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Mindshare Technologies, a Murray-based company that conducts automated customer surveys for clients, has acquired Empathica, a Toronto company that manages social media for other businesses, the two firms announced Thursday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Mindshare said the acquisition was financed in part by Utah-based Sorenson Capital and Peterson Partners.
Empathica's social customer experience and social media technology will be incorporated with Mindshare's voice-of-the-customer and analysis software, Mindshare said. That will allow it to serve more than 200,000 locations worldwide, mostly in the food service and retail industries that the company concentrates on.
"This acquisition gives Mindshare the strongest customer feedback solutions — and the largest client base in the food services and retail sectors — as we continue to grow across many industries," said Mindshare CEO John Sperry.
Mindshare declined to disclose its annual revenue but said the combined companies should double that number.
The companies said their merger will allow them to operate in 125 countries and in 32 languages while serving some of the world's leading brands with a focus in Europe and North America.
Both Mindshare and Empathica have about 150 employees each and the combined company plans to maintain offices in Utah, Toronto and the United Kingdom.
Mindshare customers include Comcast, McDonald's, Great Clips, Firestone, Arby's and Hertz, and locally, Cafe Rio, Costa Vida and Gastronomy.
Mindshare was founded about 10 years ago by Sperry and Chief Product Officer Kurt Williams. The company has automated the process of taking customer satisfaction surveys and providing near-instant feedback to a business.
For example, a restaurant will encourage customers to use their cell phones to take a survey, and problems mentioned by the customer are immediately sent to the manager on duty.