Posts Tagged ‘Groupon’
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
This afternoon LSA’s Brad Carson spoke with four outstanding experts in the small business technology space: Founder of MyTime – Ethan Anderson, VP and General Manager of SaveLocal (Constant Contact) – Dave Gilbertson, CEO of hibu – Bob Gregerson, and Director of Product Management at Groupon – Sean Harper.
One theme rang true throughout the conversation: local commerce operating systems must be kept simple and be performance driven. Small businesses are starved for time, often with a very small staff juggling multiple roles. It’s critical that systems are as simple as possible, and focused on results not tactics.
Interestingly, the panelists agreed that focus on platforms like these should soon incorporate not only customer acquisition but customer retention and loyalty. MyTime’s Ethan Anderson talked about what’s to come from his platform – MyTime technology could scan a customer’s calendar to see where they have time and suggest appointment times with their dentist or doctor.
Across the board in local search the bar is being raised on how we communicate ROI. Bob from hibu said the chief asks he hears from small business owners are “help me grow,” “help me transact” and “help me be more efficient.” With local commerce operating systems like these we must get small business owners as close to the dollars and cents as possible.
April 16, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Tags: constant contact, Groupon, hibu, Local Search Association, SaveLocal, Search Starts Here, Search Starts Here 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The speakers and panelists coming to our 2013 “Search Starts Here” Conference in Las Vegas include experts, veterans and thought leaders from all areas of the local search space. The biggest names in digital, mobile, social and print media will discuss many strategic and tactical topics that are driving the local search industry forward.
In addition to the great keynote speakers from Solocal Group (formerly PagesJaunes Groupe), Facebook and CityGrid, here are some more exciting subjects and speakers you can’t afford to miss:
SMB State of the Union
Greg Sterling (Opus Research)
Neal Polachek (Industry Observer)
Making Transformation Happen
Paul Plant (Radicle Consulting)
What’s Working in Mobile
Tim Garcia (Moasis)
Dan Hight (xAd)
Tae Kim (Google)
Michael Rubin (YP)
State of the Industry
Bill Dinan (Telmetrics)
Neg Norton (Local Search Association)
Print Directories in a Multi-Platform World
Matt Centofanti (YP)
Eric Webb (Marquette Group)
Dave Wolf (Linkmedia 360)
Emil Morales (TNS)
Sales Differentiation in a HYPER Competitive Selling Environment
Bob Sanders (AXIOM)
Building the “Local Commerce Operating System”
Ethan Anderson (MyTime)
Dave Gilbertson (Constant Contact)
Sean Harper (Groupon)
Bob Gregerson (hibu)
Finally, as announced earlier, we also have some great workshops and breakout sessions with Yelp, Yext, edō, Supermedia and many more.
To learn more about all of our impressive speakers, visit our Speakers Page and don’t forget to check out the agenda for all the great content planned for the conference. Register today and we will see you in Vegas!
March 5, 2013 | Leave a Comment
Tags: annual conference, AT&T Business Solutions, CityGrid, conference speakers, constant contact, Facebook, Google, Groupon, keynote speakers, Linkmedia 360, local, Local Search, Local Search Association, Marquette Group, MOASIS, mobile, MyTime, Opus Research, PagesJaunes, panelists, print, Radicle Consulting, sales, Search Starts Here 2013, Solocal, speakers, xAD, Yellow Pages Group, YP
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Consumers are becoming daily deals junkies – checking sites like Groupon and Living Social each day and awaiting the daily e-mail from platforms like Gilt City and Google Offers to see the latest deals in their city.
Last week, in the midst of SMB Digital Marketing 2012, BIA/Kelsey released a new report projecting that daily deals spending will rise by 87% in 2012 alone. U.S. consumers will spend $3.6 billion on sites like Living Social and Groupon by the end of the year.
BIA/Kelsey expects the daily deals space to grow an additional 23% in 2013 and projects that it will become a $5.5 billion industry by 2016.
