MarTech360 Interview With Ken Rapp, CEO and Co-founder of Blustream

“The buyer’s journey across all industries is commoditized, and the only way a business can compete is by offering unique, thoughtful, and engaging customer experiences.”

Hi, Ken, could you tell us about your professional journey so far?

I’ve been super lucky to work with incredible people in my career.  You’d probably call me an “unmet needs” entrepreneur, identifying real problems in large markets and building innovative solutions to address the needs.

Blustream is an excellent example where there is a $100B Customer Experience space, that primarily provides solutions in the promotion and eCommerce areas.  We are laser-focused on after-sale product experiences, the “owner’s journey” throughout the entire lifecycle of a product.  We’ve unlocked the win-win-win for Brands-Retailers-Consumers which is driving revenue and market share for physical goods and services.

What challenges did the COVID-19 pandemic pose for you and your team?

Like everyone else, the complete shift to a remote workforce was a bit scary to start.  Fortunately, our culture has been of empowerment, family first, and customer delight, and so the shift actually has been an excellent growth opportunity for our entire team.

We already had employees focused on DEI and culture, so when the COVID-19 pandemic became a priority, we engaged our entire employee base around how to keep our families safe, create a remote-empowered work environment, and keep the business growing.  There certainly were some challenges and good healthy debates, but I’m delighted to share that we continue to grow and build momentum even with the added uncertainty Covid has created.

What sets Blustream Corporation apart from the competition?

Traditional SMS marketing tools are not built for successful product experiences, they’re built for promotion. Blustream is uniquely focused, and purpose-built for after-sale product experiences by enabling businesses to engage with their customers in an active dynamic dialogue around their product usage, lifestyle, and behaviors. By focusing communications on product unboxing and ongoing care, businesses can thoughtfully cross-sell and upsell like never before, increasing brand loyalty, retention, and revenue.

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How, according to you, has commercialization evolved and will evolve in the coming years?

Well, clearly online buying and eCommerce are here to stay, providing incredible flexibility and simplicity for customers to evaluate alternative products, prices, and other people’s experiences.  The problem – it’s so easy to search for information about a product, that the entire process is commoditized, making it much harder to differentiate a brand’s or retailer’s “special value”.  We believe the next step lies with after-sale customer experiences with their products.

Can you explain how Commercialization and Marketing are different from each other?

Commercialization is the exciting point when a company brings its product to market, and marketing is the combination of efforts that announces and demonstrates the value of your product to your market.

According to you, how can improving customer experience result in revenue growth?

The buyer’s journey across all industries is commoditized, and the only way a business can compete is by offering unique, thoughtful, and engaging customer experiences. When a business can connect directly with their customers in a meaningful way to help them solve problems they experience, or enjoy products more, that’s the type of experience that builds trust, loyalty, and repeat purchases. We believe the new frontier is with the owners-journey.

Do you think Marketing and Sales Automation have an impact on the sales funnel of a business?

Absolutely! Without marketing and sales automation businesses are unable to compete or scale, even at a basic level. Furthermore, until Blustream, it has been impossible to automate a meaningful customer experience after the sale of a product.

Leveraging Blustream in a business that is committed to enhancing customer experiences with marketing automation will only create additional efficiencies that drive revenue and success. By having product-owner data at your fingertips, more focused marketing programs can be deployed. With data, new levels of product and business strategies can be transformative to brands and retailers.

Why is after-sale product experience important and how does it result in more conversions?

Great question.  There are two very specific moments when after-sale product experiences are critical, with a new product owner/beginner and with ongoing care/maintenance.  Imagine a product you’ve purchased for the first time, you “unbox it”, and then forget all the things you either read online or the salespeople told you.  Now imagine that you could easily scan a QR code that thanks you for your purchase but also walks you through (using text messaging) how to set up, start using, and enjoy your new product.

The same goes for care/maintenance.  There are hundreds of touchpoints in product owner’s journeys that create excellent, value-added engagement between brands, retailers, and consumers.  This trusted relationship drives brand loyalty and after-market revenue because the messages all have a purpose, in context with the owner’s needs.  Blustream’s customers routinely see double-digit conversions on recommendations.

Could you name one other CEO that you would like to see featured here?

Jason Craparo, CEO, HIO.

Any advice you would like to give to the budding entrepreneurs out there?

Now is an amazing time to be an entrepreneur.  Find your passion, build your vision, and then surround yourself with people who believe in you.  Then go for it!

Thanks, Ken!