When apportunity knocks, you answer.
For Kermit Throckmorton, 30 years at the helm of Southern Spray Company gave him an intimate knowledge of the challenges facing companies when trying to communicate with customers. With social media apps like Facebook and Twitter tricky to use when it comes to maximizing a message, he sought a solution: a new app called Knowtice, aimed to bridge the communication gap between businesses and consumers, while also providing a philanthropic boost along the way.
“Communication and marketing are so important for businesses,” says Throckmorton. “And especially during the pandemic. With other tools like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, there are so many other things to navigate. Stuff you might want to see can get lost in the shuffle.”
Throckmorton’s Knowtice app dispenses with many of the distractions you’d find elsewhere. Gone are the sponsored ads, targeted posts, or frivolities. When a user creates an account on Knowtice, they can choose which local businesses to follow, and nothing else will get in the way.
“Normally, on places like Facebook, you’re seeing hundreds of posts from your not-so-close friends,” says Throckmorton. “You have to wade through political posts, pet pictures, recipes, and there are so many moving pieces. When speaking with businesses and chambers of commerce, we found there was just this disconnect with the community sometimes, so we want to fix that.”
For example, when deciding to follow Crosstown Brewing Co. on Knowtice, a user’s page will only show updates from the brewery. That includes items like specials, upcoming events, what they have on tap for the day, and other similar things. If several other establishments are added, the page will again only include updates from those specific businesses. That doesn’t change, unless the user decides to bring more companies into the rotation.
It’s really easy to curate a select group of favorite spots and stay up to date on what might be going on. And for the businesses, it guarantees that people will have eyes on their content, rather than accidentally scrolling past it. Any business that does choose to participate will receive a Knowtice sticker to place in their building. That will let visitors know that they can keep up with their favorite spots on the app.
“We’ve got 24 categories that businesses can choose from,” says Throckmorton, “that can range from Dine, to Schools, to Religious. And creating a profile is free for any business. Business owners should never have to pay money for people who want to follow them.”
Where Knowtice does make a profit is when a company decides to upgrade to a paid plan, for either $30 a month, or $250 a year. That gives companies a customization suite of 150 extra options for their profiles. Some cool extra perks come with things like coupons, that are assigned on the app. Meanwhile, Knowtice’s calendar will alert a customer when the coupon is set to expire, or if there’s a specific timeframe it needs to be used.
“We wanted to make it affordable,” he continues. “We’ve worked with the Shelby County Chamber Alliance and Arlington Chamber of Commerce to create a good model for what we’re doing.”
While subscriptions are Knowtice’s only revenue stream, the entirety of that money doesn’t go straight back into the app’s coffers. Instead, it will be reinvested into the community. Forty percent of each subscription fee is earmarked to go towards a scholarship fund for students at participating colleges in a company’s home state. When business owners pursue a premium plan, they’ll be asked which school they’d like to have the money go toward. Participating colleges in Tennessee include University of Memphis, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Tennessee State University, and Austin Peay State University. So far, Knowtice has partnered with 39 colleges across 12 states, and is also working to create internship positions for students at those schools.
Interns for Knowtice will reach out to local businesses and explain the benefits of the app. In addition to being compensated for their time, some students have found that their participating university may allow class credit for the work. Interns will also be eligible for scholarship money generated by Knowtice.
“I think it ticks a lot of boxes,” says Throckmorton. “Students are getting compensated; they’re coming right out of the gate with a startup in the technology world, but they’re also learning how to give back to the community. We’ve been receiving a lot of interest from schools and potential interns.
“What it comes down to is that we’re ‘communication with a mission,’ he says. “We have the capability to help others — businesses, schools, students — so, we’d like to see this grow even more.”
Knowtice is available on the Apple App Store or Google Play. knowticeapp.com
