BUSINESS FAQs

HOW DO I SET UP A CAMPAIGN?

We will help you! Once you have contacted us, you will be assigned an account manager who will work with you through the three stages of an OurPledge campaign:

• customer research
• supplier research
• campaign management and delivery

Market Research

As soon as you contact us, we will send you a form to fill in that will help us understand your current situation and your plastic free or sustainability ambitions. This can then feed into any market research that we feel we might like to do with your customers: we host surveys via Survey Monkey, embedded on our website to help you understand as much as possible about your consumer base so we can be sure to deliver what they want.

Supplier Research

Once this phase is complete we will do any necessary supplier research: sourcing reliable vendors to meet your needs at good prices. Sometimes, this work is already done as we have an ever growing network of partner suppliers who know about us and are keen to work with our clients. Either way, the end goal is to establish a wish list of products that you would like to stock and an associated price list for bringing these products into your store. This list defines your campaign target and your vouchers.

Campaign management and delivery

Once we have confirmed your target and vouchers, we will help create a campaign page for you. Some of this work is up to you: you will need to supply us with images and branding, as well as any video footage you may have to support your campaign narrative. Once you are happy, we can put the page live and launch your campaign.

If you need help with marketing, we can support you with templates for posters, flyers, QR codes and more, as well as a template for a timeline. We will be on hand the whole way through to support you.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

OurPledge charges a straight fee for our market research and supplier research but these are offset against a 10% commission on your campaign. This enables us to insure against our time if you decide not to go ahead with a campaign at any point or if your campaign target is lower than our suggested minimum. Our customer research charge is £150 and our supplier research fee is £250. In addition, we will share the cost that we are charged by our payment provider Stripe: 2.9% + 25p per transaction so you will pay 1.45% + 12.5p per transaction, as will we.

IS IT CROWDFUNDING?

No. We are a pre-sales platform that depends on a critical mass to define a business case for your shop to stock new products.

Your customers will receive these products directly from you in return for their pledges.

The pledge mechanism simply allows you to access cash now, and to estimate demand so you can anticipate what to stock before lockdown lifts.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

We are environmental economists who want to see independent retailers survive and thrive at the heart of local communities, driving responsible business alongside their customers.

We want you to survive! That’s why we want to enable your customers to pay for products and services now, so you can have the confidence and the cashflow to plan to make these significant and important changes.

Pre-sales also means less waste on things that you’re uncertain about stocking.

For large orders, it also means bigger discounts for things that you can be confident to buy in bulk.

CUSTOMER FAQS

IS MY CARD INFORMATION SAFE?

Yes. Other than the last four digits of a credit or debit card number, we do not maintain financial account, credit card, or debit card numbers; security codes; access codes; or other financial information that would permit access to your financial accounts (collectively, “Financial Information”). All financial transactions with us are processed through our third party payment solution provider Stripe. Any payment transactions with us will be encrypted using SSL technology and processed through our third party payment solution provider Stripe.

WHEN WILL YOU TAKE THE MONEY I HAVE PLEDGED?

Your money is taken within 5 days of point of sale and held by Stripe. In the case of a successful campaign, 90% of these funds will be released to the business campaign holder within 5 days of the end of the campaign, and 10% will be retained by OurPledge as payment for our services. In the case of an unsuccessful campaign, your money will be refunded within 14 days of the end of the campaign.

HOW DO I REDEEM MY PURCHASES?

In most cases, you will be able to bring the email we send you either on your phone or as a print out to your chosen store. Each business will keep track of your spending as you buy. In some cases, this may vary and you will receive specific instructions from the campaign business owner. In the near future, we will be able to provide you with an app and a card.

For more information, can watch our video explaining the process.

DO I HAVE TO RECLAIM EVERYTHING ALL AT ONCE?

That depends on the individual campaign, but usually the answer is: no, not at all. Just come and do your shopping and that business will tick off what you reclaim as you go. For example, you could pre-pay £20 for pasta refills and come get £1.50 worth of pasta per week until that credit is used up. Each business will keep track, just be sure to bring your email or ID.

YOU MENTION ONGOING PERKS. CAN YOU EXPAND?

As the Our Pledge network expands, we’ll be running pop-ups, tastings and product testing for anyone who pledges.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

So many reasons!

Right now, we want to enable independent businesses to feel confident about the future, which means providing them with the moral support and cashflow which comes from an OurPledge campaign.

We want to empower regular people to have a meaningful effect on the world around them so that we don’t all feel quite so helpless and confused!

These campaigns are also a brilliant method of doing on-the-ground market research about what we all want to buy. By asking customers to order the items they want in advance, businesses can have a better idea of what stock to order. This means less waste on things that they’re uncertain about. It also means bigger discounts for things that they can be confident to buy in bulk.

WHY DO YOU NEED ME TO PAY FOR THINGS THAT AREN’T YET IN STOCK?

Our Pledge works on the basis of confirmed consumer demand: in other words, that you are not just saying that you would pay for an item, but that you are actually promising to do so. This helps our business users have the confidence to stock new products, change suppliers and buy in bulk where possible, all of which mean more products at better prices for you.

I’VE CHANGED MY MIND, CAN I GET A REFUND?

Yes. Just email rachael@ourpledge.co.uk and we will sort you out.

GENERAL FAQs

WHAT’S YOUR LONGTERM GOAL?

We want to create local networks of businesses and consumers all working together to make the world a greener place. We envision a future where businesses with big ideas can reach out to their customers for support in making challenging transitions. We imagine loyal but frustrated citizens can run mini-campaigns to create positive changes in all sorts of businesses and at all sorts of scales. We see those consumers and businesses making more meaningful connection, talking to each other, and gathering together to continue this work. We imagine these groups having such power that new green products and services are offered to them at discount as reward for their role as early adopters and ambassadors of the wider green movement.

We imagine a future where the world thrives.

My question isn’t answered here

Please feel free to contact us and we will do our best to help!