Yext’s New ‘Pages’ and the Future of One-Stop Solutions for Small Businesses

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The first large-scale technology company that can service small businesses in all of the following four industries will have the best opportunity to be the next leading hyperlocal superstar: 1) Website building, 2) email/loyalty marketing, 3) hyperlocal technology and 4) Online advertising, promotion and deal solutions…

Is Groupon’s Deal Marketplace Undermining Merchants?

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It has been my understanding that the purpose of daily deals is purely customer acquisition — to bring in new customers, not to target your existing ones. With the new marketplace focus, however, it seems as though this is no longer the case. I recently did a search for some of Groupon’s top NYC marketplace offers and I found that the company seems to be cannibalizing the local businesses’ existing customers by using Google AdWords to bid on nearly every Marketplace deal’s local business name…

Could Simple Website Builders Be the Next Hyperlocal Superstars?

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Where is the next billion-dollar opportunity in hyperlocal? You might be surprised by the likely answer. Assuming they play their cards right, simple website builders like Wix, Weebly or Squarespace — and not the traditional hyperlocal platforms — have the best shot…

Why Your Consumer-Oriented Hyperlocal Startup Is Going to Fail

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I’m sorry to say it, but if your hyperlocal, consumer-focused start-up’s business model is driven by local business sales and marketing dollars, it’s most likely going to fail. I know this because I have spent the past several years dissecting and analyzing every consumer-focused, hyperlocal app imaginable. In an effort to build my own “awesome” hyperlocal app, UPlanMe, I was not only figuring out our own business model, but I was analyzing all of the potential competitors and their business models’ around us…

How to Sell Hyperlocal Into Chambers of Commerce

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After lots of research with local chambers, I’ve noticed that the chambers provide minimal resources to local businesses on how to navigate hyperlocal and which tools are the most valuable. In my opinion, that really should be a key responsibility of the Chambers. They should be vetting and approving the technology that will help their members to grow their businesses…