Innovations and quick pivots just keep coming from companies in the Localogy ecosystem to help SMBs getting hammered by the COVID crisis. We’re doing our best to catalog these new products, pricing structures, partnerships, and service models that were either designed for the moment or just happened to be the right solution at the right time. Here are some fresh developments.
Zoho’s Bigin Targets the “S” in SMB
Zoho is a company with roots in CRM but ambitions to be the “operating system” for small businesses.
It’s new CRM product Bigin may not have been built as a response to COVID, but it’s well-timed for a moment when small businesses are pinching pennies.
Bigin is not part of Zoho One, a smorgasbord of small business apps that includes Zoho CRM. Instead, Bigin acts as a set of CRM training wheels for SMBs at $7 per month, per user. Zoho’s expectation appears to be that Bigin users will shed the training wheels and opt for Zoho’s full-featured CRM as their needs evolve.
Web.com Teams Up with 1-800-Accountants
Web.com and 1-800-Accountants, which is owned by Network Solutions, have partnered to offer small business customers access to a team of online accounts. The premise is to give time-starved SMBs affordable access to complex accounting services.
This rollout is also indirectly related to SMB crisis. It’s an economical solution arriving at the peak of a contraction hitting small business hardest.
“We are thrilled to join forces with 1-800Accountant, one of the nation’s largest virtual accounting firms, to provide our small business customers with the tools they need to re-open and grow their business,” said Sharon Rowlands, president and CEO of Web.com Group.
A more direct COVID angle comes from helping customers with Small Business Disaster Loan applications.
PayPal’s Easy Contactless Solution
Online and mobile payments are having a moment during the crisis. And touchless payment options getting the most attention.
PayPal has enabled QR code payments through its app in 28 markets. This lets merchants adopt contactless payments without purchasing additional hardware.
Customers can make purchases with the feature by scanning a QR code that has been printed out or is presented on another screen.
DoorDash Supports Social Distancing with Location Tracking
Food delivery platform DoorDash is using mobile location data to support contactless carryout.
According to Mobile Payments Today, DoorDash is using the data to alert restaurants when carryout customers are approaching. This allows restaurants to time curbside delivery handoffs more precisely and reduces wait times. This helps restaurants manage workflow while improving customer experience. It also supports social distancing. One catch is that the feature requires consumer opt-in.
DoorDash also released a user survey that shows, big surprise, consumers are ordering more takeout during the quarantine. The survey found 56% of consumers are ordering more takeout. The biggest adopters are in the 35-54 age bracket.
Additionally, 44% cite cost as the reason they prefer pickup over delivery. The survey targeted customers who had used DoorDash at least once in the past 60 days.
