Making a Ripple Rather Than a Blast

Though Silicon Valley would have us believe that operating a successful tech business at age 32 is no big deal, consider this: Hans Hegge had already run and opened a slew of restaurants and started two property companies by the time he even started thinking about his Auburn Hills-based Text Ripple. 

 

"I went to school for finance at Wayne State and was bored out of my mind," says Hegge. "I didn't see any value in it."

 

What he did see value in was the power of text messaging for small business - before most people were even texting for personal use. The ability to communicate with customers in instantaneous bursts sent directly to individuals' phones that can be read in seconds made texting seem superior to emails or social media. But back in 2007, the technology to text customers en masse just didn't exist for small business.

 

The spark really happened was when Hegge tried to help his cousin find a solution for communicating with the VIP patrons of his nightclub in Minneapolis. Wanting to text this exclusive list of customers with information about which door to enter at the right times, Hegge's cousin rigged up a system that involved a foreign-bought modem connected to eight cellphones. 

 

"I said, 'Dude, there's got to be a better way,'" Hegge recounts.

 

He and his business partner Keith Gloster set out to find it. What they developed was Text Ripple, a service that allows small businesses to directly text targeted groups of customers with pertinent information. 

 

"Small business owners are interesting because when they don't have enough customers, they go out and get into marketing, and then they get flooded," says Hegge. "Then they go back to focusing on the business and drop their marketing. I'm trying to figure out and solve the problem of that yo-yo customer base." 

 

Working with small businesses isn't without its challenges. Hegge spent much of 2009 and 2010 walking door to door, in some cases, explaining to business owners what a text message even was. Finally, cultural changes made texting more mainstream – including, of all things, Hegge says, American Idol's text-to-vote concept - and Text Ripple began to gain some ground. 

 

"Text was so new," he says. "But we realized it's so simple and direct. Your phone goes ding, and you look at it."

 

Now, with a staff of six and customers in 38 states, Text Ripple is setting the standard for text messaging services for business. Sure, there are other such companies out there, says Hegge, but none with the same focus on customer service that Text Ripple offers. 

 

"We want to make sure the end customer is happy," he says. "Not the business owner, but the end customer. Because if they think they're getting rewarded for this relationship, the business owner will be happy." 

 

That means giving Text Ripple's customers limits. A video on the company's website calls the service "more than just another text blast company," and much of Hegge's focus on customer service can found in the difference between the words "blast" and "ripple." Based on the industry of each business, Text Ripple may allow just six, four or even two messages a month to reach consumers, preventing them from feeling annoyed of overwhelmed by the service.

 

"Some don't like it, but they can sign up with a cheaper solution, but there is a ton of risk involved in that," Hegge says. "We've found that less is more. [Too many messages] had an adverse effect." 

 

Text Ripple capitalized on the power of text before the rest of us knew we'd spend most of our days with our heads bowed over our smartphones, and they aren't about to stop innovating now. Hegge says the company is in the middle of a year of pivoting, revamping their offerings to make text messaging just one of their services rather than the primary tool. 

 

"This shift is going to be game changing," says Hegge. "That's the most we'll say."

 

And that's the most anyone is likely to know about the future of Text Ripple before September, but based on the company's track record, it's probably safe to say that when it's all said and done, small businesses will have new options for connecting with customers. Assuming they might be simple, direct and targeted to build positive relationships with consumers might not be a bad bet either. 

Natalie Burg is a freelance writer, the news editor for Concentrate and Capital Gains, and a regular contributor to Metromode.

All Photography by David Lewinski Photography