Merchant Frequently Asked Questions
About Signpost
What type of service does Signpost provide?
Signpost is the most effective online marketing for local businesses. We work with merchants to market your business online to target the right consumers in your area. Merchants can set objectives and Signpost will create, run and optimize an online marketing campaign for you. The marketing campaign consists of a deal that offers consumers a discount on the product or service of the merchant to incentivize the online purchase of a voucher at the moment the consumer shows interest in the business.
Why can I trust Signpost?
Signpost has been in business since 2009. We have been working with thousands of merchants and are backed by Google Ventures, Spark Capital as well as a group of prominent angel investors that are experts in both the small business sector and the online marketing industry. We have received press in several online publications such as The New York Times, Entrepreneur and fast Company. Also, we have formal partnerships with known national brands such as Yellow Pages and Patch. Signing up is low risk as you can always cancel your subscription. While we ask you to continue your campaign until the end of your subscription month and honor all vouchers sold.
What kind of business can work with Signpost?
Signpost works with a large number of businesses across the nation, ranging from restaurants and salons to gyms and more. We can only run a campaign for a US business that sells directly to consumers and has a location where consumers can go to redeem their vouchers. Our service is available nationwide, with the largest 30 US cities as the biggest markets. We have seen the best results with merchants that have a local presence in or around a city. Online and national businesses are accepted periodically if we believe it is a valuable product or service for the audience Signpost and our partners can reach.
What are the benefits of working with Signpost?
Signpost makes it easy for local businesses to market and sell your service or product online. With a Signpost campaign you gain local exposure with consumers in your area through our large network of partners. By offering a discount to interested consumers you can sell vouchers when purchase intent is highest, and you attract new customers to your business. You save both time and money as Signpost creates, runs and optimizes your campaign while you only have to set your objectives.
My Campaign
How does Signpost create a campaign for my business?
When you sign up for our service you will be asked to fill out a deal request form with general questions about your business, your objectives and the type of deal you would like to run. This will allow our account team to create a campaign tailored to your needs. Based on your input we then choose an image and write the copy using our knowledge of what attracts the right customers.
How long does it take before my campaign is live?
Once we receive your completed deal request form we create a campaign for you within two business days. If we have some questions about your objectives or your business we may reach out to you before starting this process. After we create your campaign we share the final deal with you for review and approval. As soon as you agree with the approach and details then your campaign will go live within 24 hours. In case we do not hear back from you within four business days we assume you approve the deal and it goes live.
How does Signpost market my campaign?
To drive online traffic and sales to your campaign, Signpost partners with over 1,200 local publishers that range from mobile apps to directory services to daily deals sites. Certain partners sell your vouchers directly from their website, such as Patch, Tippr and Dealster while others link to our site where interested consumers can buy the voucher from Signpost. While the campaign will generate sales and new customers you will receive even more local exposure with thousands of consumers in your area learning about your business, simply by viewing your deal.
The Results
When are new customers visiting my business?
As soon as your deal goes live your business will be in front of thousands of local consumers. It might take a few days or sometimes weeks before we have found the optimal distribution of your campaign, but normally you should see results during the first week. We provide you with a weekly email that outlines the performance of your campaign, and you get an email with detailed information on every day that your deal makes a sale. After sales have been made it depends on the customer, the type of your business and the objectives specified when new customers actually visit your business. You can determine when and how customers can redeem their vouchers, during the deal creation process.
How can I identify that the vouchers are from Signpost?
Signpost or our partner will issue the customer a voucher to redeem at your business. Some partners may issue their own vouchers displaying limited or no Signpost branding. We will always provide you with an overview of the voucher codes that have been sold so you can check new customers versus the voucher codes. We do not have and can not provide any personal information of customers aside from the code, but encourage you to establish that relationship when the customers visits your business. Signpost also requests that all of your employees are aware of the campaign and how customers can redeem these.
Payment
When and how do I receive my merchant payment?
Because Signpost or one of our partners receives the payment from the consumer we have a bi-monthly payment cycle to pay the redemption amount to you. While you can access these up to date numbers in your Signpost account at any time, we calculate what we need to pay you on the 1st and 15th of the month and then send a paper check to the payment address provided. The redemption amount consists of the total sales revenue of that period minus the monthly fee and marketing commissions (see detailed information below under “What do the marketing commissions consist of?“) as well as the temporary deposit to an escrow account. The latter is a dollar amount we keep for a certain period to make sure we can pay back consumers requesting a refund of their purchase.
What is a deposit to an escrow account and when do I receive this amount?
Signpost wants to make sure merchants receive their money as soon as possible, but because we also have to account for customers wanting to refund their purchases we keep a small amount of the revenue to allow for payment of these potential refunds. So Signpost pays 80% of the merchant payment within 15 days from the sale of a voucher and the remaining 20% is stored in an escrow account. The latter, minus any refunds, will be paid to the merchant 90 days after the voucher sale date.
What do the marketing commissions consist of?
Our monthly fee provides you access to our account services team, our marketing partners and an online reporting tool. We create, run and optimize your campaign for every month you are active as a Signpost merchant. We promote your deal by allowing other third-party partners to market your campaign and feature it as part of their content. When these partners refer or facilitate the purchase of your voucher they receive 15% or more as compensation. Signpost then subtracts an additional 15% on every sale above the monthly fee of $99. The network of partners will enable your business to be in front of thousands of local consumers.
Working With Signpost
Does Signpost work with a Terms of Service agreement, and what are the most important aspects of this document?
Signpost has a simple, easy to understand Terms of Service agreement to outline what both parties involved can expect when we start working together. You can click here to access the Terms of Service. We invite you to read it carefully before starting to work together. The most important aspects for Signpost is making sure you as a merchant are aware that our service is a monthly marketing subscription service, so while we provide valuable services we ask you to run your deal for a full month and honor all vouchers for sales made during this period. These vouchers can be from Signpost or from our partners that may issue their own vouchers displaying limited or no Signpost branding.
How can I contact Signpost for support questions and ideas?
Signpost uses email as a primary form of communication with merchants like you to provide the quickest response. You can email us at support@signpost.com and we will answer your question within one business day. For more urgent matters we welcome you to reach out to us by phone. You can also call 877-857-8070 and ask for your account manager, but please be advised that our answering system can be periodically unavailable depending on the volume of calls.