The Knowland Group
Encyclopedia
Knowland Group is a web-based software company that provides business development
products and services to the hospitality industry
. Founded in 2004, the company has been recognized as the second fastest growing private company in the travel industry in both 2009 and 2010.
firm. This firm had spent months developing an entirely new kind of hotel reader board service, heavily reliant on web technology, for a leading company in the industry. When the client backed out, Knowland’s founders recognized the hospitality industry’s need for a higher standard of market intelligence. They decided to start their own hospitality field research
service and by the fall of 2004, Readers, the world’s first online reader board service, was launched.
Knowland Group signed its first client, the Holiday Inn
in Arlington, Va., in September 2004. During 2005, the company expanded to over 20 markets, serving a diverse clientele of single and multi-property clients. By the end of 2006, Knowland had over 400 clients in 60 markets and had tracked more than 100,000 events.
In 2007, Knowland Group introduced Insight, a tool that generates targeted sales lead
s with details on each prospect’s past meeting activity. The company also activated a 7,000 square foot call center. The Event Booking Center employs research and sales support professionals who specialize in cold calling
and can become an extension of hotel clients’ sales staff.
Knowland launched Target Net, a meetings management and sales force automation
platform, in 2010. Today the company has more than 3,000 client hotel
s and 20,000 users globally.
and can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet
.
s to manage their sales funnel from start to finish. This includes everything from generating new leads to turning those prospects into bookings and planning the event down to every menu, meeting space, and table configuration. Operating from the cloud, Target Net can be instantly accessed online or on smartphone
s and iPad
s.
and mapping tool that gives hotel sales teams access to a massive database of groups who have held millions of meetings hotels and conference centers. These include more than 300,000 corporations, associations, government agencies, social organizations, and other groups. Smart Targeting technology allows hoteliers to find the groups that are best suited to their property.
of hotel reader boards. Those photos are uploaded nightly and the data made available online to clients the next morning. New groups are constantly being added to the database
and detailed profiles are created and updated for each group.
list in October 2010. The list identifies the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America
. Rankings for the award were based on the fiscal revenue growth from 2005–2009, during which Knowland grew 5,764 percent. Knowland ranked fifth out of 190 companies in the software industry, which was the largest industry recognized on the Fast 500™ list. Knowland ranked first on the Greater Philadelphia Fast 50 list.
In September 2010, Knowland was recognized for the second year in a row as the second fastest growing company in the travel industry by Inc. Magazine
. With a three year revenue growth of 790 percent, the company ranked 379th on the prestigious Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Knowland is one of the few companies to make the list multiple years in a row, having previously been ranked second in the travel industry and 222nd overall on the 2009 Inc. 500 list.
Target Net, Knowland’s sales force automation and meetings management tool, received a 2010 Product of the Year Award from Technology Marketing Corporation’s Customer Interaction Solutions magazine. The award is given annually to companies based on their vision, leadership and diligence.
Knowland was also named one of the Top 50 Best Places to Work in Greater Washington 2011 by The Washington Business Journal. The ranking was the result of employee satisfaction surveys. Knowland was applauded by WBJ for placing a high importance on creating a great work environment and welcoming employee feedback.
Business development
A subset of the field of commerce, business development comprises a number of techniques and responsibilities which aim at:1. Researching new types of business/products/services with an emphasis on identifying gaps in the mitigation of needs of potential clients .2. Attracting new customers3...
products and services to the hospitality industry
Hospitality industry
The hospitality industry consists of broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, restaurants, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry. The hospitality industry is a several billion dollar industry...
. Founded in 2004, the company has been recognized as the second fastest growing private company in the travel industry in both 2009 and 2010.
History
Knowland Group traces its roots back to a small software engineeringSoftware engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
firm. This firm had spent months developing an entirely new kind of hotel reader board service, heavily reliant on web technology, for a leading company in the industry. When the client backed out, Knowland’s founders recognized the hospitality industry’s need for a higher standard of market intelligence. They decided to start their own hospitality field research
Field research
Field research is the collection of raw data in natural settings. It helps to reveal the habits and habitats of various organisms present in their natural surroundings...
service and by the fall of 2004, Readers, the world’s first online reader board service, was launched.