Growth in this area presents a major opportunity for small business. Stay tuned.
September 25, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Tags: BIA/Kelsey, daily deals, Gilt City, Google Offers, Groupon, Living Social, Local Search, Local Search Association, report, research, SMB Digital Marketing
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Sanjay Gupta., VP – Global Merchant Marketing, Groupon, described their approach to winning new clients for the daily deal. He made the important point that the term SMB can be very broad – it covers a multitude of business owners from the one person kiosk to much larger, more sophisticated concerns, and each has differing needs.
His formula for reaching merchants seems to contradict accepted tropes about small businesses:
Keep it simple – everyone talks about how busy SMBs are. Groupon has found that they may be busy, but SMBs will spend time to learn complex ideas. He addressed what he thinks are some common misconceptions about small business:
Very Concerned About Price – Groupon has determined that with trust, SMBs will pay for product/vendor stability.
Don’t Have the Time – Gupta says that merchants will find the time for critical needs.
Know it All or Not at All – maybe, but he says that Groupon’s experience is that SMBs are willing to learn.
Groupon specializes in small, “Mom and Pop”, local merchants and is winning them over through 5 main tenets –
- Make them successful and your success will follow
- Support – provide both sales and account support, as well as self-serve and self-prep options
- Empower the merchant with tracking tools – a merchant center and customer interaction tools
- Continue that support through lifecycle management
- Align your strategy and offerings with the evolving needs of SMBs
BIA/Kelsey anticipates strong grown in the daily deals space over the next few years as large businesses enter the fray and add their loyalty programs to the mix. Meanwhile, it appears that Groupon is continuing to reach SMBs of all sizes with a combination of new tools and traditional customer care.
September 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Tags: daily deals, Groupon, Local Search Association, Sanjay Gupta, Small Business, small businesses, SMB, SMB Digital Marketing 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
I read an interesting post from Sherwood Stranieri over at Search Engine Land this week on mobile local search. Recent findings point to a rapidly increasing number of mobile searches in the restaurant category and it looks like mobile search may surpass desktop search in this category very soon.
In the last few months, there’s increasing evidence that mobile search activity for restaurants is growing by leaps and bounds. Consider the following:
- Yelp recently shared that mobile usage now accounts for 40% of their activity, up from 27% in 2010.
- According Groupon’s CEO, 30% of all transactions on Groupon’s platform are now attributed to mobile device use, and those usage levels have tripled in just one year.
Given these trends, it’s very likely that we’ll see restaurant search hit the tipping point in the next 12 months, with more mobile-based activity than desktop-based.
As you’ll recall from earlier this summer, YP, in their quarterly Local Insights Report, also found that the restaurant category was the most searched on mobile.
Take a look at Sherwood’s full article for more on mobile search and tips on how restaurants can get prepared to stay ahead of the curve.
August 29, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Tags: Groupon, Local Insights Report, Local mobile, local mobile search, Local Search, Local Search Association, mobile search, restaurant, restaurants, Search Engine Land, SEL, Sherwood Stranieri, Yelp, YP
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Peter Kravilovsky, VP Markeplaces at BIA/Kelsey, held a fireside chat with Mihir Shah, VP Mobile, Groupon that focused on Groupon’s business and what is driving their growth strategy.
Mihir said that mobile “is a big part of our business,” noting that 30% of all Groupon purchases in April were conducted via mobile devices. He said that over the past 12 months, mobile customers have generally spent 50% more than web-only users.
Mihir overviewed two Groupon initiatives – Products (Goods) and Travel (Getaways) – that the company is launching outside of its core local deals offering. He said the Groupon brand is now being perceived as more than just a daily deals site and that part of Groupon’s mission is discovery, not just deals.
For more on this session, read BIA/Kelsey’s blog item.
June 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Tags: BIA/Kelsey, Groupon, Local Search, Local Search Association, Mihir Shah, MLM, Mobile Local Media, Peter Kravilovsky
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
It’s exciting to be in beautiful San Francisco today for BIA/Kelsey’s Mobile Local Media meeting. A number of great speakers will be here during the all-day event. Some of the big names that caught my attention include:
- Google Mobile leads Surojit Chatterjee, Head of Mobile Search Ads Products, and Brendon Kraham, Global Mobile Sales Product Strategy
- Mike Ghaffary, Director of Business Development, Yelp
- Mok Oh, Chief Scientist, Paypal
- Chris Folmar, Director of Mobile Development, SuperMedia
- Mihir Shah, VP, Mobile, Groupon
- David Kurtz, VP, Publisher Network, YP
- Anna Martinez, VP of Technology, CityGrid
- Heidi Browning, Senior VP of Strategic Solutions, Pandora
I’ll be blogging throughout the day and I’m looking forward to talking with the attendees. More to come as the day progresses!
June 27, 2012 | 1 Comment
Tags: BIA/Kelsey, CityGrid, Google, Groupon, Local Search, Local Search Association, Localmind, MLM, Mobile Local Media, Pandora, Paypal, SuperMedia, Yelp, YP
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Brett Truka, regional sales manager at Groupon, provided a behind-the-scenes view of life inside the originator and largest daily deals provider. According to BIA/Kelsey, Groupon represents 58-60% of the daily deals space, which currently comprises more than 600 daily-deals providers.
Truka said that Groupon’s sales team, made up of reps ranging from backgrounds in newspapers and Yellow Pages to recent college grads, generally goes by a model ensuring 70% of reps time is spent inside the office contacting local businesses by phone, and 30% outside in the field.
Every day, Groupon needs to put out a deal in each of its markets. Truka talked about daily pipeline meetings in each regional office where Groupon managers and reps take a look at their specific market needs, and listen to where reps are in the process of securing deals with local businesses that fit those categories. Following the meeting, reps reach out to CRMs to finalize lists of businesses in those categories and then reach out to strike a deal.
BIA/Kelsey estimates that 54% of Groupon’s deals are for restaurants, something that Truka doesn’t see changing since consumers love to dine out. But he did say that Groupon is moving beyond its initial deals focused just on fun things to do locally, and branching out to local services that people need and get excited about.
Truka said that while many local businesses have heard of Groupon, most don’t know how the process works. Groupon’s reps work with business owners to structure the right kind of deal for their business, one that takes into account the volume of business and dollar discount that they can handle. Truka said that Groupon also helps manage redemption. Recentlly, the company launched iPhone and Android apps that allow merchants to scan Groupon barcodes and track redemption in an online merchant center.
BIA/Kelsey estimates that daily deals revenue will grow from $873 million in 2010 to $4.2 billion in 2015, so there is enormous opportunity for Groupon to continue to grow. But with so many competitors entering the space, it will be interesting how its future plays out.
September 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Tags: Brett Truka, daily deals, DMS2011, Groupon, Local Search, Local Search Association
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
This afternoon the BIA/Kelsey team gave an update on the daily deals forecast, which Peter Krasilovsky, VP and program director, projected will reach up to $6 billion in annual deal revenues by 2015.
Despite some media scrutiny of the daily deal space, BIA/Kelsey remains confident that the biggest successes are yet to come, stating in today’s presentation “the deal a day industry is poised for strong growth.” Mark Fratrik, VP and chief economist, attributes this to 1) an increasing focus on providing consumers with more personalized and geo-targeted opportunities, 2) businesses’ likelihood to move resources from other advertising vehicles toward this as a marketing option; and 3) the expansion and subdivision of sites, which will also help to combat consumer fatigue some providers are experiencing.
Yipit estimates there are around 600 companies in this space today. With the barriers to entry so low, we’re probably going to see this figure continue to rise for a number of reasons:
- The huge mailing lists daily deals providers maintain. Did you know Groupon’s email count in Chicago is bigger than the combined circulation of Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times?
