A new West Bend-based business is being launched Monday that will break ground on how businesses advertise. Robert Tye, a millennial and a transplant from Essex, has figured out the age-old marketing question of how to get customers into a store or establishment.
Tye is the Founder and CEO of Proximal; a free app that combines marketing strategy, GPS and cell-phone technology.
“My program allows businesses to contact their customers in real time,” said Tye. “Business owners can offer deals and customers can find them immediately just by turning on their cell phone.”
Tye is congenial and a fast talker; he attributes his speed of conversation to excitement about Proximal. “When I was in banking I’d work with a lot of businesses that had that spark,” he said. “But when they’d fail and their business close it was because their advertising wouldn’t work.”
For a consumer standpoint Proximal pulls in a signal advertising a sale or an event. “You can be anywhere and get a real-time ping on your phone for deals like a local hotel offering 20% off a room, a sale on shoes or a concert that’s about to start,” Tye said.
The advertising hook – everything is instant.
“This is a marketing tool like no other,” said Laura Leszczynski, a marketing expert for the last 26 years. “Proximal is what every business owner has been looking for. I’ve done projects and fliers and ads but at the end of the day there’s no way to measure success.”
One of the key components of Proximal, according to Leszczynski, is the ability the program gives business owners to “modify, adapt and respond.”
“This is a way to dance with real-time activity and play in the space of strategy,” she said while giving the example of a restaurant giving a “ShoutOut” on a 2-for-1 deal. “Proximal will help business owners understand consumer behavior and allow them to reach new customers.”
Trademarked terms equal success
Tye has spent the last two years developing Proximal, with the creation of a business plan, website, and he’s already trademarked his own vocabulary.
A ‘ShoutOut’ is a limited-time offer, a coupon, or event designed to get people through the front door. Tye gives the example of a local pub experiencing a slow Thursday night but then posting a ShoutOut for a free game of pool or a buy-one get-one deal.
“There’s no way I can get the word out in the paper in a timely fashion,” he said. “If I share a post on Facebook the message can get lost between baby pictures and vacation photos. If I put it on Twitter I only hit the people following me and if I put it on Groupon it takes time to get the transaction approved.”
Proximal, according to Tye, is a very affordable form of advertising that doesn’t get lost. “Geo-targeted cash,” he said.
The launch is Monday
Two years of hard work and team building comes to fruition as Proximal launches Monday, Aug. 15. There’s a free starter kit to all new businesses signing up to promote Proximal. Businesses can choose a variety of packages including a starter level at $29.99 a month to a Premier package at $79.99 a month.
A short-term special features a Basic Package for 3 months at $119.97 with a bonus 3 months free. There’s also a special Premier Account at $239.97 for 3 months with a bonus 3 months free including service coverage over a 30-mile radius.
Customer friendly
From a consumer standpoint Proximal means saving money. The free app is already available on the App Store. “Click the app to bring up the map on your iPhone or Smartphone and view the participating businesses,” said Tye.
Forgetting a redeemable coupon at home will be a thing of the past as Tye said businesses that offer coupons will just be a simple click on your phone.
Businesses buying in
Staff at Proximal have been actively pre-selling ad packages and the response from businesses has been a mix of eager and excited to tentative but trusting.
Deb Slais runs Over the Moon, a gift shop in Barton.
“As far as Proximal goes, it seemed like something that would appeal to that segment of the population that is on their phones all the time,” said Slais. “Being a fairly new store I am always open to trying new things and Rob made the launch price too good to pass up.”
Other businesses that have jumped on board have praised the affordability of the ad packages, the hands-on customer service to help businesses with marketing ideas and they’ve already come to realize that the future of business growth will be tied to the Internet and technology.
Tye is realistic. “I’m not out to put print advertising out of business, but with Proximal there is no printing cost, there’s no leaving a coupon at home and advertising is immediate,” he said.
Find more about Proximal by logging onto www.getproximal.com