ORLANDO, Fla., May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Chekdin, a pioneering app that unleashes the $6 trillion power of word-of-mouth marketing for local businesses, launches on iOS and Android. The platform incentivizes customers to become micro-influencers by instantly rewarding them for checking in and sharing their favorite merchants across social media.
According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising. For founder and CEO Luis Salgado, Chekdin represents the culmination of a personal mission years in the making – to empower small businesses by putting that most powerful marketing force into their hands and the hands of their communities.
“Nobody gets into business to market themselves – they want to do what they love. But marketing is a painful, expensive necessity that’s only gotten more complex,” said Salgado. “Chekdin finally makes it easy and automated for businesses to mobilize their biggest marketing force – their own customers’ trusted voices.”
Salgado’s commitment to this vision stems from his childhood. He grew up on Chicago’s south side, where his family fell on hard times and had to move into a friend’s basement, with curtains separating rooms. Salgado vividly remembers his mother clipping coupons to stretch every dollar.
Years later, after founding his own marketing firm dedicated to minority-owned small businesses, Salgado was inspired to create Chekdin. He witnessed his wife instantly galvanizing engagement just by posting a photo of her meal on Instagram while at a restaurant.
“I jokingly asked the manager to comp her a glass of wine for the free promotion, and he immediately agreed,” said Salgado. “In that moment, I realized businesses will happily reward customers for helping market their brand. But it’s not scalable without making it easy and automated.”
With Chekdin, that’s exactly what Salgado and his talented team have built – a streamlined way for businesses to incentivize their customers to organically promote them in exchange for instant rewards like discounts and free items. It flips the traditional advertising model, letting businesses capitalize on the personal reach and trust of their own patrons.
“Businesses are wasting millions disrupting customers with outbound advertising noise,” said COO Josh Zepess. “Chekdin flips that archaic model by incentivizing genuine customer advocacy that actually drives new traffic.”
The app is free for users and offers an affordable flat monthly subscription for merchants, far below the costs of typical external marketing channels. Chekdin is already making an impact across various industries where foot traffic is paramount, from restaurants, cafes, and barber shops to hotels and local attractions.
The platform has signed on over 80 local Orlando businesses to date and generated 5,000 app downloads, while also inking partnerships with influential brands like OpenCampground.
By empowering communities to organically promote and support their favorite local businesses, Chekdin has cracked the code on affordable, scalable word-of-mouth marketing. As Salgado puts it, “We’re bringing community back to the front door of every local business.”