News and Analysis
These Chatbots Are Helping Brands Respond to Covid-19 Queries
Chatbots could help fill the gap in business-to-customer communication capacity during the Covid-19 outbreak. Although there will always be a need for human customer service agents, even when chatbots with AI are deployed, the coronavirus outbreak is demonstrating just how valuable this automated technology can be for brands working in a time of crisis. Already, chatbot companies like LivePerson say they’re seeing significant increases in volume on their platforms. As the pandemic widens, even more companies are likely to start integrating chatbots into their customer service systems.
Here are six chatbot solutions that brands can start using right away.
Tech Companies Respond as Workers, SMBs Face Covid-19 Pressure
Google’s sister site Verily launched a site, albeit with logistical difficulties, to help Bay Area residents find testing options, and Verily isn’t the only tech company facing or alleviating coronavirus concerns. As a possible recession looms, consumer spending dips, and employees are sent home for public safety, some vendors are stepping in to help workers weather the storm. Others are boosting small businesses, hiring and increasing pay for workers, and suspending precarious services.
Freckle, AdSquare Team Up on Privacy-Compliant Geo-Contextual Advertising
For years, geo-contextual advertising focused on targeting consumers for specific products or services at specific locations. The strategy has delivered impressive results for many brands and agencies. But with privacy restrictions on the rise, the time has come to start reimagining geo-contextual advertising in a way that brings brands together with on-the-go consumers in a privacy-safe way.
While many vendors are looking at how to expand into privacy-safe geo-targeting, Freckle and AdSquare are getting out ahead of the pack. Just this morning, Freckle and AdSquare announced a collaborative effort to improve geo-targeting capabilities for brands and agencies across North America. Through the collaboration, Freckle will layer its privacy-safe visitation data into AdSquare’s platform.
Commentary
Holiday Countdown: 5 Powerful Mobile Marketing Activations that Drive Sales
With the right approaches and strategies, stores can connect with consumers throughout December, even as the clock ticks down to everyone’s end-of-year celebrations. So, hitch your sleigh to the following five activations — put these in your marketing mix and get ready to toast your company’s end-of-year sales with a cup of retail cheer.
Google Websites — To Infinity and Beyond?
“In the developing world, Google has a simplified path to the GMB where if a business first creates a website they can get verified more easily,” Mike Blumenthal notes. “Thus the website becomes the hook into Google’s data funnel. In the US, and most other developed countries, I would speculate that it is typically the other way around”
At Cloud Summit, a Focus on the Transition to SaaS Services
ReachLocal’s CPO Kris Barton noted that SaaS churn is typically between 6 percent and 22 percent. Media churn is between 39 percent and 86 percent. The key is to provide an integrated marketing system, said Barton: “Sixty-four percent are more likely to use a marketing system when it is integrated with core business systems.”
Latest Posts
5 Tools for Buying Local Ads in National Publications
By placing localized ads in national publications, smaller businesses and national chains with physical locations can cut down on wasted spending and ensure their ads are only being seen by consumers in the markets they serve. At the same time, these businesses are getting access to high-quality publications for a tiny fraction of the typical cost.
Burbio Creates Smarter Community Calendars for Local Events
Calendar and event sites in surburban towns have a “massive pain point,” according to hyperlocal entrepreneurs Dennis and Julie Roche. Their company, Burbio, tailors calendar information for consumers so that they can more easily keep up with everything that’s going on in their communities.
Street Fight Daily: Salesforce Launches Retail Platform, 55% of Online Shoppers Start on Amazon
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Salesforce Announces Cloud-Based Retail Platform for In-Store, Online (MediaPost) As part of the Customer Success Platform, retail brands on the Salesforce Commerce Cloud can transform how they connect with their customers at every step in the journey: from discovery, engagement, and transaction to […]
Pingup and EatStreet Set the Table for Simple Digital Food Ordering
Ordering dinner is getting a little bit easier. Two powerhouses in the chain that links that Chicken Phad Thai to the plate on your table are partnering to simplify the process of actually getting it there. EatStreet, the digital ordering service with more than 15,000 restaurants in over 250 cities in its quiver and transactional tech developer Pingup (connecting scores of […]
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Eats Up Warehouse Brand Market, Figures on AMP’s Progress
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Prime May Be Cannibalizing Traditional Warehouse Brands’ Customer Pool… Need for Speed: Google Shares Its Progress on AMP… How Millenial Journalists Are Unraveling Local News for their Peers…
Is Apple’s Encroachment on Local Finally Ready for Prime Time?
“I see [Apple’s] messaging platform as the third leg of mobile (joining the web and apps) that we need in place for the transition to non-traditional interfaces like voice,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “Apple is building out a stable of ‘body’ computers with the Watch and now the AirPods that can provide an interface to the web.”
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