- The “no money down” model makes entry simple and low-risk to local businesses
- The deals model reinforces SMB advertising value
- A new ability to target local customers on vertical and national basis
- The space continues to become more credible to consumers. Where consumers wouldn’t have accepted or acted upon an expensive travel deal a year ago, they may do so today.
As we’ve regularly blogged this year, traditional Yellow Pages companies are already embracing this model to reinforce existing advertising relationships. Sales representatives can use group buying as a point of entry to a local business advertiser, and advise on a strategy behind it that will continue to deliver results long after the deal has passed.
September 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Tags: BIA/Kelsey, daily deals, Groupon, Local Search, Local Search Association, Yellow Pages, Yipit
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The daily deals space saw a huge shakeup this week, with news that some players are scaling back or eliminating their offerings, while the popularity of two top sites is changing rapidly.
Here’s a rundown of what we’ve seen:
Given how new daily deals are to advertisers and consumers, the fast-changing nature of this segment is to be expected. As you may recall, just this month Google acquired The Dealmap, a daily deals aggregator, after launching its own Google Offers beta site in April. There’s no doubt that our industry will continue to invest in this segment, which is gaining traction and already changing the way local businesses advertise.
We’ll continue to keep a close eye on changing developments in the daily deals space and talk about them here on the blog. For starters, we’ll be live-blogging at BIA/Kelsey’s DMS ’11 event next month, which will include an interview with Todd Rose, VP of Business Development, AT&T Interactive about his company’s daily deals offering. We hope you’ll be joining us in Denver.
September 1, 2011 | 2 Comments
Tags: AT&T, BIA/Kelsey, daily deals, DMS11, Facebook, Facebook Deals, Groupon, LivingSocial, Local Search, Local Search Association, Yelp, Yelp Deals
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Many of us watched with great interest last year when Google tried to acquire Groupon, the popular daily deals site. After that deal didn’t move forward, Google created its own location-based daily deals service, Google Offers, which beta launched in April.
This week, Google is taking its daily deals efforts to the next level with its widely-reported acquisition of The Dealmap, a start-up that aggregates discounts from about 450 daily deals sites, organizes them by location, and displays them for users on its website and mobile app. Since it launched in May 2010, The Dealmap has racked up an impressive user count of more than two million.
While the specifics of how Google will leverage The Dealmap acquisition are not immediately clear, what is apparent is that the daily deals space is seen by many in our industry as a key avenue for future growth. Recent evidence ranges from AT&T’s YP.com’s Daily Deals debut in July, Facebook’s Daily Deals in May, and Yellow Pages Group and Yellowbook last year – just to name a few.
Our industry isn’t indulging in speculation, but basing their strategies on sound research. Our latest State of Local Search study found that daily deals yield extremely high levels of satisfaction and repeat customers.
We’ll all be keeping a close eye on how this exciting segment of our business continues to evolve.
August 3, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Tags: acquisition, AT&T, daily deals, Facebook, Google, Google Offers, Groupon, Local Search, Local Search Association, State of Local Search, The Dealmap, Yellow Pages Group, Yellowbook, YP.com
Friday, March 4, 2011
Roger Cheng of the Wall Street Journal recently filed a story on how YP.com is planning to offer daily discount deals to its users in the next two months – using a model that is similar to Groupon and LivingSocial. AT&T is planning on offering one deal per day in each local market on YP.com.
AT&T Interactive Chief Executive David Krantz said that they can be “a fast follower” of the Groupon model as they have a distinct edge from a large network of salesmen, advertisers and users. He also said AT&T is working on partnering with a technology company to help manage the distribution and tracking of its coupons on YP.com
As our industry moves towards digital advertising, Krantz believes it’s essential for YP.com to use its extensive resources to keep its 30 million monthly users coming back. Although the local deal market is definitely “red-hot” lately, there is some evidence that shows small- and medium-sized business owners might not be investing in group advertising as much as larger companies – but we might see these businesses changing their minds in the future as group deals become more prolific. This is the space to watch!
