Unifying Siloed Data with GenAI for Real-Time Business Insights

The Challenge

Bark Social is a startup, and like all startups, its team is stretched thin. On any given day, they might be managing POS data, managing their e-commerce site, managing check-ins and check-outs, and ensuring that canine vaccination records are up-to-date.

Their suite of tools created thousands of data points in silos. From their disparate, off-the-shelf systems, they could only understand retroactive data, using a clunky “VLOOKUP in a spreadsheet” process. No tool on the market catered to their multifaceted needs.

“We're so retrospective with our data, and it's not because of the people, it's because of the systems that we have,” said Chris Rubacha, Director of Marketing at Bark Social. With a background in digital marketing, Rubacha knew firsthand how real-time data could unlock better business: “I know it’s possible to capture data points and use that data to react and optimize business instantaneously.”

But the Bark Social team wasn't there yet. They felt they weren’t maximizing revenue, communicating to consumers in a timely manner, or finding sufficient avenues for their systems to speak to each other and provide timely analysis. They needed one integrated business management system for membership management, pet record-keeping, check-in/check-out processes, and POS operations.

Rubacha, along with COO Charlene Lee, CEO Luke Silverman and their team, embarked on six months of due diligence. They interviewed numerous small and large developer shops, agencies, and technical software teams. They received a range of quotes, the highest one being more than three times the cost of A.Team.

But, when they landed on A.Team, it was because of more than just the cost savings – A.Team was “much more nimble than any of the other options.”

Said Silverman: “We could spin up a team really quickly. We could interview many qualified people. We could make changes whenever we needed. We loved that approach, and it fits with how Bark Social operates holistically. A.Team was the perfect fit for us.”

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The Build

Bark Social decided to embark on a two-phased approach: upfront, they would tackle UX/UI. Then, they would address fundamental back-end changes. Both phases would focus on one macro goal: using data and analytics to capitalize on opportunities in real-time, thereby removing the “black box” they faced with respect to their data.

Within weeks of signing with A.Team, Bark Social brought on one “product manager who was an absolute all-star” by the name of Dean. Said Rubacha: “Dean is the most on-top-of-it person I’ve ever met in my entire life. He is the definition of going above and beyond. He exceeded expectations in a huge way.”

The Bark Social team were thrilled that Dean matched their level of “obsessive” drive. Silverman told us: “At Bark Social, we live, eat, and breathe the work we’re doing. And Dean has plugged himself in, in a way that it feels like he's a part of the team.”

Dean and the A.Team also presented several options for a UI/UX designer, a full-stack developer, and a back-end engineer. Bark Social interviewed each candidate, and landed on a team who “gelled with us internally as well as Dean did.”

Once the project kicked off, Bark Social was pleasantly surprised at how quickly things moved: “We were already looking at screens within the first week,” said Silverman. “We thought it would take so much longer, but to see everything move so quickly was phenomenal.”

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Outcomes

After six months of work, the largest impact result to date has been updates to the guest interface. Now, Bark Social feels empowered to unlock new features and revenue streams, like guest loyalty programs.

"The ability to know that margaritas are the most popular drink at one of our locations, then develop a margarita punch card – with the sixth one on the house – is a new type of impact for creating phenomenal guest experiences, and more engagement at our events,” Rubacha said.

Through A.Team’s work, Bark Social will now be able to “anticipate and create a better customer experience based on what's working already, versus just guessing and throwing something to the wall and seeing if it sticks.”

In turn, they can bring those datasets and stories to their investors, which “will help us grow Bark Social exponentially.” With a better understanding of what they’re selling and more visibility into customer behavior, they can make better marketing decisions and elevate their entire customer journey.

When all is said and done, the Bark Social team hopes to see ticket spend per customer increase by 20% to 30%. Plus, they’ll have the ability to launch better, more targeted marketing campaigns instantaneously.

"This system overhaul will save our core team dozens of hours each week,” said Chris Rubacha, Bark Social’s Director of Marketing. “This will take time off my plate and give me the ability to put it in more useful places.”

For Bark Social, their decision to work with A.Team has catapulted them into the current age, where previously they’d felt stuck in the past. Said Silverman: “Technologically, we've probably been about 10 years behind. This is bringing us into the current day, analytics and customer behavior data from the past 24 hours, instead of the past 24 months.”