Company: On The Spot Systems
Website: www.surveyonthespot.com
Founders: Geoff Palmer and Ken Kimmel
Headquarters: Newton, Massachusetts
Year Founded: 2009
Employees: 6
Investors: Kepha Partners, Angel Street Capital, a&g Ventures and Mike Sheehan
Twitter: @surveyonthespot
Facebook: SurveyOnTheSpot
Blog: www.surveyonthespot.com/blog
By Ken Kimmel, co-founder and president
At On The Spot Systems, based in Newton, Mass., we are the leader in location-specific, real-time worldwide mobile surveys. Using smartphones and tablet technology, we have created an elegantly simple way for businesses to leverage mobile technology to receive location-specific data which enables them to make better business decisions. Our Survey on the Spot feedback tool is a cost effective platform for capturing real-time customer and employee feedback, obtaining field data, building email lists, and implementing marketing research programs.
Along with Geoff Palmer, I co-founded On The Spot Systems in 2009. While this is my first entrepreneurial endeavor, Geoff is well versed in developing and implementing innovate business and strategic solutions. I graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in Management. Prior to On the Spot Systems, I spent over 13 years at Dunkin Donuts’ and Baskin-Robbins, where I served as SVP, GM of Baskin-Robbins U.S. and Chief Marketing Officer of Dunkin’ Donuts. Prior to Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts, I was a consultant and the interim chief operating officer at US Trails as well the Business Unit General Manager for Pepsi Bottling Group.
Geoff Palmer describes himself as a ‘Serial Entrepreneur’, since he has extensive experience in operations management, marketing, technology product design and development. Geoff graduated Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. His most recent ventures prior to On The Spot Systems involved the building and selling of companies, including Information Marketing Businesses to Simplex and Nurse.com to Tenet Healthcare. In addition to co-founding On The Spot Systems, Geoff was also the co-founder of uLocate, a startup that became WHERE, Inc., and was eventually acquired in 2011 by PayPal.
A growing leader in the industry, we differentiate ourselves from competitors because On The Spot Systems provides managers with real-time feedback from customers and employees. Unlike Survey On The Spot, which is accessible at any time for the customer’s convenience, traditional paper surveys often receive minimal participation resulting in inadequate consumer feedback. Not only are customers less likely to participate in a paper survey, but most of the feedback is read weeks after the customer was there. This is an issue, because if a customer has an unfavorable experience, the issue cannot be addressed in a timely manner. Analyzing data from paper surveys is time consuming and costly as well. Our Survey On The Spot solution enables managers to receive immediate feedback from customers or employees to gain insights into how well their business is operating as well as instant management alerts based on specific survey responses. Data from customers is also directly analyzed and stored online in a matter of minutes versus weeks. By building partnerships with companies such as Constant Contact, Fishbowl and The Customer Connection, we provide more than just surveys. Our platform can help their clients build their email lists, enabling them to strengthen relationships with clientele and to cater to their businesses marketing needs.
On The Spot Systems’ technology is applicable across almost every industry—including restaurants, healthcare, fitness centers, hospitality, salons, market research, education, and retail. The beauty of Survey On The Spot is that it can be easily customized to fit all size businesses—from large established corporations to small businesses and start-ups: the largest chain in the convenience retailing industry, 7-Eleven uses Survey On The Spot for field data collection. Not Your Average Joe’s, a 15-unit casual dining chain in the northeast, saw a 566 percent increase in completed guest satisfaction surveys in 2011 after switching to On The Spot Systems. Not Your Average Joe’s also added 40,000 new names to its email marketing list in its first year working with On The Spot Systems. The Ninety Nine Restaurants, a casual pub chain in New England and New York, relies on Survey On The Spot for internal taste panels, consumer tests, and for new product evaluations.
We recently signed a deal with Luby’s Cafeteria chain, to provide the brand with its signature customer feedback tool, Survey On The Spot. Luby’s is a popular, always-fresh cafeteria chain with 95 locations throughout Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Additionally, we’re on the verge of signing agreements with a number of other foodservice and consumer packaged goods companies.
We have even entered the TV business, as On The Spot Systems provides Boston-and Providence-based ‘Phantom Gourmet’ viewers with opportunities to critique segments of the popular New England television franchise.
On The Spot Systems has continued to expand our influence through strategic partnerships with entrepreneurship organizations like twelvebytwelve.org as well as marketing, foodservice and hospitality organizations. We’ve signed up innovative advertising agency Allen & Gerritsen to redesign our website, manage our advertising, media and generate publicity. We also cemented a partnership with Goodwin Hospitality & Associates in May. Goodwin will spread the On The Spot Systems message to their existing customer base and sales teams. We also recently inked a deal with PepsiCo Foodservice, Inc., thereby becoming a preferred vendor for Pepsi-serving restaurants, stadiums, theme parks, colleges and universities.
Coinciding with these partnerships, we have experienced significant growth over the past six months. Since the company received initial Seed funding in January, 2012, we have added three full-time employees in the sales, marketing, and customer service functions.
On The Spot Systems is a company on the rise for one simple reason. We provide businesses with something they desperately need—access to better data. The data is location-specific and is available in real-time—ensuring business decisions can be made…On the spot.
On The Spot Systems – www.surveyonthespot.com
