When you set up your business to build business credit, one of the early steps is to make sure your company looks legit to banks and credit unions that you might turn to for funding. Online business listings help people (namely lenders) find your company on the web. There are several ways to list your business including manually, via a directory submission service, or through an automated platform. One of my clients uses a platform called Thryv and highly recommends it.
After talking to them about the benefits, I wanted to know more. When I researched the platform, I found that it can help with much more than just business listings and I wanted to share everything I learned.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Thryv Platform Overview
Formally a holding company, Thryv Inc. delivers marketing automation software for small businesses through its subsidiaries. Thryv recently acquired Yp.com, which was a leader in the business directory industry, and integrated their offers. Now, let’s dive deeper to find out what this means for you.
What is Thryv?
Competing with brands like Hubspot, Salesforce, and Keap, Thryv brands their service as a customer relationship management (CRM) platform or an all-in-one business dashboard. The company caters predominantly to small, local service businesses.
| What does a CRM software do? A CRM gives companies a dashboard to store identifiable information and communications with leads and customers. In recent years, CRM platforms have evolved to offer research, marketing, and communication tools in one dashboard. |
You can use the Thryv platform to collect leads, communicate with customers, schedule appointments, process transactions, store documents, and more.
The tools are designed for B2B and B2C service businesses like accountants, mechanics, landscapers, and more. Recently, Thryv announced a HIPAA-compliance add-on so that it can securely be used by healthcare practitioners.
During my demo, I learned that Thryv offers custom websites or standalone widgets that you can add to an existing website. These tools help with lead collection and marketing. They also allow you to offer a client portal so that your customers can manage their communication and payments online from your company website.
Next, they offer to submit your website to 60+ directories, which is what piqued my interest in the first place. Uniform business listings help your brand to become visible online, your website to get picked up by search engines, and are an essential part of getting your company “business credit-ready.” Manual submission to this many directories can otherwise take hours of your time.
The new payment system is powered by Plaid and costs 2.9% +30¢ per transaction. Payments can also be integrated with other payment systems like Stripe and Quickbooks through Zapier.
Furthermore, the platform has built-in email marketing sequences and follow-up communications templates that you can send to your leads and customers from inside the dashboard. You can use this feature to qualify and nurture leads, setup repeat appointments, automate invoicing, and request reviews.
You can also use Thryv to schedule and post on social media. Connect your LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts for easy content sharing and communication without logging into the platforms in multiple windows. And, if you’re not sure what to share, you can pull content from the platform’s pre-written posts, which are updated weekly with new content from the web.
Probably my favorite feature of the platform, which is not offered with most online review platforms, is the ability to hide live customer reviews for up to seven days. If you receive a poor review, this feature allows you some time to make things right with an unsatisfied customer and get the review updated before it is made public.
Finally, Thryv has a reseller platform for anyone interested in promoting the software. More information about the program can be found by emailing lynn.daley at thryv dot com. And, affiliate program information can be found here.
How Much Does Thryv Cost?
Thryv platform use, depending on which features you opt-in to, can cost from $199 to $499 per month. The directory submission service is part of the platform’s recent buyout of Yp.com and is not yet offered as a standalone service. You’ll have to work with a representative and create a custom package to leverage this feature.
Thryv Customer Support Evaluation
When reaching out for a Thryv platform demo, I tried to make the process slightly difficult for the sales and support team… to get a feel for how well they work together to solve problems. When you choose business software it’s a tremendous decision. It takes up a sizable portion of your budget, plus it’s a serious pain to switch from one platform to another once you’re already established.
Thryv’s support team contacted me within 24 hours of requesting more information (which I did on a weekend) and was quick to set me up with an after-hours sales demo. I rescheduled without any problems so that nobody actually had to work late. But, the fact that they were willing to do what they needed to meet my needs impressed me.
While I was in the video conference, I tried to ask a few questions that I was sure the sales rep wouldn’t have the answer to. I succeeded and stumped him a couple of times. But, that didn’t mean that I didn’t get answers. After the online presentation ended, the sales rep emailed me with a full list of answers, including contact information for the right people to contact with further questions in each category.
From my experience, I give Thryv customer care five stars. But, not everyone agrees.
According to some users, it sounds like Thryv might have a tendency to reach out too much or provide too many updates. But, I would take this with a grain of salt — too much support is always better than not enough.
Thryv Competitor Rundown
For the purpose of educating readers, I want to compare some of Thryv’s top CRM competitors. After that, let’s look at directory submission/business listing services, since that’s why we’re here in the first place.
Thryv vs Hubspot vs Salesforce vs Keap
If you’re interested in an all-in-one business dashboard to power your operations, here are the top competitors.
First, I want to point out that I don’t like the fact that Thryv’s pricing isn’t transparent. You will need to get in touch with a Thryv representative to build a custom package. Still, their pricing is competitive with other CRMs. Furthermore, their packages are more suited to small, local businesses, including those with multiple locations.
You might pay less for a starter package with another competitor. But, you may later find that the feature options are too robust with Salesforcee and Hubspot while not enough with Keap. For a local small business, Thryv is the platform I would recommend.
Directory Submission Service Comparison
And, if you’re only here to find the best way to automate your business listings for the purpose of getting business credit-ready, this list is for you.
If you are only in the market for business listings, Thryv is probably not your most cost-effective option. However, the multiple features their platform offers are worth the price.
Note that you can also find freelancers or agencies in your area to list your business in multiple directories to help build your online presence, and costs can vary. To find your best option, look up “citation building service” or “directory submission service” and add your city name.
Final Thoughts
When you want to build business credit, you need to get business credit-ready. Part of the processes is to establish your online presence and create business listings in relevant directories. Thryv can automate the process while it offers you a more convenient, end-to-end solution to run your business.
Thryv stacks up nicely next to other all-in-one business platforms. However, if listings are all you’re concerned with, you might do better to try another service or submit your business manually (depends on your budget). Overall, I do recommend you check out everything Thryv has to offer. And, if you have questions, you can easily get a company rep to show you around with a free demo.
Now, if you’re interested in learning everything you need to get $100K in business credit in 30 days, join Business Credit Workshop today.