Knowland Group signed its first client, the Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn is a brand of hotels, formally a economy motel chain, forming part of the British InterContinental Hotels Group . It is one of the world's largest hotel chains with 238,440 bedrooms and 1,301 hotels globally. There are currently 5 hotels in the pipeline...
in Arlington, Va., in September 2004. During 2005, the company expanded to over 20 markets, serving a diverse clientele of single and multi-property clients. By the end of 2006, Knowland had over 400 clients in 60 markets and had tracked more than 100,000 events.
In 2007, Knowland Group introduced Insight, a tool that generates targeted sales lead
Sales lead
A sales lead, or Sales Lead, is the identification of a person or entity that has the interest and authority to purchase a product or service. This step represents the first stage of a sales process. The lead may have a corporation or business associated with the person. Sales leads are generic...
s with details on each prospect’s past meeting activity. The company also activated a 7,000 square foot call center. The Event Booking Center employs research and sales support professionals who specialize in cold calling
Cold calling
Cold calling is the marketing process of approaching prospective customers or clients, typically via telephone, who were not expecting such an interaction...
and can become an extension of hotel clients’ sales staff.
Knowland launched Target Net, a meetings management and sales force automation
Automation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
platform, in 2010. Today the company has more than 3,000 client hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s and 20,000 users globally.
Products
Knowland Group is a provider of business development solutions to the hospitality industry. Target Net, Insight, and Readers are cloud-basedCloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
and can be accessed from any computer connected to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
Target Net
Target Net is a sales force automation and meetings management tool that allows hotelierHotelier
Hotelier is a South Korean drama broadcast by MBC in 2001. Asahi TV of Japan later remade the series in 2007. Hotelier contains a total of 20 episodes. The word "Hotelier" literally means "a person who owns or runs a hotel"...
s to manage their sales funnel from start to finish. This includes everything from generating new leads to turning those prospects into bookings and planning the event down to every menu, meeting space, and table configuration. Operating from the cloud, Target Net can be instantly accessed online or on smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s and iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
s.
Insight
Insight is a search engineSearch engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
and mapping tool that gives hotel sales teams access to a massive database of groups who have held millions of meetings hotels and conference centers. These include more than 300,000 corporations, associations, government agencies, social organizations, and other groups. Smart Targeting technology allows hoteliers to find the groups that are best suited to their property.
Readers
Readers is a reader board service that combines an online tool with Knowland’s version of a traditional reader board report as well as telephone verified contact research. As the world’s first online hotel reader board, Readers brings customized field research directly to its users. Each week field researchers take digital photosDigital photography
Digital photography is a form of photography that uses an array of light sensitive sensors to capture the image focused by the lens, as opposed to an exposure on light sensitive film...
of hotel reader boards. Those photos are uploaded nightly and the data made available online to clients the next morning. New groups are constantly being added to the database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
and detailed profiles are created and updated for each group.
Professional Business Development (PBD)
Drawing on many years of assisting hotels with proactive sales, Knowland introduced its Professional Business Development (PBD) services in 2010. The hospitality cold callers in PBD act as an extension of a hotel’s sales team. They find groups for any given hotel, then contact the meeting planner for that group to discuss booking their next event at the client hotel.Recognition
Knowland Group was ranked 26th on Deloitte’s 2010 Technology Fast 500™Deloitte Fast 500
The Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Awards are run and moderated by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. They recognize the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in regions around the world...
list in October 2010. The list identifies the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Rankings for the award were based on the fiscal revenue growth from 2005–2009, during which Knowland grew 5,764 percent. Knowland ranked fifth out of 190 companies in the software industry, which was the largest industry recognized on the Fast 500™ list. Knowland ranked first on the Greater Philadelphia Fast 50 list.
In September 2010, Knowland was recognized for the second year in a row as the second fastest growing company in the travel industry by Inc. Magazine
Inc. (magazine)
Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...
. With a three year revenue growth of 790 percent, the company ranked 379th on the prestigious Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Knowland is one of the few companies to make the list multiple years in a row, having previously been ranked second in the travel industry and 222nd overall on the 2009 Inc. 500 list.
Target Net, Knowland’s sales force automation and meetings management tool, received a 2010 Product of the Year Award from Technology Marketing Corporation’s Customer Interaction Solutions magazine. The award is given annually to companies based on their vision, leadership and diligence.
Knowland was also named one of the Top 50 Best Places to Work in Greater Washington 2011 by The Washington Business Journal. The ranking was the result of employee satisfaction surveys. Knowland was applauded by WBJ for placing a high importance on creating a great work environment and welcoming employee feedback.