While a large portion of traffic still comes from search engines, today’s technology landscape has seen many other viable sources of traffic emerge. Mobile applications, online directories, and regional websites offer opportunity for not only organic traffic, but also paid advertising. During this webinar, learn how local businesses are taking advantage of both sides of this market to maximize exposure to customers. See and hear how CityGrid and Kenshoo Local have partnered to offer a scalable, cost effective local marketing solution that fits side-by-side with paid search efforts.
Kenshoo Local is a digital marketing software solution designed specifically for organizations managing high volumes of locations, stores, small businesses, dealers, franchises, or other entities. From onboarding and development to optimization and reporting, Kenshoo Local makes it easy to mass-manage hundreds or thousands of search engine marketing campaigns and local listings at scale. Multi-presence advertisers, SMB marketing providers, technology platforms, agencies, and publishers use Kenshoo Local to automate their programs and improve performance. Kenshoo Local is an operating unit of Kenshoo, a global leader in premium digital marketing technology directing more than $25 billion in annual sales revenue for clients such as Deluxe, Geary LSF, Havas Media, Haystak Digital Marketing, OMD, Performics, Possible, Resolution Media, Sears, SIM Partners, Starcom MediaVest Group, Tesco, Walgreens, and Xcite Media Group.
In his discussion “Lost on the Map” at the Web 3.0 conference in Istanbul, Trevor Nadeau, managing director of Yellow Medya, discusses the problems local and multi-location businesses face due to their incorrect or missing business listings. From store locators with locations in the middle of the sea, to major brands missing in digital local search, Nadeau discusses what he describes as a “wake-up call” for the local search industry regarding the need for professionals to make sure local businesses can be found and found accurately. Here is the video of his presentation:
Please join LSA and WebsiteAlive for an exclusive webinar presentation this upcoming Thursday, April 25.
In this webinar, WebsiteAlive’s Managing Partner and CEO Adam J. Stass will discuss the importance of giving consumers the means to easily connect with local businesses via directory listings. Adam will discuss ConnectNow!, a solution that is intended to quickly connect consumers to companies via live chat, e-mail lead, click-to-call or text/SMS.
WebsiteAlive is a software developer and online communications provider. Since 2004, their live chat and click-to-call solutions have been used to meet and greet website visitors, answer questions, increase leads and close sales. Used by more than 11,000 web and mobile sites, WebsiteAlive’s solutions support Internet-based small, medium and large businesses and organizations.
Our morning panel had a spirited discussion about the role of automation in local marketing campaigns. Joining us for the talk were Pete Gombert from Ballihoo; Howard Lerman from Yext; Ben Gibson from AdMax Local, The Search Agency, Inc.; and Paul Wicker from Kenshoo Local.
The panel discussed the need for automation vs. the importance of human attention to ad programs.
Ben said, “To be able to effectively run and manage campaigns for these small businesses, there has to be that level of automation.”
Paul introduced the idea that automation actually enables the human element. “You do automate to take the mundane out of the service, but you do need a human element. One benefit of automating is to have the time to go back and do some manual review.”
Pete commented that setting the strategy is key. “The premise if you look at any of the automation platforms is someone has to be doing something – you have to set the strategy.”
Howard agreed, “A brand is a brand. You don’t want to throw it into a borg of automation … There’s a balance between the art and the science.”
Pete suggested a good place to step is in to identify strong vertical experience. “We bring in someone that deeply knows the vertical. They have deep understanding of that vertical space, and they know how to get customers in through the door.”
The panel also debated the differing needs of SMB advertisers and major national brands.
Pete argued that SMBs’ core needs are the same as big brands: “They’re both businesses. Both are trying attract new customers and retain customers … The industry has an opportunity to raise the game for local advertisers. I think the goal should be for the local marketer to be as good as the national advertiser.”
But not all panel members agreed. Howard pointed out: “One of the things I see this industry get confused about is the goals for a small business than a big business. A plumber has a completely different objective than a brand.”
Industry analysts Greg Sterling and Neal Polachek delivered an “SMB State of the Union” address this morning. Their key message was that small businesses are facing heavy competition and need the industry’s help.
Neal compares the current situation with the rise of big box retailers like Wal-Mart, Staples, and Dominos years ago. He says now the same phenomenon is happening within the service sector in areas like dentistry, beauty, and auto maintenance.
Greg put the problem small businesses are facing simply: When making buying decisions consumers choose the “path of least resistance” and big brands have the resources to provide a more streamlined process.
With so many digital platforms available, small businesses are having trouble keeping up. Analysts are finding that businesses are investing in SEO, social, and other online marketing functions however they may not be developing comprehensive approaches. Owners often lack the knowledge to optimize their marketing strategy and don’t have the time to address inaccuracies on search engines and online directories.
Small business owners want and need a partner they can call to help manage their digital marketing presence so that they can focus on their core business. Neal predicts there is a $3.9 billion opportunity for the industry to help small businesses move from their current fragmented approach to best practice on digital platforms.
