We are delighted to announce that we have invested in Cloutly, a technology solution built specifically for SMBs, allowing them to translate customer experiences into online reviews.
What does Cloutly do?
Cloutly is a SaaS solution that empowers SMBs to take control of their reputation, with a personal (rather than transactional) approach to review collection, customer insights and reputation management.
Cloutly’s all-in-one platform doubles the success rate of business review requests by leveraging video-first campaigns (cutting through the clutter). while providing a centralised place for businesses to respond to and showcase their reviews from dozens of online channels (such as Google, Facebook, Tripadvisor, etc). It also tracks its successes and shortcomings against local competitors using Cloutly’s proprietary Insights Engine.
Why did Scalare invest?
The problem
SMBs rely on customer reviews to grow their business, but soliciting reviews poses its own set of challenges. Requesting reviews can be uncomfortable, uninteresting, and people generally don't appreciate receiving yet another email asking them to fill out a survey. This presents a series of painful challenges for SMBs, with far-reaching implications:
Most small businesses have no way to proactively and consistently drive customer reviews, on the review sites they rely on (Google, TripAdvisor, etc) to win new customers.
New entrants in any marketplace are severely disadvantaged and are forced to increasingly spend advertising dollars to compete for visibility and consideration. Everything is pay-to-play.
If SMBs aren’t equipped to fairly earn and own their reputation, the trust economy becomes monopolised by first-movers and those with the deepest pockets.
The longer this goes unsolved, the more painful it becomes.
Watch the video to find out how Cloutly generates powerful reviews:
The Solution
That's why Cloutly was created. Cloutly helps local businesses automate and personalise customer review generation, so they can rapidly build social proof on the channels they rely on for new business.
Market Opportunity
Cloutly have identified a big target market that is hungry for solutions to make them more competitive, with a total addressable market value across 6 verticals in Australia and the United States worth >$12b/yr, and a whopping $124M ARR at 1% penetration.
Broadly, Cloutly’s ideal customer profiles are:
Service-based business, where search happens in response to a need (chiropractors, real estate agents, barbers, laser clinicians).
Marketing managers in brick-and-mortar businesses, where getting more reviews leads to more foot traffic, calls, directions, online conversions and consumer trust.
Over the past 12 months, Cloutly has grown using a three-pronged approach, combining SEO and product-led growth with founder-led sales, and has seen success selling into multi-location retail businesses like Swimart, Australian Laser & Skin and Home Instead.
Incumbent reputation management companies prove the enormity of the addressable market. Where most provide a cookie-cutter approach to the user and their end-customer, Cloutly’s video-first and AI technology changes behaviours, expectations and experiences, and empowers SMBs to do more, while spending less.
The Founder/Team
Cloutly Co-Founder and CEO Lachlan Fea (pictured) is a highly experienced full stack marketer with prior experience running a digital marketing agency, working directly with retail and service SMBs. His experience includes senior roles at RocketFIN, Genesis and Orange Digital.
Lachlan is supported by Co-Founder and Head of Engineering Joshua Heslin, a full-stack software engineer driven by a passion to solve complex problems that unlock huge opportunities. Josh’s background includes software and tech lead roles at Swyftx and Enablo, where he’s worked across complex projects for brands like Woolworths, Vodafone and QPS.
Cloutly welcomes Alex Retzlaff from Unify Ventures to the Cloutly board as a Non-Executive Director. Alex has already been working with the team for over 12 months and has been immensely and consistently impactful along Cloutly’s journey.
The Product/technology
Commercial Model
Cloutly’s platform provides customers with everything they need to quickly and effectively get more reviews and engage with their customers.
The Cloutly model seamlessly:
Aggregates 40+ review sites into one dashboard and empowers you to quickly respond to reviews (or just get some inspiration) using Magic Response AI;
Increases the success rate of review requests, using a video-first approach, helping you cut through the clutter, build trust and win more reviews;
Allows you to showcase reviews and video testimonials in beautiful, on-site widgets that boost conversion rates;
Improves your visibility and standing in online comparison marketplaces (such as Google Search or Tripadvisor), helping you win more customers; and
Empowers real-time change management, by analysing customer experience trends for your business and comparing you against your competitors to identify growth opportunities.
Cloutly stands out from the crowd by offering an engaging solution that automatically follows up with customers over time. With fully customisable messaging delivered through SMS and email, users can create personalised campaigns that cut through the clutter of daily spam. What sets Cloutly apart is the option to record a video, allowing businesses to make their "ask" more personal, effective, and memorable.
Cloutly’s pricing starts at USD $27 to $79 per month, per location, on an annual plan and scales up to enterprise accounts, depending on your needs.
MOMENTUM
World-class companies are choosing Cloutly to build their reputation, and their growing base of significant customers includes Swyftx, Swimart, Home Instead, Cake, Sentius and Ray White.
In an early success story, Cloutly are proud to have driven more reviews for Swimart in 30 days than the franchise’s previous 12 months combined. On their collaboration with Swimart, Nathan Hallahan, National Marketing Manager says:
“Cloutly now holds an integral place in our local marketing strategy. No other platform was able to service us like this. Won't be long until we see this business being a big player in the review management market.” Read the case study.
For owner Brook Phillips of BOY Barbershop, who was able to drive over 431 Google reviews in 6 months, this has meant:
“A massive edge in customer 'first choice' decision making. We often hear 'we choose you because of the number of reviews you had' and because Google prioritises high ratings and reviews, we are often at the top of people's search results.” Read the case study.
Cloutly is seeing a strong pipeline of customers through SEO, product-led growth, founder-led sales and emerging partnership activities and integrations, boasting organic traffic growth from zero to >30,000 users per month in under 12 months, with traffic led by the United States (42%), India (12%), Australia (12%) and the United Kingdom (6%).
Scalare are delighted to partner with Cloutly and support their vision to humanise the way businesses build trust with their customers and empower SMBs to take control of their reputation and growth.
Investment & Engagement
Scalare will be working closely with Cloutly to deliver support in a range of business areas. If you wish to discuss this further, please contact Cloutly Non-Executive Director Alex Retzlaff for an introduction to Lachlan.
Cloutly have created a generous offer exclusive to the Scalare community, of 3 months free on any 12-month agreement. Simply create an account and use the promo code SCALARE when upgrading to any annual plan to activate the offer.
To book a demo, discuss your existing reviews provider (if any) and see how Cloutly could work for you, book a time to speak with Lachlan here.
About Scalare
At Scalare, we’re on a mission to create a greater impact by building a collaborative network that connects exceptional founders, advisors and investors in a unique and powerful partnership, because real transformation and growth takes more than money.
Our unique collaboration and partnership model provides clear pathways to global investors, experts and markets. We plug existing skills gaps in our portfolio companies from our best-of-breed advisor network – to bring, expert resources exactly when needed to facilitate growth and deliver exceptional returns to investors and founders alike. Find out more >
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