With direct customer feedback through social networking becoming more common, Koprol hopes to seize this opportunity by making it easier for companies to communicate and act on such feedback. Similar to Foursquare’s business offering, Koprol now allows businesses to claim their locations on the social network.
Yahoo! already has had more than a dozen companies and events using Koprol in the past year or so to test out how to best approach the business aspect of the service and what sorts of features would be appropriate for a larger roll out. In the past, these partners have been using the standard profile pages that are available to individual users.
Sandiaga Uno, an executive at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce was on stage alongside Koprol co-founder Satya Witoelar and local social media icon Pandji Pragiwaksono to talk about how Koprol for Business can affect local businesses in the way they interact with customers. The three discussed the different ways that Koprol would be useful to small and medium enterprises as it allows them to create not just an online presence but a communications and marketing platform for very little cost and effort.
Uno said, “SME’s are the mainstay of Indonesia’s economic growth and it is predicted that half of the total population will be using the internet by 2015. If we factor in the number of mobile internet users, the relevancy for SMEs to expand their marketing strategy to the digital platform, Koprol for Business offers enormous potential for consumers and businesses alike.”
While the business profile page bears resemblance to a standard personal page with slight differences, it offers something deeper. Businesses have access to historical follower and visitor statistics as well as demographical data which will allow them to formulate strategies that will suit their customer profiles better.
Ultimately what Koprol is offering is similar in nature with what Foursquare and Facebook offer as far as businesses are concerned. Although Facebook Places have yet to launch in Indonesia, many businesses already have a Facebok Page and already engage their customers using the platform. It remains to be seen how Koprol will entice businesses to hop on its service instead of, or perhaps in addition to, Facebook.
While business profiles are offered for free, a premium service with additional perks will be rolled out at a later date although interested parties are welcomed to contact Koprol for further information.
Additional services for premium service subscribers include active involvement of Yahoo! staff in managing profile page and places, promotion on Koprol Blast through email and public messages on Koprol, inclusion as featured content, assistance with front page logo, listing on Yahoo! Properties, and early and exclusive access to upcoming partner programs such as coupons and targeted advertising.
Witoelar told e27 that while currently Koprol isn’t a revenue generating product for Yahoo!, they are testing the waters with the planned premium features for corporate partners and this will be the first time Yahoo!’s sales people will be collaborating directly with the Koprol team. And it showed. Immediately following the conclusion of the event, the sales team sprung into action offering attendees to recommend friends and colleagues who might be interested in creating a business profile on Koprol.
With a focus on online presence for businesses, it looks like we’ll see a competition of sorts with other services such as Multiply, Facebook, Foursquare, and even Plasa which operate or will operate in the same space. Undoubtedly some of these services do not compete directly in terms of features but they certainly will compete in getting attention from businesses in offering customer-engagement services and activities.
As of today, Koprol means business.
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