TORONTO, ONTARIO — (Marketwire) — 08/08/11 — Finding the best value in group discounting is maybe most difficult for small business. Small business owners in Canada have learned over time that the benefits of group discount can be mixed and don-t provide a sustainable approach to building business. Now a “born in Canada” digital marketing platform, CentrSource is promising a better alternative and launching a contest on Facebook to promote themselves as the better alternative.
Group discount models routinely offer discounts ranging 50-95 percent off at restaurants, spas, clothing stores and similar small business operations. The remaining revenue is then split with the group discount marketing platform, leaving the retailer with little or no margin in the sales generated.
“Small business owners face enormous challenges every day to market their business and reach new customers,” said John Kiru, Executive Director of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Associations (TABIA). “Getting your business marketed online is a challenge for many and having to do it with razor thin margins is not a choice that works well for everyone.”
Created by Canadian founder, Bob Westrope, CentrSource is a new digital marketing platform that empowers business of all types and sizes to generate sales and qualify leads by letting them create and control the type of promotion they promote to customers and manage their own budget in a unique “pay for results” approach. To highlight the unique benefits of this alternative model, CentrSource has launched a promotion that enters business owners in a competition to create their own ad on CentrSource with consumers voting for their favourite ad to award a prize of $15,000 and 6 months free advertising.
“From our perspective CentrSource is the better choice for local businesses across Canada that doesn-t box business owners into the “one size fits all” approach common among our competitors,” said Bob Westrope, Founder of CentrSource. “CentrSource offers small business an online marketplace where they can compete and succeed on their own terms. Our Win Big contest is a great way to get introduced to this concept and win a big deal for your business in the process.”
The CentrSource Win Big contest is open to any small business in Canada between now and August 31, 2011 simply by registering on CentrSource and creating an ad for consumers to vote on. The ad that generates the most votes on the CentrSource network will be given $15,000 in prize money and a 6 month term of unlimited free advertising on the CentrSource network. CentrSource is a network that not only brings together buyers and sellers but made available in Canada through media publishers such as Corus Entertainment, the Pattison Group, CBC, AOL Canada and many more.
Westrope believes that the appeal of CentrSource will be quickly apparent to small business owners who can use the platform to extend the reach of the approach they know works well for their unique business. Of particular importance according to Westrope is the localization features of CentrSource which allow business to target the ads only to consumers in their local area if that-s what they want. When combined with the ability to create an offer that fits best with their business and their circumstance Westrope if confident that small business owners will find the experience preferable to what is offered by the traditional online marketing models.
“When you know what works well for your business you don-t want someone else pre-judging or restricting your options for reaching customers,” says Westrope. “Unlike many group discount platforms, CentrSource won-t limit offers to one per day but instead empowers business and consumers to post and receive as many different types of offers as they want, when they want and not according to some predetermined schedule.”
Because CentrSource is a flexible and open digital marketing platform, it is well qualified to help business create offers that arise from the changing circumstances of everyday business. Small business can use CentrSource to quickly and effectively promote a one day sale or one time promotion that may relate to an unforeseen perishable or opportunity in their business. Because the platform is flexible to timing, content and localization it is ideally suited to meet the needs of small business owners who must manage and capitalize on opportunities as they occur. It is an approach that has attracted the strategic alliance support of Canada Post.
“This unique online advertising capability will deliver value to Canadian businesses on many levels,” says Laurene Cihosky, Senior Vice President, Direct Marketing at Canada Post. “This customizable service will offer enhanced geographical targeting, valuable measurement capabilities and the potential for significant return on investment.”
For Canada Post, entering the online-advertising arena is a natural extension of its business. “We have the experience, brand recognition and network to help businesses connect with their customers, whether it is through physical or electronic channels or a combination of both,” says Cihosky. “By extending our Admail services to include online advertising and CentrSource, we can offer Canadians more choice and flexibility than ever before.”
About CentrSource
CentrSource is a digital marketplace that helps people find the best value on goods and services available from a wide range of local, national and on-line businesses. We connect people with offers that matter to them through a new network of well-known and emerging media.
Strategically aligned with Canada Post, one of Canada-s most trusted and respected organizations, CentrSource allows businesses of all types and sizes to generate sales and qualified leads in keeping with their needs and budgets. Created in Canada, CentrSource is the preferred choice for local business who use the service to profitably engage customers when, where and how they choose. For more details visit .
Contacts:
C2E Consulting
Lars Hansen
416-406-9966
You must be logged in to post a comment Login