AMERICAN FORK, UT - Property managers don’t often aim the phrase “Get out” at residents they wish to keep around, but Purqz is changing the connotation.
The Utah-based company provides daily deals and coupons to property managers, who then pass them along to their apartment communities and encourage them to “get out” — as in, “Get out and enjoy dinner and a movie on our dime.”
The resident loyalty-building program was founded as BlackLedger in 2007, but recently emerged with a new name, a smartphone app, revamped software and thousands of local offers.
“We took the name from the word ‘perks’ because it better describes what we do,” Purqz CEO Scott Hammond said. “We offer perks for living at certain communities in the form of deals and discounts packaged in a program that property managers give to their residents.”
On top of offering the nation’s largest network of merchant deals and discounts — up to 50 percent off anything from shopping to dining to entertainment — Purqz provides managers a powerful Web-based environment to dole out the deals. Each community’s Web interface is personalized with its own name and logo.
“With a familiar name and logo, it’s easy for the residents to access their ‘Purqz’ and feel a connection to their community,” Hammond said. This invaluable connection is why nine of the 20 largest property management firms in the U.S. are currently using Purqz, which has experienced a 100-percent growth rate since January 2011.
There is no cost to residents — a bonus that helps them “distinguish between the many apartment communities when they are choosing where to live,” Hammond said. The catchy new name, Purqz, resonates among “a young and highly mobile segment of the population that has gone digital,” he said, noting that a local brand strategy consulting firm helped BlackLedger adapt to the modern marketplace. Then again, he added, these days all segments of the population — young and old — are starting to turn to the Web for information and resources.
Along with the new image comes a competitive edge in top-notch technology, including the forthcoming Purqz smartphone app and upgraded manager portal, both of which make it even easier and faster for property managers to administer the program.
“Other companies like Groupon offer one or maybe a few deals per day,” Hammond said. “Purqz has thousands of offers available any time, all the time, and with the new smart phone app, on demand.”
About Purqz
Purqz (formerly BlackLedger) was founded in 2007 by Tom Hammond, Darrell Goff and Kyle Widdison. It is being funded by the Island Park Fund in Ogden, Utah. For more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Scott Hammond, please call 888-908 - 8892 or e-mail Scott at shammond@purqz.com