Kitcrm.Com)

KitCRM was established in 2013 by Michael Perry with the aim of simplifying marketing for small business owners. Perry, who had a background in family businesses, developed the concept after his initial startup, a mobile loyalty program, revealed that business owners were often too occupied to manage complex software. This insight led to the creation of Kit, a "virtual marketing assistant" designed to act as a dedicated employee.

The company operates in the conversational commerce market, targeting small and medium-sized businesses, particularly those in the e-commerce sector. Its core product is an AI-powered assistant that communicates with users via text message, Shopify Ping, or Facebook Messenger to execute marketing tasks. This interaction model allows business owners to manage marketing campaigns without needing to navigate a complex interface. The service integrates directly with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, pulling product data to create targeted advertising campaigns on social media. Kit handles tasks such as running ads on Facebook and Instagram, sending personalized thank-you emails, and posting social media updates. It can suggest which products to promote based on sales data, create discount codes, and provide performance updates.

In April 2016, Shopify acquired Kit CRM, a move intended to bolster Shopify's capabilities in conversational commerce. At the time of the acquisition, Kit was one of the most highly-rated apps in the Shopify App Store and was used by businesses in over 30 countries. Before the acquisition, Kit had also launched an API to allow interaction with other applications in the Shopify App Store, expanding its functionality. Keywords: conversational commerce, virtual marketing assistant, AI marketing, Shopify app, e-commerce marketing, SMS marketing, Facebook advertising, Instagram advertising, automated marketing, small business tools, Michael Perry, Shopify acquisition, social media marketing, email marketing automation, product promotion, lead generation, customer engagement, marketing automation software, digital marketing assistant, e-commerce automation