5 Analytics Platforms SMBs Can Use to Parse Customer Data
A number of platforms are making it easier for local merchants to track consumer behavior on mobile devices, allowing retailers to analyze the influence that check-ins, mobile apps usage, and foot traffic patterns have on their bottom lines. Here are five platforms that give businesses ways to utilize online data for better consumer targeting…
5 Hyperlocal Tools to Help Retailers Curb Showrooming
The biggest threat to the average local retailer this holiday season isn’t the big box store down the street, but the e-commerce outlet selling the same products for less money online. In an effort to help curb “showrooming” and entice customers to make more in-store purchases, local retailers are increasingly utilizing hyperlocal solutions. Here are five tools that retailers can use in their efforts…
Case Study: Mattress Retailer Uses Targeting to Boost In-Store Sales
At Innovative Mattress Solutions, online marketing director Brett Morris relies on display ads that work in tandem with his company’s print and television campaigns to promote holiday sales and in-store events. He uses geo-targeting to reach consumers living within a 15-mile radius of his company’s stores, and relies on different ad sets based on the demographics of the consumers he’s trying to hit…
7 Tools Restaurants Can Use to Post Menus Online
Menus are among the first things that a customer looks at when trying to decide which restaurant to visit, and restaurants with outdated menus on their websites — or even worse, no menus at all — are likely to be passed over by consumers. A number of marketing platforms have stepped in with solutions that make it easier for busy restaurateurs to publish and update their menus online. Here are seven popular options…
8 Ways Retailers Can Use Hyperlocal Tools to Capitalize on Black Friday
Black Friday sales accounted for almost 20% of total retail industry sales in 2011, and the National Retail Federation expects that figure to rise another 4.1% in 2012. In an effort to help local retailers boost their share of those sales, a number of hyperlocal platforms are stepping in with their own tools built specifically for local businesses. We spoke to several hyperlocal industry leaders to get their tips on how small businesses can promote themselves on Black Friday without overspending on expensive marketing campaigns…
5 Ways to Track Calls Coming From Mobile Ads
The true test of a mobile ad’s effectiveness isn’t in page views or click-throughs, but in the number of actual phone calls it drives to a business. Tracking the number of incoming calls that result from a mobile ad is a measureable way for big brands and local businesses to gauge the effectiveness of their digital campaigns. Here are six platforms that businesses can use to get a better sense of how many calls are resulting from their mobile ads.
Case Study: Pizza Chain Finds New Ways to Build Email Database
As the director of marketing at Stone Hearth Pizza in Boston, Alex Chamberlain is always on the lookout for ways to grow her email database. She’s found that the best way to acquire new email addresses is by requiring customers to input their contact information when redeeming limited-time deals and promotions…
Case Study: Clothing Boutique Collects Customer Reviews
Online reviews allow e-commerce retailers to establish themselves as authentic and trustworthy in the eyes of consumers, but getting customers to leave feedback when they purchase products online isn’t always an easy task. Reve Boutique owner Meital Benaroya says she uses Zuberance to identify and reward her biggest “brand advocates.”
Case Study: Restaurant Rewards Customers With Cash-Back Promos
After being disappointed by the results of a yearlong advertising campaign with Yelp, The Range Kitchen & Cocktails general manager Edward Camarillo decided to partner with MOGL, a card-based loyalty platform that rewards customers with 10% cash back when they pay with registered credit and debit cards at participating restaurants…
Case Study: Pizza Place Favors Platforms With Low Upfront Costs
When Lance Robinson is deciding which marketing platforms are worth trying out at Brothers’ Pies N’ Fries, the Pasadena pizza shop he opened with his two brothers last year, he considers cost before anything else. Robinson prefers pay-as-you-go platforms with low upfront pricing structures, but isn’t interested in daily deal companies that take a cut of his revenue…
5 Ways Small Businesses Can Grow Their Email Marketing Lists
Many businesses struggle with finding ways to grow their email marketing lists, especially businesses that haven’t developed methods for acquiring their customers’ contact information during transactions that occur at the point of sale. Here are five tips from email marketing experts about how merchants can grow their marketing lists and deliver more effective email messages…
Case Study: Restaurant Uses Customer Data to Measure Marketing Success
At Ping Pong Dim Sum in Washington, D.C., Myca Ferrer works hard to make sure every dollar spent on marketing is measured and tracked. By tying Venga’s loyalty platform into his restaurant’s POS system and email marketing database, Ferrer is able to track customer spending patterns and email click-through rates. He’s found that loyalty club members spend between 30% and 40% more per visit than non-loyalty club members…
5 Analytics Platforms For Better Hyperlocal Ad Targeting
Location analytics platforms can be just as useful for developers and publishers as they are for major brands and agencies. In fact, these platforms can be a useful tool for just about anyone who’s looking to gather more inside data about their audience or the audiences they’re trying to reach through mobile ads. Here are five location analytics platforms that brands, marketers, and developers can use to learn more about their target consumers…
Case Study: Boston Tattoo Shop Uses Deals to Build Email Database
At Stingray Body Art in Boston, events and promotions manager Adam Femino takes a more-is-more approach to hyperlocal marketing. In the past few years, Femino has used digital platforms like Groupon, LevelUp, and Privy to acquire new customers, promote brand awareness, and grow his company’s email database…
7 Reporting Tools for Hyperlocal Journalists
It can be difficult for journalists covering hyperlocal news events to find enough relevant information and quality sources to generate the types of comprehensive articles and reports that readers find useful. Here are seven tools that hyperlocal journalists can use to streamline the process of gathering data and generating the types of multiplatform content that readers embrace…
Online Retailer Uses Daily Deals, Facebook Ads to Grow Business
When Anthony Bronzo was brought on to manage marketing and advertising for Born to Run, a Seattle-based athletic shoe retailer with two physical locations and a popular online store, he was tasked with finding new ways to reach the company’s core customers—active trail runners and CrossFit devotees. In his few short months on the job, Bronzo has managed to reach those customers using a combination of targeted ads on Facebook and Google AdWords, and by running daily deals with companies like Group Commerce and CBS Local…
Moe’s Southwest Grill Launches Nationwide Check-In Campaign
Rather than having individual franchises run their own social check-in campaigns, Moe’s Southwest Grill decided to pull together their promotions and launch a nationwide campaign that aggregates Foursquare and Facebook check-ins at more than 440 Moe’s locations. Lauren Barash, the chain’s director of marketing, says she is already seeing enthusiasm from customers…
7 Strategies for Dealing With Online Reviews
While nobody doubts that positive reviews can be good for a business, many merchants aren’t quite sure how to encourage their customers to post their opinions online — and how to respond when they receive negative feedback in such a public forum. We spoke to five experts in the field and asked what businesses should consider when managing their online reviews…