Yodle Acquires Lighthouse Practice Management Group
Yodle adds a relationship marketing module to its industry leading acquisition marketing solutions for local businesses
New York, NY – March 4, 2013 – Yodle, a leader in local online marketing, today announced that it has acquired Lighthouse Practice Management Group, one of the premier providers of dental appointment reminder and relationship marketing software in the U.S. As a result, Yodle will now have a strong relationship marketing complement to its customer acquisition marketing offerings, currently used by 30,000+ small business clients. This acquisition expands Yodle’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform offering, which now accounts for nearly half of the company’s revenue.
“Adding online relationship marketing to our product offerings is the natural next step for Yodle for both our clients and the business,” said Court Cunningham, CEO at Yodle. “We are one of the leading pioneers in helping small businesses acquire new customers through online marketing, and now look forward to supporting them in nurturing and growing their own customer relationships. Traditionally marketers have siloed acquisition and relationship marketing; Yodle is now breaking down that wall as a result of acquiring Lighthouse and will be the first in the industry to optimize SMB lead generation based on actual transactions.”
Yodle’s small business clients are currently acquiring new customers through the company’s integrated desktop and mobile product offering that includes websites, search advertising and a simple performance dashboard. Yodle will initially offer its newly acquired relationship marketing product to existing dental clients in addition to continuing to build the rapidly growing Lighthouse business. During 2013, Yodle will also begin providing relationship marketing to other industry verticals by drawing on Lighthouse’s expertise in the dental field.
Lighthouse’s three co-founders have a combined 60 years of experience in dental software and relationship marketing, including the original creation of PracticeWorks, one of the most widely used practice management systems. Lighthouse’s flagship product Lighthouse 360, which was introduced in 2006, is currently used by several thousand dental practices. The entire Lighthouse staff has now joined the Yodle team.
“Yodle was attracted to Lighthouse because of the company’s tremendous technical expertise and deep understanding of the needs of small businesses,” added Mr. Cunningham. “Lighthouse is also closely aligned with Yodle’s metrics-driven and results-oriented approach, and collaborative and open culture.”
Brian Smith, CEO at Lighthouse and now Yodle’s VP of Product and Marketing for Lighthouse 360, stated: “As well as continuing to provide strong value to our existing customers, joining Yodle enables us to accelerate our vision of delivering effective relationship marketing solutions to more small businesses. Yodle’s strong sales infrastructure and proven expertise in developing product offerings that have a strong ROI will help bring this to fruition.”
About Yodle
Yodle connects consumers to local businesses simply and cost-effectively. The combination of automated technology and comprehensive customer support makes Yodle easy to use. Yodle’s offering is also ROI-driven: local businesses set a budget for which they receive calls and emails from qualified consumers. Today, Yodle delivers results for more than 30,000 local businesses. To do so, Yodle establishes a comprehensive desktop and mobile web presence, implements unique SEO techniques, and deploys proprietary paid search technology that dynamically optimizes online media buys across multiple desktop and mobile outlets. Yodle’s solution also includes relationship marketing, display advertising, review/offer management and a simple performance dashboard. Yodle’s competitive advantage is derived from the sheer scale of its local performance data across multiple industries. Yodle is ranked #26 in the Forbes list of America’s most promising companies. For more information, visit www.yodle.com or go to the Yodle company blog. You can also follow Yodle on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. If you’re interested in working at Yodle, visit the company careers website.
About Lighthouse Practice Management Group
Lighthouse PMG is a privately owned software company that has worked exclusively with dentists since its founding in 2002. Its flagship product, Lighthouse 360, is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering that completely automates all forms of routine patient communications in dental practices. Lighthouse 360 works with dentists’ current practice management systems and reaches patients via emails, text messages, automated phone calls, postcards and letters. Lighthouse 360 reminds patients when they need an appointment, confirms existing appointments, and asks them to post an online review after their appointment. The three founders - Joel Kozikowski, Allen Jorgensen and Brian Smith - have a combined 60 years of experience in dental software, including the creation of one of the most widely used practice management systems (PracticeWorks). With offices in Atlanta and Indianapolis, the company serves dentists throughout the United States. For more information about Lighthouse, visit www.LH360.com.
