Press Releases

"At VerticalResponse we see examples of outstanding marketing campaigns being sent by our small business customers every day—so we created the Checkie Awards Program to publicly acknowledge the great work they are doing with VerticalResponse products," said Janine Popick, founder and CEO of VerticalResponse. "As a small business, VerticalResponse understands the value of being recognized for marketing success, and we’re proud to announce the winners of the third quarter 2009 Checkie Awards Program."

“VerticalResponse’s program is an impressive example of the successful and innovative use of new tools, technologies, solutions and practices to enhance communications and relationships,” commented Jen McClure, founder and president of the Society.

More than 1,100 nominations were submitted for consideration in 54 categories, including Best Executive, Best Entrepreneur, and Best Community Involvement Program. In winning the Stevie, Janine was up against finalists including Founder and President Sonu Ratra of Akraya, Inc., and CEO of APT, Inc., Dr. Kathleen Kappy Lundquist. Earlier this year Janine was also named as a Northern California finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 Awards.

“We have clients with challenging marketing needs, so the smooth integration with VerticalResponse means there’s one less thing for us to worry about,” said James, eMedia Designer at Vision Service Group. “Given that email marketing is a hot topic in the press now, we’re using it as a value-add to show people that while traditional marketing is still important, combining the VerticalResponse emails can add another channel of communication to their marketing campaigns.”

“We’re encouraged that small businesses continue to allocate portions of their budget to marketing channels such as email and social media, despite the downturn in the economic climate,” said VerticalResponse CEO and founder Janine Popick. “VerticalResponse has long been an advocate for promoting new marketing tools to small businesses through educational webinars and blog posts—but this survey highlights that while small businesses are learning the value of social media, marketers need to help small businesses to see the value of integrating search engine marketing such as Google, Yahoo and Bing into their campaigns.”

"A public offering of healthcare unburdens small businesses and entrepreneurs alike, as it allows them to focus on core parts of their business such as innovations and new products," said Theron Kabrich, CEO, San Francisco Art Exchange. "It also removes an unfair competitive advantage for small businesses when trying to attract the best employees, and levels the playing field."

"The ROI on Vertical Response campaigns are mind-boggling. 10% of company revenue comes from these campaigns, and it is not unusual to see over 7000% return on investment" said Nick Carter, Marketing and Sales Manager for ValuePetSupplies.com. "VerticalResponse is our most cost-effective marketing tool, and a crucial growth driver for ValuePetSupplies!"

"All of our finalists are leaders in their industries," said Steve Falk, President and CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. "They are innovative, entrepreneurial and excellent corporate citizens committed to enhancing the lives of their own employees and the lives of those who reside in the communities they serve."

VerticalResponse’s CEO, Janine Popick, credits the company’s customer service, a focus on new partners such as Intuit, aggressive customer acquisition, and ultimately customer referrals with the company’s 541% revenue growth over the past five years. She said, "The loyalty of our customers, and their resulting referrals, has always been a key driver of growth for VerticalResponse,” said Janine Popick. “Our small business customers like that we understand their specific needs, given that we have experienced similar challenges and growing pains since beginning our small business more than eight years ago.”

"Being named a Finalist in The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an important achievement," said Michael Gallagher, president of the Stevie Awards. "It means that independent business executives have agreed that the nominee is worthy of recognition. We congratulate all of the Finalists on their achievement and wish them well in the competition."