✨At a Glance
What a week for going live! Very excited to go through two of the launches this week here at Rundoo:
We have a podcast! 🎧
It is called Supply Stories, and its goal is to highlight the stories behind the independent supply stores across the country. We know that an independent store is more than just a business. There is often so much history, so many anecdotes, and so many great characters that people have met along the way. This podcast is a space for those stories to be told: the trials and tribulations, the good, the bad, and the funny things that have happened along the way. We’ve released our first episode, which I’ll talk about a little bit below, and we really hope you’ll follow along and maybe share your story one day too.
Astro Loyalty Integration is live! 🐾
This is equally exciting. So much effort went into this to make sure that this loyalty program is live for feed, farming, and pet stores. I’m going to talk a little bit about the how-tos and the whys down below. This is a big step, and will lay the groundwork for additional loyalty programs across various industries.
📻 Tune in to Supply Stories, a Podcast by Rundoo
🤔 Why has Rundoo started a podcast?
Okay, let’s start off with our podcast. As I said, it’s called Supply Stories, and it’s about the fact that every supply store has a story behind it: how it came to be, whether it’s a brand new venture or a family business. At Rundoo, we understand the importance of these stores within their communities.
The idea behind this is to get people to understand and to hear those stories and to bring to life the real richness and the real importance behind supporting these independent supply stores. 🏘️
🎨 Episode 1: “We’re Not Going Back”
Our first episode is a chat between our host, Nick Hershey, and Tom King, of King’s Paint and Paper in Santa Cruz. Having Tom on as our first guest just made sense - he was Rundoo’s very first client, having gone live back in 2022.
Throughout the years, Nick & Tom have developed a great relationship, so we knew that the conversation would flow. Tom himself noted towards the end of the podcast how he didn’t think he had much to say but “when you start talking, you start to remember all of these stories.” I’m sure there’s an element of catharsis from that too.
There are some fantastic stories discussed. It isn’t all business, you’ll hear stories about bizarre days in the store and the quirky dynamics of getting involved in a family business. There are also stories from back when Tom was 10 years old dealing with the aftermath of the ‘89 earthquake. It is a really entertaining listen.
📱How can I listen to Supply Stories?
I’ve added the links below. We really hope you enjoy it. Have a listen and let us know what you think!
🔗 Check out our dedicated page on the website
📱Listen on Apple
🎧 Listen on Spotify
If you are reading this and think, “I’d love to be on here,” or, “I know just the person who would be great on this podcast!” then my response would be - cool let’s get that scheduled! We’re looking for guests for our upcoming episodes. So respond to this primer or send us an email to marketing@rundoo.ai. You don’t have to be a Rundoo client to get on the podcast. If you are just interested in coming in and telling your story, that is what this is all about.
🚫⌨️ Say no to double entry: Astro Loyalty Integration
Okay, next up, another live one to celebrate.
Astro Loyalty is a loyalty & promotions program built specifically for independent pet retailers. Rundoo has integrated with Astro as it serves many of the farm & feed, and pet stores that are using Rundoo.
🏗️ Why was the integration built?
Before this integration, stores would have to ring up a transaction at the counter and then open up Astro and add in the customer details and the products again. Given that some stores had noted that over 70% of their transactions used Astro, that process was time-consuming, inefficient, and just plain annoying for both the customer and the store. This integration will speed things up hugely.
⚙️ How does the Astro Integration work?
This is the part I love - when a process was annoying and time-consuming and then I get to go through the simplified process that Rundoo has enabled for stores.
Add the customer & the products to the transaction 🛒
Click “Astro” under the transaction window 🖱️
And that’s it. ✅
It allows customers who are using Astro to move much quicker through the system.
One little note on this: it is automatic once it is set up. The first time a customer uses Astro Loyalty at the counter, there is a very short setup required (it takes less than a minute to do). I go through this in the demo below. Essentially, you link the customer in Rundoo with their Astro Loyalty account. If someone’s new to Astro Loyalty, you can also set up their account within 2 minutes. I go through that in the video too. Both of these scenarios add one extra step, and that is only the first time you run them through.
🏪 How do I get my store set-up to use Astro Loyalty?
At the time of this publication, there are a small number of stores using this, but all stores that this is applicable to will have it enabled by the end of this week. If, by Friday, you don’t see this option, just shoot us an email and we will get that up and running for you.
Resources
👀Watch it - a full walkthrough demo - showing, not telling.
📖Read it - prefer reading? A written walkthrough, and it’s printable too.
📌Remember it - a short glance card, perfect for at the counter reminder.
💡My store uses a different loyalty program, can you integrate with that?
Great question! As with so many features built in Rundoo, this is just the start of loyalty program integrations. So, if there is a specific program that you want us to look into integrating, head over to the idea board and check if anyone has already asked for it. If they have, add your vote and a comment to make a case for that being built. If they have not, submit your idea to us.
Huge shout-out to Ozair and Elili for their work on this, and to Alan for leading the charge. 🙌
📝 Summary
Two big things have gone live this week and a myriad of other features that we are sure you’ll love. Don’t forget to check out the idea board for those other updates!
Thank you, as always, for reading. I hope you all have a fantastic week.
Dee 👋