Technology

Kansas City-based SMG acquires Bulbshare

October 17, 2024

Service Management Group, a customer, employee and brand experience management partner to over 500 brands, is acquiring Bulbshare, a London-based AI-powered platform that connects companies with customers to gather real-time insights and feedback. The move allows SMG to elevate its experience management capabilities while supporting Bulbshare's growth, according to a company press release.

Founded in 2017, Bulbshare empowers consumer brands like Nestle, Proctor & Gamble and Lego to tap into the collective wisdom of global customer communities, driving smarter decision-making across product development, marketing and innovation. Unlike traditional market research methods, Bulbshare's platform leverages advanced AI capabilities from OpenAI and Microsoft to rapidly analyze vast, real-time data from engaged communities. These capabilities deliver transformational impact to traditional brand experience management, by enabling customer communities to actively collaborate and co-create within key brand, product and market initiatives.

SMG powers transformative customer experiences by driving actionable insights that turn customer feedback into financial gains. With unmatched expertise at the intersection of data science and customer experience optimization, SMG strives to improve every customer interaction. It provides frontline teams with targeted actions to deliver improvements—amplified by the industry's only software with a service strategic consultancy — to accelerate customer experience impact and ROI, said Jonathan Berkowitz, SMG's CEO.

The acquisition enables SMG to offer clients a single source for the best of CX and BX management— enablement of continuous optimization of customer experience in combination with customer-driven collaboration and co-creation that fuels innovation and growth.

"The combination of SMG and Bulbshare creates a uniquely powerful, holistic experience management model for customer and brand experience management," Berkowitz said in the release. "Together, we will empower our clients with portfolio solutions that drive continuous improvement, breakthrough business outcomes, and deeper, more loyal customer relationships."

Through the acquisition, SMG gains access to Bulbshare's client roster of consumer brands, expanding its reach into consumer-packaged goods markets.

"We're excited and energized about the opportunities that lie ahead," Matt Hay, founder and CEO of Bulbshare said in the release. "By joining forces with SMG, we are entering a new era where customer experience is driven by participation and co-creation. Together, our CX and BX solutions will deliver unparalleled value to our clients, while our EX offerings will foster stronger employee relationships, contributing to our collective growth and success."

While both teams will continue delivering their unique offerings, they will collaborate on future product developments and expanded client benefits.

Berkowitz will lead the combined company, majority-owned by growth-oriented private equity firms Brentwood Associates and LLR Partners, as CEO. Hay will join SMG as SVP of Innovation and GM of Bulbshare.

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