New York, NY – March 4, 2013 – Yodle, a leader in local online marketing, today announced that it has acquired Lighthouse Practice Management Group, one of the premier providers of dental appointment reminder and relationship marketing software in the U.S. As a result, Yodle will now have a strong relationship marketing complement to its customer acquisition marketing offerings, currently used by 30,000+ small business clients. This acquisition expands Yodle’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform offering, which now accounts for nearly half of the company’s revenue.
“Adding online relationship marketing to our product offerings is the natural next step for Yodle for both our clients and the business,” said Court Cunningham, CEO at Yodle. “We are one of the leading pioneers in helping small businesses acquire new customers through online marketing, and now look forward to supporting them in nurturing and growing their own customer relationships. Traditionally marketers have siloed acquisition and relationship marketing; Yodle is now breaking down that wall as a result of acquiring Lighthouse and will be the first in the industry to optimize SMB lead generation based on actual transactions.”
Yodle’s small business clients are currently acquiring new customers through the company’s integrated desktop and mobile product offering that includes websites, search advertising and a simple performance dashboard. Yodle will initially offer its newly acquired relationship marketing product to existing dental clients in addition to continuing to build the rapidly growing Lighthouse business. During 2013, Yodle will also begin providing relationship marketing to other industry verticals by drawing on Lighthouse’s expertise in the dental field.
Lighthouse’s three co-founders have a combined 60 years of experience in dental software and relationship marketing, including the original creation of PracticeWorks, one of the most widely used practice management systems. Lighthouse’s flagship product Lighthouse 360, which was introduced in 2006, is currently used by several thousand dental practices. The entire Lighthouse staff has now joined the Yodle team.
“Yodle was attracted to Lighthouse because of the company’s tremendous technical expertise and deep understanding of the needs of small businesses,” added Mr. Cunningham. “Lighthouse is also closely aligned with Yodle’s metrics-driven and results-oriented approach, and collaborative and open culture.”
Brian Smith, CEO at Lighthouse and now Yodle’s VP of Product and Marketing for Lighthouse 360, stated: “As well as continuing to provide strong value to our existing customers, joining Yodle enables us to accelerate our vision of delivering effective relationship marketing solutions to more small businesses. Yodle’s strong sales infrastructure and proven expertise in developing product offerings that have a strong ROI will help bring this to fruition.”
About Yodle
Yodle connects consumers to local businesses simply and cost-effectively. The combination of automated technology and comprehensive customer support makes Yodle easy to use. Yodle’s offering is also ROI-driven: local businesses set a budget for which they receive calls and emails from qualified consumers. Today, Yodle delivers results for more than 30,000 local businesses. To do so, Yodle establishes a comprehensive desktop and mobile web presence, implements unique SEO techniques, and deploys proprietary paid search technology that dynamically optimizes online media buys across multiple desktop and mobile outlets. Yodle’s solution also includes relationship marketing, display advertising, review/offer management and a simple performance dashboard. Yodle’s competitive advantage is derived from the sheer scale of its local performance data across multiple industries. Yodle is ranked #26 in the Forbes list of America’s most promising companies. For more information, visit www.yodle.com or go to the Yodle company blog. You can also follow Yodle on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. If you’re interested in working at Yodle, visit the company careers website.
About Lighthouse Practice Management Group
Lighthouse PMG is a privately owned software company that has worked exclusively with dentists since its founding in 2002. Its flagship product, Lighthouse 360, is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering that completely automates all forms of routine patient communications in dental practices. Lighthouse 360 works with dentists’ current practice management systems and reaches patients via emails, text messages, automated phone calls, postcards and letters. Lighthouse 360 reminds patients when they need an appointment, confirms existing appointments, and asks them to post an online review after their appointment. The three founders - Joel Kozikowski, Allen Jorgensen and Brian Smith - have a combined 60 years of experience in dental software, including the creation of one of the most widely used practice management systems (PracticeWorks). With offices in Atlanta and Indianapolis, the company serves dentists throughout the United States. For more information about Lighthouse, visit www.LH360.com.
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