News and Analysis
Holiday Discounts Don’t Necessarily Lead to Loyal Customers — Here’s Why
When brands go in on discount-focused events like RetailMeNot’s Cash Back Day, which was held earlier this month, there’s concern that the long-term impact might be negative and that brands might be training customers to expect discounts. That expectation can reduce the perceived value of the brand’s products, and it can diminish brand equity over time.
5 Ways to Improve the Customer Experience for Holiday Shoppers
The retail space starts to feel chaotic this time of year, with brands pulling out all the stops to win over holiday shoppers. Amidst all the talk of sales and discounts, retailers this year are looking at integrating new customer experience initiatives designed to bring in first-time shoppers and encourage long-time loyalists to spend even more than usual.
To learn even more about the customer experience strategies retailers are launching this year, we checked in with a few industry experts. Here are their thoughts on the best customer experience strategies retailers are trying out this holiday season.
Commentary
Survey: Enterprise Marketers Are Increasing Local Digital Mix
As enterprise local marketers become experienced with digital tactics they originally used to promote their corporate sites, they are getting more savvy about digital marketing. Today, most of them spend less than a third of their digital budgets on local campaigns and programs, but 40% say they are increasing the local mix.
Latest Posts
6 Ways Brands Can Automate Updates on Local Facebook Pages
For a brand with 10, 100, or even 1,000 locations, having to create and manually update local Facebook pages can be daunting, but a number of hyperlocal vendors have stepped in with solutions to streamline the process. Here are six examples of platforms that multi-location businesses can use to automate their updates across local Facebook pages.
Street Fight Daily: Restaurants Eager for New Tech, P&G’s Facebook Experiment
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… How Yelp Plans to Consolidate Mobile Gains and Reach $1B in Revenue… Restaurants Would Implement Predictive Ordering, Drones if Available… Why P&G Decided Facebook Ad Targeting Often Isn’t Worth the Money…
Moz Targets Duplicate Listings With Revamped Dashboard for Businesses
Multiple business listings can be a serious problem, according to Moz Local’s GM Dudley Carr: “When a business is not where it’s supposed to be or the phone isn’t answered, it has significant brand impact for the business. And typically the customer will blame the brand, and not Google or Bing or Apple for the information.”
Street Fight Daily: Lyft Adds Multi-Stop Feature, Search Attribution Elusive for SMBs
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Lyft Riders Can Now Add More Than One Stop to Their Routes… Moz Targets Duplicate Listings with Revamped Dashboard for Businesses… Most Retailers Offer Mobile Coupons, Payments, But Implementation Not Always Easy…
As Local’s Complexity Grows, What Does It Take to Build a Sustainable Agency Business?
“There are two paths for consultants or small agencies today,” writes David Mihm. “Either be a generalist who’s aware of all the major channels, and the kinds of businesses that are good fits for those channels, or develop an incredibly deep focus in a particular channel, and make a name for yourself as the go-to resource within that channel.”
6 Ways Mobile Shopping Apps Are Targeting In-Store Customers
More retailers are attempting to utilize the data breadcrumbs that shoppers leave behind when they use mobile devices in and around physical stores. Mobile shopping companion apps that add contextual intelligence layers — and target consumers in the moments when they’re most persuadable — are catching on among national retailers.
Streets Ahead: Google Chat, and Instagram Reels