 2011 |
Perka is a digital loyalty marketing platform that was launched in April 2011. An alternative to traditional paper and plastic card-based incentive programs, Perka provides interactive loyalty marketing solutions for businesses. The technology that Perka is built upon works on mobile phones via app or SMS (text messaging) and allows merchants to reward customers for frequent purchases. Perka also serves as a direct-marketing platform and analytics tool.[1] Perka fits into the category of mobile loyalty, a modern type of loyalty program.
The company is headquartered in Portland, OR and New York City.
Market Position
In 2013, Perka was listed in Fast Company's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Local review.[2] Expansion both domestically and internationally - including Canada, the U.K., Latin America, Australia, and Africa - has registered Perka as a notable company in digital marketing.[3][4] With the introduction of enterprise features in mid-2013, including a full API, Perka integrates with national brands such as Virbac’s More Smiles Program, regional brands such as The Melt, and more than 1,000 other businesses.[5] First Data, the global payment processing company, acquired Perka in October 2013. Perka now operates as an autonomous subsidiary and is run by the same executives and product-development team as when the company was founded.[6]
One major differentiator among loyalty software relates to what actions a customer can earn rewards for. Some offer rewards for visiting a store - without the requirement of making a purchase - while others, including Perka, reward customers only when a purchase is validated at the point of sale.[7] Originally designed primarily for coffee shops with a “buy 10 get 1 free” model similar to Starbucks' rewards program which is one of the most prominent digital loyalty programs in the US,[8] Perka has since expanded and now also offers a flexible points-based version that is geared toward more diverse types of businesses.[9]
Founders
CEO Alan Chung is a serial entrepreneur with twenty years of experience creating software companies. Chung was formerly the CEO of Zenbe, a web-based email suite which was acquired by Facebook in 2010.[10] Prior to Zenbe, Chung founded iAmaze, an early web application development tool which was acquired by AOL in 2006. Before that, Chung co-founded Lighthouse Design which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1996.
Other founding partners include Robert Bethge, Rob Coury, Jay Harlow, and Joe Stelmach.[11]
References
- ↑ TechCrunch "Bringing Punch Cards Online, Perka Launches A Nifty Loyalty Platform For Small Businesses"
- ↑ Fast Company "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Local"
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal "Perka Celebrates Two-Year Anniversary of Fast-Growing Mobile Marketing and Customer Loyalty Platform"
- ↑ The New York Times: Small Business Blog "A Customer Loyalty Program"
- ↑ getperka.com/where Map
- ↑ Wall Street Journal Digital Technology "First Data Acquires Cardless Customer Loyalty Startup Perka"
- ↑ Entrepreneur “4 Apps for Increasing Customer Loyalty”
- ↑ Business Week “Starbucks Expands Its Loyalty Program to Grocery Stores”
- ↑ Yahoo Finance “Perka Rolls Points-Based Mobile Loyalty Service for Retail Business”
- ↑ Cnet "Facebook acquired start-up assets for mail overhaul"
- ↑ Fast Company "Here Comes a Regular"