Newly Merged Company Targets Influencers That Can Elevate Brand Loyalty

Loyalty marketers want to know every specific step along the customer journey so they can better impact the process in a positive way that instills brand loyalty. Identifying real-life influencers at all stages of the customer journey can boost a brand’s customer insights and can become invaluable.

This week Experticity and ReadyPulse announced their merger to create the industry’s first influencer company that combines an award-winning suite of tools for brand marketers to tap into more than a million real-life influencers at all stages of the buying journey including retail, online, and mobile.

The newly formed company showcases a combined client list of more than 750 top consumer brands including Stance, The North Face, Purina, and Nickelodeon. Experticity’s community of more than 1 million active influencers, including retail associates and category professionals, will now be partnered with ReadyPulse’s leading enterprise SaaS platform for influencer recruiting and management. Together, the new company provides consumer brands the first scalable and turnkey solution to build deeper, ongoing relationships with genuine people who are trusted for their recommendations on what to buy – wherever they are, online or offline.

Loyalty360 caught up with Experticity CEO Tom Stockham to find out more about this compelling new merger.

How will this merger impact the marketing community in a unique and innovative way?

All brands are having real and very serious conversations about the realities of an “ad-free future”. Ad blocking, the growing social splinternet, and the ability to buy anywhere – are very real trends disrupting the idea of a brand led marketing message. Your brand is not what you say it is, but what others say it is.  So how do you get the right people talking about your brand?

Our company is committed to finding people that are passionate influencers in their category. The people who can’t stop talking about the latest trends, the latest product, and want others to love the category as much as they do. Real-life influence that consumers trust. The reality is these people are having conversations in lots of places: Offline, at point of sale, in the field, and through social. Yet there are no solution brands to find these people at scale or have a meaningful relationship with them. We want to change that. A community of individuals who truly impact what consumers buy. Powered by real technology to give them the tools and insights needed to be a credible channel. 

What should marketers know about micro-influencers and their potential impact on customer engagement/customer loyalty?

Reach is an interesting metric. But it is not the only metric. Trust, passion, and credibility are becoming the important metrics in determining your influencers. Our most recent research shows that these real life influencers are having 22x more conversations each week on what to buy than an average consumer; 83% of consumers that receive a buying recommendation actually act on it. What an incredible channel for your brand. Celebrities have their place but we find that more and more brands (we work with over 750 currently) are actively adding this new channel to their marketing mix. 
 
How does this new company aim to be a frontrunner in this space?

You would be hard pressed to find two companies more passionate than we are about making this a transformative company in the industry. We are united about building this new channel the right way. With a focus on trust and credibility between all parties – brands, influencers, and consumers. We are investing in finding the right people – which we believe to be the largest network of more than one million of these real life influencers already. And we are now powering it with incredible ReadyPulse technology – which is an industry leader in this space. We already work with 750 of the largest consumer brands. As far we know, there is no company out there with this combination of scale, and relentless focus on creating a new marketing channel that can transform commerce. 

What will this merged company mean for the potential of loyalty marketers seeking to raise their respective brand identities?

The need is real, but there are not solutions out there that really make this a credible channel. Smart marketers will be looking for a few key things from influencer marketing: Proximity to the consumer and authenticity/trust in the relationship between the influencer and the consumer. You combine that combination with real technology platforms that the insights needed to be a credible channel. 

That’s what we want to bring to the table. The days of non-disclosure are over. The idea that we control the buying journey is accepted as being dead. You have to get the right people talking about your brand. There is a new reality of marketing and we are excited to build it. 

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