News and Analysis

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Report: Retail Lags in Omnichannel Customer Service

Retailers around the globe learned to adapt during the pandemic, quickly pivoting to offer curbside pickup, mobile payments, and online storefronts. Despite making strides in digital adoption, a new report finds that many retailers are still missing the mark on omnichannel customer service.

How Will the Metavearth Materialize?

Back to the metaverse’s meaning, concrete definitions are elusive … mostly because they don’t exist yet. But broadly speaking, there are two metaverse tracks. One involves virtual and synchronous worlds. The other adds digital dimension and context to the physical world. Both will take years to materialize.

Here’s What Happens When Brands Start Micro-Communities for Digital Engagement

“[Micro-communities] foster a collaborative relationship between brands and customers. So instead of spying on consumers through cookies, brands can simply ask consumers for feedback and offer them recommendations based on their likes and dislikes,” says Philip Smolin, chief platform officer at 100.co, an AI-powered consumer brand group that works in the CPG space.

Commentary

The History and Value of Citations, or Citations are Dead, Long Live the Citation

Mihm to Blumenthal: Setting aside the fact that the vast majority of calls you receive from non-Google directories are from salespeople, if you’re paying for an expensive citation service with analytics, compare the non-Google numbers to your GMB Insights. It’s going to be a drop in the bucket.

It’s time that every brand, regardless of size, ask itself whether going beyond Google, Facebook, and maybe Yelp is worth paying any premium. 

If a tree falls in the citation forest and no customers are there to see it, not only does it not make a sound, but Google doesn’t care that it fell.

Third-Party Data and Third-Party Cookie Are Not the Same

Google’s recent announcement that it will change how its Chrome browser handles cookies has created some confusion about the impact on advertisers and ad tech platforms, particularly around the creation, selling, and buying of third-party data. Unfortunately, much of the confusion stems from a lack of clarity on the key terms. 

Although third-party data and third-party cookies sound similar, they are very different things. I often find that marketers and media confuse the two.

Data Trends with the Highest Impact In 2019

At the beginning of the year, we like to take time and speculate on which data science trends will make the biggest splash in the year. Now that we’re entering the second half of 2019, it is a good time to take a look at our initial assumptions regarding these trends and re-evaluate each one’s impact on the industry.

Latest Posts

Chatmeter Report Reveals Keys to Dominating Local Ratings

A recent report by reputation management company Chatmeter shows how retailers focused on in-store experiences and customer service managed to come out on top in online reviews over the holiday season.

LBMA Podcast: Amazon Go, Mobiquity Goes Blockchain, Unacast raises $17.5M

This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan, Rob Woodbridge & Aubriana Lopez. On the show: Fazoli’s, Trump gets into food stamps, ESRI buys ClearTerra, and Localz.

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Street Fight Daily: Amazon & Walmart Disrupt Grocery, Facebook Pulls Plug on Separate Feed

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… With Competition from Amazon and Walmart, It’s Getting Tougher for Local Grocers… Facebook, Diverging from Snap, Decides Separating News from Friends and Media Unwise… Attribution Blind Spots Are Eating Into Your Performance…

Placed Opens Up Location Analytics Platform for Free Public Use

Location-insights powered ad measurement company Placed will offer its location-based analytics and insights to the public for free, the company announced on Thursday.

Reputation.com Acquires SIM Partners

In what is sure to be one of local’s major acquisition deals of 2018, Reputation.com has acquired SIM Partners, the companies announced today.

How Publishers Can Survive Facebook Churn: Top Expert Weighs In — Part II

“The smaller scale might be an advantage when it comes to trust,” Grzegorz Piechota told Tom Grubisich. “Local publishers can offer services Facebook will never be able to provide at a global scale such as checking all the facts, verifying all the ads, or providing a 100% guarantee of brand-safe context.”

Street Fight Daily: Reputation.com Acquires SIM Partners, Placed Open-Sources Its Platform

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Reputation.com Acquires SIM Partners… Placed Opens Up Location Analytics Platform for Free Public Use… BrandMuscle’s Paul Elliott Talks New Report on How Brands Can Go Local with Precision…

BrandMuscle’s Paul Elliott Talks New Report on How Brands Can Go Local with Precision

“Local business partners want to increasingly execute in digital, but there is a reluctance or slowness in the brands or enterprises in shifting their dollars from traditional coverage in marketing and media to digital tactics,” said Paul Elliott of BrandMuscle.

How to Turn Alternative Data into Alpha

The need for real-time data is critical, as it enhances the speed and accuracy of key decisions and enables investors to detect any defects before making a choice.

Localized Insights Mean More Precise Campaigns and Better ROI

While creating at scale makes economic and operational sense, the danger in going with a one-size-fits-all approach is not insignificant. Evidence suggests over half of such “national” initiatives fail.