Bratislava-based CloudTalk, which makes AI-powered software for call centres, has raised a €26m Series B (€20m in equity and €6m in debt) co-led by Dutch CVC KPN Ventures and Budapest-based Lead Ventures.
Customer retention has always been a key business priority. Building a loyal fan base who come back time and time again and spread good words about your brand is crucial to long-lasting success, and this customer loyalty can help generate long-lasting revenue and growth.
It has always been the case, but today, amidst rising costs and economic uncertainty, customer retention and true brand engagement are arguably more important than ever before. As consumers become more hesitant to spend money, especially on new brands, being able to leverage and grow an existing base offers a way to keep ahead of the game. Key industry reports have highlighted this shift including Fortune Business Insights, which stated that “the loyalty management market is forecast to be worth $24B by 2029 due to rising consumer demand for personalised solutions.
More and more often, the way to continue to encourage customers to stay engaged is through offering incentives – and this is what Antavo is supporting businesses to do.
The London-based company has developed a no-code platform that enhances customer retention and loyalty strategy and now its closed a Series A funding round.
The details:
Zoltan Toth, Partner at Euroventures said: “We believe that current market trends of increasing customer acquisition cost, unlimited choice for consumers and the increasing difficulty to acquire relevant consumer data magnifies the importance of customer engagement and loyalty programs. Antavo has tremendous growth potential. We are excited to help the team to grab this opportunity and expand its services globally and meet the challenges of a growing organisation and client base.”
Antavo has been leading the conversation on customer loyalty and retention since 2012. The SaaS startup uses tech to enable brands to experience-based, paid, and lifestyle loyalty programs online, in-store, or on mobile. The aim is to empower brands to connect with their customers in a more impactful, embedded way.
The no-code, API-centric platform lets loyalty and marketing teams run fully custom programs and manage them internally, without IT help.
It comes as businesses are realizing the need to better manage and optimise their loyalty strategy, in order to best capitalize from customer retention in the current economic climate, and, at the same time, businesses need to make sure they are keeping their costs and overheads to a minimum. According to Antavo itself, in its Global Customer Loyalty Report 2022, 82% of businesses plan to double down on loyalty in the next three years.
Attila Kecsmar, Co-Founder and CEO of Antavo said: “All enterprises today need more creative and direct ways to engage their customers beyond transactions to keep their market share, even if the spend is declining precipitously. In the post-pandemic world, loyalty programs are having a renaissance in providing this embedded brand love. Antavo understands this, as do our investors, and we are excited to receive their backing.”
With a focus on rewarding customers for living in accordance with their interests, for example, an activewear and outdoor equipment brand could issue reward points to customers when they complete hikes and climbs, Antavo is enabling a transition from the traditional, transactional, financial-only rewards programs towards programmes that fosters long-lasting loyalty and customer engagement outside of the buying cycle.
Now, with this new funding, the London-based startup will continue reinvesting in its technology for greater omnichannel capabilities and integration with more apps and platforms, while expanding its global presence. In 2022, the company signed major global brand customers including BMW, KFC, Kathmandu and BrewDog, resulting in 3.2X year-on-year growth and a 3-fold increase in headcount.
Rip Curl’s CCO Michael Scot: “At Rip Curl we have identified a pretty major opportunity for us to build the largest and most engaged surfing community in the world. This is what our membership program has been designed to do – and thanks to Antavo we can deliver more personalised messages at scale. We’re thrilled that Antavo is expanding its presence globally as we invest in more innovative ways to ensure our retail brand remains future-fit as we continue to evolve our brand to engage, inspire, educate and entertain our community.”