March 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment
Tags: advertising, AT&T, Groupon, Local Search, Yellow Pages
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Day Two of DMS ’10 kicked off this morning with an informative session on the “Deal a Day” phenomenon, which is quickly playing a growing role in the local advertising space and is expected to become a $2 billion industry by 2014.
Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and Cofounder of Living Social, said that the group buying space exploded in the last year with the entry of a variety of new players—sites ranging from Yelp to Groupon—and the expansion of the trend to countries around the globe. “People like saving dough” everywhere, he said.
Living Social provides daily deal e-mails for a variety of products and services in markets across the country. The e-mails are extremely targeted—for example, in New York City, there are options for offerings specific to Midtown, Downtown, etc.—so that users only receive information about businesses they are likely to visit.
While Living Social began with specials as simple as free drinks at local bars in New York, the company has quickly innovated to also introduce larger scale offerings that go beyond simple discounts. Recently, Living Social rented out National Stadium in Washington, DC and created a ticketed family-focused event in which kids could run the bases and participate in batting practice, while their parents hung out at a bar at the dugout.
The company prides itself on its large editorial staff, which introduces branding concepts such as “12 Days of Gifting” last holiday season, and its local sales force team, which has representatives present in all 65 markets in which it operates.
Living Social also has a successful partnership with the Washington Post in which it provides special local offers for Post users, and splits the revenue with the media outlet.
Perry Evans, Founder and CEO of Closely, outlined his company’s daily deal tool, which put businesses directly in charge of their promotions, and when and where they appear.
From a central dashboard, businesses can turn promotions on and off in real-time depending on demand, and select which social media and mobile channels those specials will appear on. For example, a local bar near a sports stadium can select to only have its promotions run on game day and turn them off by a certain time. And in addition to social media and mobile channels, businesses can integrate a live promotion widget on their websites so that their specials are always up-to-date.
Evans said his hope is to integrate social marketing and daily deal campaign distribution and simplify the process so businesses don’t need to build individual campaigns for each social network.
And interestingly, Evans said he sees opportunities for his company to leverage Yellow Pages sales presence to help sell his product as part of an integrated advertising package.
September 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Tags: Closely, deal a day, group buying, Groupon, Living Social, Perry Evans, Tim O’Shaughnessy, Yellow Pages Association, Yelp, YPA
Monday, August 30, 2010
Group buying—or social buying—is one of the fastest growing retail trends on the Internet. Businesses and consumers across the country are increasingly taking part in this new concept, in which products and services are provided at exceptional discounts once a minimum number of consumers agree to make the purchase.
Last week, two leading Yellow Pages companies announced plans to introduce group buying offerings that provide local businesses with additional opportunities to generate new leads and visibility in the digital space.
- Yellow Pages Group’s RedFlagDeals.com will feature Deal of the Day, a daily newsletter that includes savings of up to 95% on local restaurants, shopping, entertainment, and events. The site’s deals will be featured on a variety of online properties including RedFlagDeals.com, YellowPages.ca, and LesPAC.com. The deals will initially be available to Toronto and Montreal customers before expanding to other Canadian cities in the coming months.
- Yellowbook launched Weforia.com, a consumer-facing group buying destination focused on delivering special, limited-time deals and discounts. According to the news release, the site will initially focus on three test markets—Boston, Phoenix, and Ft. Meyers. In addition to the site, group offers will be promoted on Yellowbook.com, Yellowbook’s mobile apps, and its partner network.
With all the hype about group buying these days—most notably, Gap’s unprecedented group buying sale on Groupon last week—I couldn’t be more thrilled about our industry’s participation in this growing phenomenon. I look forward to seeing how our local business clients take advantage of this new tool to increase sales and buzz about their brands.
August 30, 2010 | 1 Comment
Tags: Boston, Canada, deals, discounts, Ft. Meyers, Gap, group, group buying, Groupon, LesPAC.com, Phoenix, RedFlagDeals.com, Weforia, Yellow Pages, Yellow Pages Association, Yellow Pages Group, Yellowbook, YellowPages.ca, YPA, YPG
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