Financing For Your Small Business
Apply For Funding Today! | contact@funder.org
|
Posted on Sun, 01/29/2012 - 12:56 AM by
viewed 50 times
Michael McDermott of BashFoo wrote a few days ago: The leaders in online reputation management services, Ratepoint Inc. of Needham, MA reported this afternoon the abrupt shutdown of all operations. In an email that was sent out this afternoon to all “partners, customers and friends” they stated: “RatePoint’s assets and technologies are currently being acquired, and unfortunately this means that all RatePoint accounts will soon be closed. Effective February 2, 2012, all RatePoint services, including Reputation Management, Email Marketing, Surveys, and Product Reviews will be discontinued. Your ability to access your RatePoint account will end at this time.” Although the date of February 2, 2012 was mentioned as the deadline date that accounts could no longer be accessed by customers to retrieve their data, some RatePoint customers are reporting that they are unable to access their accounts now. Poor Communications According to a thread at the Web Hosting Talk forum, some customers were taken by surprise by the news of the closure. They are scrambling to find a replacement for customer reviews. What baffles me is that from the homepage of the RatePoint website, it is still apparently business as usual. There is no notice of the pending closure on the RatePoint homepage, as of this writing on January 28, 2012. You have to dig into the Customer Support center to find the notice of operations discontinuing buried deep, with the date of January 4th on it. Yet over 3 weeks later, there’s nothing on the home page about it. But here’s the worst part: RatePoint made the decision to shut down as early as November 2011, according to this item in their Customer Support database. Yet they seem to have done little to notify customers and — so it would appear — kept accepting new ones in the meantime. A Venture Funded Company Goes Sour RatePoint was venture capital funded. According to a press release back in 2009, the company reported at the time that it had “closed a $10 million Series B round of funding led by Castile Ventures of Waltham, Mass., with participation by existing investors .406 Ventures and Prism VentureWorks.” Which goes to show … venture funding is no guarantee of business success. We reviewed RatePoint back in August 2011 during happier times for the company. Since then, Constant Contact acquired the email marketing portion of the business, leaving the reputation management/reviews piece behind at RatePoint. It’s the reputation management (customer reviews) piece that is shutting down at this time. What Should You Do if You Are a RatePoint Customer? So what should you do if you are a RatePoint customer?
MORE NEWS FROM SMALL BUSINESS TRENDSCan a Gas Tax Fuel Clean Energy Innovation?With gas prices already reaching nearing $4 per gallon in many places, most business owners don’t relish the idea of them rising even further. Yet, some people are still calling for the government to deliberately increase them – by raising the gas tax. What Job Are You Helping Your Customers Do?Marketing is often described in terms of a product life cycle. The development, the launch, continued support, and finally, discontinuation all have specific marketing efforts associated with them. From social contests to reduced prices and giveaways, the emphasis is nearly always on the product or service provided. However, this does not take into account the way that customers actually search for and find products. Small Business Loans and Small Loans to BusinessA few weeks ago, I wrote about the decline in “small loans to business” during the Great Recession and economic recovery that followed. Now I am back to tell you that data on “small business loans” paints an even worse picture of the small business credit markets. As U.S. Small Biz Week Arrives, Are You Stressed or Optimistic?With the arrival of National Small Business Week here in the U.S., a variety of events, beginning yesterday, have been scheduled in Washington D.C. and across the country to recognize the importance of small business to the U.S. economy and to address topics important to small business owners. Just in time, a semi-annual study of American small businesses shows those business owners to be stressed but optimistic. Check out the schedule of national events and hear what leaders and small business owners are saying about issues most important to small business today. Why You Should Read Engagement MarketingEngagement Marketing: How Small Business Wins in a Socially Connected World is the new book about how to get and keep customers by engaging with them. RELATED SMALL BUSINESS NEWSDon’t push when you can pullNo selling required There is a better way of winning new customers than pushing you and your B2B offer at them. Customers love it because they’re buying rather than being sold to. You’ll like it because it feels better than selling and you’ll get more long term business from it. U... You’re the Boss Blog: White House Opposes Small-Business Contracting Provision in Defense BillIn a statement, the administration called higher goals for small-business contracting "laudable but overly ambitious." ... How the 'Little Guy' Can Partner With Big CompaniesIf you're a little guy, there are plenty of ways to partner with a much larger company. Here are seven. ... "Scott Thompson Was A Terrible CEO" And Other Snippets From Fred WilsonAs always, Fred Wilson had a lot of insights share this morning at TechCrunch's Disrupt conference in New York. Here are some of the highlights from his talk with the always barbed Mike Arrington:... SRDC Is Offering Loans Through RLFSouthwest Regional Development Commission (SRDC) is offering loans through revolving loan fund (RLF). Its purpose is to have a direct financing tool making loan funds available so as to assist in retail, manufacturing, and distribution businesses. |
Get funding to grow your small businessLet us help you find the best financing option for your business needs.
Stay up-to-date with our small business newsletterTweet, +1, and Like FunderFollow Us  |
|
Copyright © 2012 RBF Management, LLC | Lighter Capital Network™ Privacy Policy | contact@funder.org |
One of our readers alerted us that RatePoint, the customer review software solution that many eCommerce and other businesses used on their websites, is shutting down. The RatePoint homepage is still operational as of this writing. But some customers report being unable to access their accounts, or report what they consider poor treatment.