Why we partnered with American Express’ Stand for Small Program and how it supports our commitment to help

What’s your favorite small business to support? Chances are that your go-to spot for coffee, books, or brunch has been struggling with the impact of the pandemic. Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released new data from its Small Business Pulse survey, following a first survey released earlier in the year after initial shut downs. This latest survey gathers data between August 9, 2020 – August 15, 2020 showing nationally, 44.5% of small businesses have been affected moderately negative due to Covid-19. It also shows 34.2% feel a large negative effect. This is troubling as there are 30.2 million small businesses (according to the SMB) in this country who employ a large part of the population. This was especially troubling to our team at IntelePeer who enjoy the services of local businesses or know family and friends that are small business owners and were looking for ways to help.

A core tenant of our values is giving back to our communities no matter what is going on. As we watched so many businesses forced to close, we decided to launch our Atmosphere  Small Business Recovery Program in June, offering credit towards SMS services for non-profits and companies with less than 50 employees. Why SMS? Well, it’s a cost-effective and efficient way to communicate, plus it has a 98% average open rate!  

Our goal is to help small businesses quickly communicate with customers about new hours, re-opening updates, and promotions. Small businesses have similar needs of large businesses. A recommendation on a January 2019 blog by Nemertes analyst Irwin Lazar notes the importance of excellent customer experience and small businesses need mobility to collaborate and communicate no matter if they are remote or in an office. As of this month, we are proud to tell you we are members of American Express’ Stand for Small program! The Stand for Small coalition provides millions of U.S. small businesses access to support through valuable services, offers, tools and expertise, among other benefits. These resources are available to support small businesses as they work to reduce their operating expenses, manage their teams remotely, enhance their digital capabilities, and address other needs during this pandemic.

We could not ask for a better partner in our goal to help those small businesses in need during this pandemic. Having a solid communications plan in place helps you build and maintain positive relationships with employees and your customers. We know how important it is for businesses of all sizes to keep customers engaged and returning for more business, especially small ones with limited staff. We hope to be able to do more through this partnership to help those in need.

Our Small Business Recovery Program is being offered through the end of the year. Reach out if you want to participate or know a small business that could benefit!