Northern Ireland’s smaller businesses now have an inexpensive express route to the digital highway

Northern Ireland’s smaller businesses now have an inexpensive route to joining the digital highway thanks to an award-winning app, Roam Local NI (‘Roam NI’).

The newly developed platform is already helping over 600 local restaurants and retail outlets to connect with their target audiences, create customer loyalty and increase their turnover.

The inexpensive new services being launched by Roam NI include designing and building websites, enabling them to take money over the internet, domain hosting and email creation and campaigns and social media management.

Roam also offers a free entry-level Customer Relationship Management (‘CRM’) system to manage customer interactions, sales processes and marketing efforts. By storing customer information, preferences and communication history, now small businesses can have personal interactions, deliver exceptional customer service and build strong relationships. An upgraded, paid subscription can be added later as the business scales up.

Businesses on the platform can take complete control over their listing and add: Images, opening times, location, news, events, deals, discounts, products, menus, websites, social media, create a loyalty club and even send customers push notifications directly to customers to drive further engagement.

Edel Scanlon, Roam’s NI executive, explained: “The large multinationals have dominated the high streets and internet for far too long, so we’re now proud to help give independent retail shops, restaurants, pubs and hotels a leg up by giving them the digital tools they need to compete on an equal footing with the big players, but at an incredibly low cost.”

Roam NI is also working with all the key organisations across Northern Ireland such as RetailNI, Hospitality Ulster, NI Takeaway association, the Airports, Cruise liners, NI Tourism, and local and national government to ensure that both the local public and visiting tourists are able to Roam NI freely on their phones.

Colin Neil, CEO of Hospitality Ulster, explained: “We have a global hospitality offer which can compete worldwide, but uniquely we have individual pubs and restaurants, all locally owned, which fits perfectly with what Roam offers. People now turn to their phone to turn to social media apps to plan their night out and Roam fits perfectly in there.”

Andy Bartlett, chief executive officer of Roam Local, added: “The Roam Local app is a digital high street with a big focus on the consumer end, to help people find places to go, navigate the towns, create plans, share recommendations, chat with friends and find friends, but also for businesses to be able to communicate and engage within the community with their latest news, offers, events, deals, discounts – anything they want to promote with the public, as they have the ability to take complete ownership of their profile within the Roam Local app and use it to engage with that community.”

Within just four months of being launched in Northern Ireland, Roam was shortlisted for the technology business of the year award.READ MORE: Meet the Belfast man brewing a successful global brand, which is set to double its sales this year to £4million