With the April 15th federal tax return deadline right around the corner, vSplash released an interesting new infographic which shows that local independent tax preparers are lagging well behind their national counterparts in leveraging digital and mobile tools to reach new customers.
vSplash estimates that there is at least a $140 million opportunity for digital marketing service providers to help thousands of local independent tax preparers get ready for next year’s tax season.
Please join LSA and geo.to for an exclusive webinar presentation this upcoming Thursday, April 4.
In this webinar, geo.to will discuss the phenomenal increase in mobile local search, the primary wants and needs of mobile users, and the data that is reinforcing the importance of providing instant access to extremely accurate and timely location based information. Whether you are a single location business, a large brand with thousands of locations, a publisher, or an agency representing businesses, geo.to will explore tools you can use in traditional print, display and digital marketing to increase click through rates, conversions, calls, visits, sales, customer satisfaction and loyalty, including a new type of digital web presence for every business location.
geo.to is a mobile, local, social media technology platform company enabling businesses to make it easier and faster for customers to find, share and interact with their locations. geo.to specializes in providing an easy to use, special purpose mobile website for every location dedicated to helping customers instantly find, visit, call and share business locations when they are on the go and ready to buy.
During their webinar last week, Amdocs discussed current multimedia selling practices – what is working, what is not – and demonstrated some innovative capabilities to help the local search publishing industry enhance its value contribution to small and medium sized businesses. Check out their presentation below.
For access to all of our past webinars and a look at what’s to come, visit http://bit.ly/LSAwebinars.
I attended BIA/Kelsey’s “Leading in Local: The National Impact” conference in Boston on March 18-20 and really enjoyed the terrific content and speakers. David Sharman, Dex One senior vice president and chief strategy officer, was particularly interesting during his keynote presentation.
Sharman discussed Dex One’s growth opportunity — providing SMBs with the latest marketing services. Using more than 1,000 sales reps, Dex One is making strides to build on its long-standing relationships with local businesses. While print still is an important aspect of the business, Sharman acknowledged the necessity of offering digital solutions that work for SMBs. To show its commitment to digital, Dex added digital expertise to staff and started to report digital revenues separately from print revenues.
Dex also has made some new partnerships with companies such as xAd, PaperG and Google to offer products that are fast, flexible and capital efficient. Dex’s digital product portfolio includes SEM solutions, Internet Yellow Pages (IYP), SEO, and websites which have helped Dex’s digital business grow by 30% making it worth around $300 million. Sharman attributed much of the digital growth to product bundles, which have a renewal rate of about 70%. Another driving force is the company’s Guaranteed Actions program, which is Dex’s commitment to deliver a certain number of leads across multiple media.
According to Sharman, Dex One still faces some challenges including finding new customers, identifying a way to soften the decline in print yellow pages revenue and being smarter with book distribution.
On the financial front, Dex reduced its debt by $1.8 billion, and the company has met guidance every quarter. Regarding the merger with SuperMedia, Sharman said it provides “more runway to transition to a growth company,” and both companies are focused on delivering value to their customers.
The Search Agency just introduced a fully automated search engine marketing solution called AdMax Local that helps small businesses benefit from high quality and profitable local search campaigns.
The platform is designed for use by marketers, media resellers, directory publishers, CMRs, franchisors and others who want to manage search campaigns for their SMB clients. According to their website, AdMax Local “produces, manages and reports on hyper-local, optimally structured, highly relevant and performance-focused search engine marketing campaigns.”
The automated approach is intended to make it easier to manage tens of thousands of SMB accounts while allowing resellers of paid search to offer more affordable SEM services. The Search Agency says that their automated process of campaign creation and management can reduce cost of ownership by up to 90%.
In addition to providing detailed insight into SEM campaigns, AdMax Local helps local advertisers manage inventory from various media owners, including popular search sites like Google and Bing.
The Search Agency is an online marketing firm that offers services to support the multi-channel online marketing strategies of their clients. They have been recognized as the largest independent search marketing agency by Advertising Age and the number 294 fastest growing company in North America on Deloitte’s 2011 Technology Fast 500™.
We are really excited to hear from Ben Gibson, Managing Director of The Search Agency, who will be participating in a workshop at our conference titled, “Automating Local Marketing for Efficiency at Scale.” We have many great speakers and content planned for our conference April 13-16 in Vegas. Check out the Agenda Page for more information.
Local businesses are also boosting their level of engagement on the social network. Levy said that those using Facebook’s Page Manager mobile app has jumped to 8 million from 3 million since the start of the year. He also said that 500,000 pages are now using Facebook’s Promoted Posts to generate increased visibility for their content, up from 300,000 pages on December 31st.
