Nothing breeds success like more success. Ever-growing Ann Arbor-based
ForeSee Results has acquired Chicago's Red Spade, a move that will add a critical services to the company's offerings of online customer satisfaction management tools.
Already, Red Spade's two principals have made the move to Ann Arbor.
"This really is a feel-good story," says president Larry Freed. "People will actually relocate here, smart people with value, an asset to the area."
Along with the relocated principals, ForeSee also intends to add 20 new positions. Two to five of those will focus on usability (i.e., Red Spade's wheelhouse) while the rest will be research analysts, management and sales.
Before the acquisition, the company's services focused on diagnosing client's websites. The company would measure customer satisfaction with the site, pinpoint the areas of the site which, when improved, would have the biggest impact on site visitors and then provide benchmarks to which a company can compare themselves. And that was where the job ended.
While Freed was originally content with this set-up, he started hearing from his clients, "We really trust what you guys are telling us. We wish you would take us a bit further."
And then, a client that ForeSee and Red Spade had in common -- Tower Records -- introduced the two firms.
"What they [Red Spade] bring to the table is a usability site audit," says Freed. Using 150 usability attributes, they make a series of recommendations targeted to ForeSee Result's assessment. After working together on a number of clients, a marriage seemed like a smart move for all involved.
"Why deal with one and then the other?" asks Freed. "This is more efficient for us and for the client. It is economically efficient and there is no re-learning, no recalibrating."
The addition of Red Spade's service to the ForeSee toolbox will accelerate an already fast-moving company. ForeSee's revenue has increased 100% in the last two years. With 80 employees in place, Freed says they are "aggressively hiring." He hopes to have the 100 by year's end, and is also opening up satellite offices in Southfield and London.
Source: Larry Freed, ForeSee ResultsWriter: Kelli B. Kavanaugh