Flok (company)

flok
Subsidiary
Industry Mobile, Apps, Chatbots, Loyalty Programs
Founded 2011 (2011)
Headquarters New York City
Parent Wix.com
Website flok.com

flok (formerly Loyalblocks)[1] is an American tech startup based in New York City that provides marketing solutions such as chatbots/AI,[2] customer loyalty programs, mobile apps and CRM services to local businesses.[3][4][5][6]

In January 2017, the company was acquired by Wix.com.[7]

Background

flok was founded in 2011 by Ido Gaver and Eran Kirshenboim and has offices in Tel Aviv, Israel.[8] In May 2013, flok secured a $9 million Series A Round from General Catalyst Partners with participation from Founder Collective and existing investor Gemini Israel Ventures.[9] In total, flok has raised over $18 million in venture capital in three rounds.[10][11][12]

In May 2014, flok announced a self-service loyalty platform for SMBs to build their own programs with beacon integration. At that time, approximately 40,000 businesses were using the service.[13] In 2016, flok released a turnkey chatbot service for local businesses,[14][15] and was featured in AdWeek for developing the first "weed bot" chatbot for a California cannabis business.[16]

Services

flok offers an eponymous customer-facing app[17] that consumers use to receive rewards and deals form partner businesses,[18] and a flok business app for merchants to manage the platform.[19] Both are available for iOS and Android operating systems. flok's main products center around customer loyalty and rewards. The platform offers a digital punch card, proximity marketing, push messaging and CRM services in addition to its chatbots and AI features.[20]

flok provides partner businesses with beacons that can locate customers and verify store visits.[21] As of July 2016, flok had a 4-star rating on Merchant Maverick review site.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Your next loyalty ‘punch card’ will be driven by AI". VentureBeat. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "Flok uses Bluetooth and chatbots to lure people inside thousands of small businesses". VentureBeat. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Council, Forbes Communications. "How Conversational UX And The Internet Of Things Are Changing The Way We Communicate". Forbes. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  4. ↑ "Should Your Business Create an App?". American Express OPEN Forum. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Small Business Loyalty Programs : flok". Trend Hunter. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "Loyalty Is Not Enough — It’s All About Customer Relationship Management Now". Geomarketing. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (19 January 2017). "Wix buys Flok to add loyalty and mobile CRM to its business tools". TechCrunch. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Zimmerman, Eilene. "LoyalBlocks Simplifies Mobile App Creation for Small Merchants". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  9. ↑ http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/05/23/nyc-based-loyalblocks-raises-9m-for-its-automated-mobile-loyalty-program/#gref
  10. ↑ Taylor, Colleen. "LoyalBlocks Lands $9 Million Led By General Catalyst To Scale Out Its Mobile-Based Loyalty Program". TechCrunch. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  11. ↑ "Flok company profile on CrunchBase". CrunchBase. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  12. ↑ "Your next loyalty ‘punch card’ will be driven by AI". VentureBeat. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  13. ↑ http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/225373/loyalblocks-adds-beacon-to-self-serve-loyalty-plat.html
  14. ↑ http://venturebeat.com/2016/07/26/flok-uses-bluetooth-and-chatbots-to-lure-people-inside-thousands-of-small-businesses/
  15. ↑ http://marketingland.com/flok-wants-bring-chatbots-small-business-masses-186056
  16. ↑ "This California Marijuana Dispensary Is Using Bots to Understand Customers' Preferences". Adweek. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  17. ↑ "flok - get rewarded on the App Store". App Store (iOS). Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  18. ↑ http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/startup-loyalblocks-helps-small-businesses-zap-deals-rewards-customers-smartphones-article-1.1154135
  19. ↑ "flok business on the App Store". App Store (iOS). Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  20. ↑ http://streetfightmag.com/2016/07/26/flok-launches-chatbots-to-bolster-customer-engagement-for-local-businesses/
  21. ↑ "Beacons 101: What Smart Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Need to Know | Payment Week". Payment Week. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "Flok Review - Merchant Maverick". Merchant Maverick. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
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