With a growing number of SMBs devoting resources to Facebook as a local advertising medium, I couldn’t think of a better time for us to hear from Levy first hand about the trends he’s seeing, and opportunities for our members to partner with Facebook to deliver leads for their customers.
Don’t miss Levy in a special fireside chat at “Search Starts Here.” He’ll take the stage Tuesday, April 16 at 12:30 p.m. For more information or to register, visit our conference website.
Today’s guest blogger, Paul Plant of Radicle Consultinghas over 30 years of experience in directive media and advertising. He launched Radicle Consulting in March 2010, and has acquired a diverse client portfolio, which he advises on all aspects of organizational and transformational change. He previously spent almost 20 years in senior management at Yell Group, in key marketing, sales and strategic operational positions in both the U.K. and U.S.
I had some thoughts regarding Neg Norton’s recent blog post, The Last Frontier: The Sales Call. It cannot be argued that the local media solutions marketplace is increasingly being commoditised by an influx of new competitive media properties, each offering a suite of solutions that, to all intents and purposes, are very similar.
It is therefore hardly surprising that many industry commentators and observers view the sales call as one of the key points in the relationship between the media provider and the SMB where some degree of differentiation can be achieved. Neg Norton describes it as “The Last Frontier”.
For large numbers of traditional media players, the relationship between the salesperson and the SMB is the last frontier. In fact, for many it is the only remaining frontier. But why? It is because the vast majority of traditional publishers have almost given up on the consumer – the end user.
Significantly reduced investment in core product development, accompanied by a lack of advertising and promotional spend on core brands has seen a widescale erosion of proprietary print and new media brands and product solutions. This has allowed the likes of Google and others to lay claim to the lion’s share of modern-day consumer usage.
One publisher has consistently bucked the trend, and has equally stayed relentlessly true to the principle that the virtuous circle remains at the heart of the core media publisher business model. The governing principle that “content drives usage drives revenue” is the central strategic pillar of the Solocal (formerly PagesJaunes) business mantra.
Solocal retains high levels of both consumer and SMB customer loyalty, achieved through no less than seventeen different proprietary media brands and channels. New digital channels comprise almost 60% of Solocal’s €1.1bn revenues, driving an overall EBITDA margin of c.45%.
Lately, I’ve noticed that my conversations with sales leaders and practitioners in the local media space have taken on a new theme. A last frontier if you will. And what is that frontier? It is the sales call itself.
Many media organizations have already transformed their sales structures with the addition of client support specialists to attend to the “24/7” optimization opportunities inherent with new media. They have tested digital only versus traditional sellers. Many have transformed their tool set by giving sellers i-pads pre-loaded with value presentations and collateral. And most have transformed their sales forecasting and productivity management by implementing CRM systems. Now attention is turning to the final frontier – the conversation between buyer and seller and how it is in need of a transformation all its’ own.
Kimberly Senior, Executive Director, is driving such a transformation at AT&T Business Solutions, which is producing improved sales results and customer relationships.
We have invited Kimberly to our conference in April to share her evolving story. AT&T Business Solutions might seem like an odd choice at a local media conference but their story is relevant and their success is keenly measured to assure an outstanding ROI.
AT&T Business Solutions has seen the same technological disruption in their landline business as media companies have seen in theirs. Like media companies, they are also experiencing an increasing number of new and traditional competitors creating what appears to be a commoditization of the marketplace. But perhaps most importantly the majority of customers that AT&T Business Solutions calls on is exactly the same customer local media companies speak to each day – the SMB community – and they are responding to the new conversations.
The Berry Company announced today that it is partnering with LocalVox, an innovative local online marking solution for small and medium sized businesses, to offer LocalVox’s online marketing solution to its customers. The partnership will extend across Berry’s 41-state footprint, beginning in its recently launched markets of Charlotte, NC and Rochester, NY before expanding nationwide in 2013.
In a press release, Berry noted that LocalVox will provide a great return on investment for SMB clients who are increasingly looking to promote their brand and news across the web, email, local search, social media and mobile. The company also said it has seen early success in offering digital solutions to its large base of print directory customers.
User Friendly Media, the second largest independent directory publisher in the U.S., announced last week that it is acquiring App Express, an affordable mobile app builder for small and medium-sized businesses. According to its press release, the move will rapidly expand User Friendly Media’s mobile strategy and will enable the company to offer a full suite of print and digital products that connect buyers and sellers.
User Friendly Media said the acquisition is a natural evolution of a reseller partnership established with App Express in March. Through the partnership, User Friendly Media has been offering the App Express platform to its 30,000 advertisers, helping them build customer loyalty with local mobile consumers. In about six months, User Friendly Media has sold more than 1,200 App Express apps.
As I mentioned in my most recent column on Search Engine Land, mobile is increasingly where consumers are, but where local business are not. The time is now for local SMBs to get on board with mobile. I’m glad to see that another local search company is expanding its offerings to include tools that will enable local businesses to take advantage of growing opportunities in this space.
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