Back in April we wrote about Signpost, a social network for bargain hunters launched by a Harvard Business School i-banker turned entrepreneur. In receiving Signpost emails, you might think at first they are another Groupon clone. But upon closer look you learn that Signpost is one of the more innovative deal providers on the web. The company mainly differentiates on two fronts: customizable deals for merchants, and crowd-sourced deals from its community of consumers.
And their whopping growth recently is nothing less than an indicator of finding success with this innovation. According to an article just published in The Next Web, since launching its Merchant Center in February, Signpost has been enjoying 100% month-over-month growth.
For merchants, Signpost enables them to create customizable deals, whereby they can dictate specific terms (e.g., when customers can visit, how many offers are available, a repeating campaign that happens every week, and even the type of customers you have to be to purchase the deal). For consumers, Signpost enables you to see a slew of the best deals around — not aggregated by a bot, but by other consumers out and about in the city who can add deals they find with ease. The result is a sleek interface for you and I to easily browse and buy the best and most relevant deals.
And it gets better with Signpost’s recent introduction of Karma points for active community members. As The Next Web explains,
“Signpost allows anyone that signs up to post deals in their neighborhood and vote on other ones that they like. Active Signposters receive Karma points, which provide access to better deals and discounts. The formula is simple: for every 5,000 Karma points you earn, you receive $5 towards any deal for sale on Signpost. Other ways to earn Karma include inviting new members and sharing deals. For example: Free yoga in the park!”
Another daily deals contender in Boston, SCVNGR’s LevelUp, has also attempted to launch a similar community member program (email invitation from last month below). Both LevelUp and Signpost are backed by Google Ventures.
