News and Analysis
Retailers Use AI to Combat Shrinking Seasonal Workforce, Surging Customer Demands
Increases in customer service tickets are expected to come just as seasonal workforces are hitting all-time lows. According to Puneet Mehta, founder and CEO of the AI platform Netomi, about 25% fewer agents are working in seasonal customer service roles now than before the pandemic. Customer service accounts for a lot of the seasonal roles retailers have traditionally hired for, and now retailers are looking at leveraging technology to fill that labor gap.
What You Need to Know about the Google My Business Name Change
The GMB name change brings with it a fair degree of uncertainty. Google may be retaining, for instance, the model of an API that helps partners manage listings for both SMBs and larger brands, but if the company is simultaneously building out a snazzy new interface for those same multi-location brands to manage Google profiles on their own, does this fact represent an existential threat to listing management companies?
Marketers Want Multiple IDs to Replace Third-Party Cookies
Marketers and publishers asking which will be the next-generation ID to rule them all are misguided, according to a new study by data solutions provider Lotame. The company surveyed 200 senior US marketing and publisher decision-makers, and 33% of marketers said they were open to “any number” of IDs, while 33% said three identity solutions would do the trick.
Commentary
Google Antitrust: Is It Enough for Yelp?
Mihm to Blumenthal: I’m not averse to the idea of the government regulating Google’s practices in Maps or local search, but it feels like rewarding Yelp in particular is not going to bring consumers any particular benefit, nor will it meaningfully benefit small businesses, as Elizabeth Warren seems to indicate is a primary goal of her plan.
If anything, Google has gone out of its way to help small businesses compete in its search results with the introduction of the local pack and the Venice update, whereas small businesses continue to rate Yelp as poorly as any company in tech.
LBMA Vidcast: Foursquare’s Big Acquisition, Wendy’s Teams with GasBuddy
On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Eleven-X + Skyhook, NCR Digital + SAFE Credit Union, Albert Heijn tries dynamic pricing, Foursquare buys Placed from Snap, GrandVisual + NCMEC finding missing persons, Wendy’s partners with GasBuddy for Memorial Day campaign.
The Genesis Story: Why It’s a Key Part of an Effective Marketing Strategy
The cornerstone of a company’s brand narrative and storytelling efforts will all spring from the brand’s genesis story. The story of the creation of the brand, the who, the why, and the what of it, are the threads that weave the brand’s story together. A genesis story tells the consumer not only what the brand is and how it was created, but also about the brand’s values, what kind of company they are, and what kinds of people work there. Think of the brand genesis story as the brand legend.
Latest Posts
Street Culture: mParticle CEO on Appreciating People and the Founder’s Journey
“We want people who have historically been lucky. People who have demonstrated the ability to go out and create their own luck,” CEO Michael Katz says. “People who are curious, who engage and ask questions and generally listen, [who are] not just waiting for a pause in the conversation. “
LBMA Podcast: Amazon Alexa, Google Zagat, Redbox, Oath
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: Kroger, Walmart and Special Guest: Sandeep Bhanote – Radius8.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Feed to Demote Pubs and Brands, Amazon Takes it Slow on Alexa Ads
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook to Make Major News Feed Change That Demotes Publishers and Brands… Amazon to Agencies: Alexa is the Future, But We’re Going Slow on Voice Ads… How CES Highlights the Speed of Change for Brands…
Local SEOs: Don’t Play These Google Games
Trying to game Google today is not worth the risk. Yet every day I see examples online and talk to digital marketers, agencies and businesses who are still trying to trick Google. Whether you’re optimizing your client’s business or your own, here are a few local SEO games you should stop playing with Google.
Facebook Brings Users to Local Sites — But the Rest Is Up to the Sites
The verdict is in: local news publishers do need Facebook, Google and other giant distribution platforms. But only to get the first part of the job done. Whether you’re a self-funded entrepreneurial pure-play publisher or a corporate chain of daily newspapers, you can’t, on your own, generate all the traffic that the platforms deliver to your site.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Tests Feed for Local News and Events, Amazon Partners with Toyota
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Is Testing a Feed Specifically for Local News and Events… Amazon Is Bringing Alexa to Your Toyota… AI Troubles Marketers More Than Any Other Technology…
5 Retailers Tapping Voice-Controlled Assistants for Frictionless Shopping
According to a survey by Linc and BrandGarage, one-in-five retailers already believes voice will be an important channel within two years, and 44% of retailers that are increasing their use of AI say they’re doing so through conversational commerce interfaces, Here’s how five major retailers are harnessing the technology.
Why Location Is a Competitive Edge For National Retailers
We recently caught up with Local SEO Guide CEO Andrew Shotland whose Local SEO Ranking Factors report finds that national brands’ migration to local search, especially multi-location retailers. Focused erstwhile on e-commerce, competitive pressure has compelled them to view their locations as an edge in local search.
Street Fight Daily: Snap’s Secret User Data Paints a Dismal Picture, Mobile Shopping on the Rise
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snap Employees Leak Data That Doesn’t Bode Well for the Secretive Company… Mobile Shopping Saw a Steep Jump Over the Holidays… Verizon’s Oath Explores the Drivers Behind ‘Brand Love’…
6 Self-Service Location Intelligence Solutions
By opening their platforms up as self-service solutions, location intelligence firms are hoping to provide clients with more open access and to inspire creativity in using existing tools in new and innovative ways. Here are six examples of vendors providing location intelligence capabilities to clients through a self-service model.
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem