November 10 2009 - Feature
Serving Up Rates
New website founded by operator has potential to become the industry’s “Facebook” of affiliate networking and price sharing
By Martin Romjue
RateButler.com founder Michael Lindsey got tired of filling out so many prospective affiliate forms, so he came up with a time-saving online solution.
12 RateButler.com Q&As
The following excerpts were compiled from Lindsey and RateButler.com FAQs:
Q: What is RateButler.com?
A: RateButler.com is an online program that helps companies to more efficiently manage and organize their affiliate network. By using RateButler.com’s exclusive “sharing” option companies can build and maintain their business relationships with other companies nationwide and globally. All the necessary information that you require of your affiliates is organized in a neat and orderly fashion within a paperless online environment.
Q: What is the problem you are referring to?
A: There are hundreds of limousine companies out there and they all have their own “Affiliate Application” or “Affiliate Profile Form.” I receive these different requests in the form of a Microsoft Word form, Microsoft Excel form, sometimes it’s a PDF that needs to be filled out and faxed back. Everyone is asking pretty much the same information but it is always in a different form, and different order, and isn’t very convenient to fill out. RateButler.com eliminates the need for companies to have their own “form,” and being online it is easy and quick for companies to complete the information everyone is looking for. Each company only fills out this information once, and then “shares” or distributes this information easily with a “click” to those other companies.
Q: Exactly how does RateButler.com work?
A: Members of the site fill out an online profile of their company’s information and then proceed to “share” that profile with those companies that they accept work from, or those companies that request to see their information. This becomes their “farm-in network.” And now for the best part, whenever a member changes information within their profile, that “change” is automatically emailed to everyone in their “farm-in network.” Everyone who does business with that company is automatically kept up-to-date and they can in-turn update their systems with the new information. It virtually eliminates “misquotes.” Each user can also create a customized “farm-out network” by requesting that others “share” their information with the user. The user can then go to the “My Network” section of the site to instantly view all the members of their “farm-out network” or all the companies that they send work out to. And just as all the members of a user’s “farm-in network” are automatically informed of any changes the user makes to the company profile, that member will be automatically informed of any changes that any member of their “farm-out network” makes to their profiles.
Q: How do members “share” their information?
A: Users simply “click” on a “share” button to initiate sharing their information with another member. RateButler.com is NOT intended to be used as a directory to attract new business. Instead the RateButler.com system is intended to help companies manage and expand their existing farm-in and farm-out affiliate networks. All members must “accept” a company into their networks. If a company proceeds to “share” its information with everyone, most likely many of those companies will simply remove or “un-share” that company from their networks.
Q: Can RateButler.com help a company to find an affiliate in another market?
A: Yes. By selecting “Browse All Members,” a RateButler.com user can easily see all the other members of the site, and can even filter or sort that list by “state” or “country.” And, with the click of the mouse, a member can send a “rate request” to that other member and request them to “share” their rates with them. Each member is also listed along with the top three airports that the member services, thereby helping others to pinpoint the closest company to the airport they are looking to service.
Q: What if a company that someone wants to do business with is not a member of RateButler.com?
A: RateButler.com has a unique “Invite a Colleague” feature that allows members to simply enter the email address of their colleague and RateButler.com will automatically send out information about the site to them and let them know that you were the one to suggest the site.
Q: What information is kept on RateButler.com?
A: RateButler.com keeps track of a variety of useful information, and is divided into sections specifically chosen for the limousine industry. The easy to use “tab” or “section” organized system included company information, contact phone numbers, services provided, details, pricing, and more.
Q: Aside from basic company information and rates, what else does RateButler.com do?
A: Another big problem operators face is organizing and tracking the certificates of insurance they carry for their affiliates. Within each member’s “My Network” area, that company can enter the expiration date of each of their affiliate’s insurance certificates and RateButler.com will automatically email that member seven days prior to one of their affiliates insurance expiring. Also, with a simple glance of the “My Network” section, members can see that all of their affiliates insurance is on file and current. The member also can scan a copy of the insurance certificates they receive and then upload that scan to the site for viewing, printing, or whatever they wish at a later time. No more filing cabinets full of useless paper.
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