News and Analysis
This Startup Is Helping Local Stores ID Customers During COVID-19
Chatbots are helping resolve customer service issues when businesses are closed and call centers are slammed, but brick-and-mortar stores are still struggling to adapt to an online-only business format. Pure play ecommerce outlets have spent years developing systems to manage transactions and verify customer identities, but most retailers on Main Street are accustomed to seeing shoppers in person and visually checking IDs.
A San Francisco-based startup called Persona is offering to help those local businesses adapt by giving away its online ID verification service for free during the COVID-19 crisis.
7 Delivery Apps Keeping Restaurants, Grocers Afloat During COVID-19
Dozens of states have banned dine-in service at restaurants, and nearly as many are requiring retailers to close up shop in a bid to slow down the coronavirus outbreak. As local businesses deal with the enormous financial implications that come with closing down to customers, many are trying out delivery services for the very first time.
For restaurants and other local businesses interested in offering their products via on-demand delivery, here are seven delivery platforms with which local businesses can partner during the Covid-19 crisis.
Google’s SameSite Update and the Third-Party Cookie-Free Future
The end of the third-party cookie forces marketers to take earning consumer consent for data collection more seriously, and it will open up new methods of data collection, some directly devised by Google and others by the many companies in its ecosystem. These new methods of data collection will aim to clarify the impact of ads and allow for pertinent advertising (or targeting) with consumers’ more clearly stated consent.
To obtain an insider’s perspective on marketing tech’s reaction to Google’s SameSite update and the industry’s path forward, I got in touch with Brian Silver, president of email marketing firm LiveIntent.
Commentary
How Far Can Google Local Services Expand?
Regardless of what Google thinks is in the best interest of the searcher, the company has “no choice but to accelerate their monetization in Local to keep their revenues growing at a healthy clip and Wall Street happy,” David mihm tells Mike Blumenthal in their biweekly column.
How the End of Network Neutrality Could Affect SMBs and the Public Interest
For many years, the government’s assessment of the public interest was to encourage Web access to all. The current FCC, however, contends that this position is better met by eliminating the net neutrality rules — that SMBs will be able to have a variety of ISP options based on their actual needs with the end of the net neutrality rules.
Social Media Gets the Local Spending Growth, Partly by Default
Social media is widely used — and deemed particularly effective — by SMBs. But when you dig deeper, it looks like most local marketers are using social media as substitute for display advertising (and to reach mobile audiences) rather than as a uniquely local or even “social” medium.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Warehouses Spreading Rapidly, Google Adds More Ride Services to Maps
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… New Amazon Data From Wall Street Should Terrify All Retail Stores in the US… Google Adds Lyft and Gett to Taxi Options on Maps… How Publishers Can Help Brands Navigate the Content Marketing Crossroads…
Making Sense of the Mobile Marketing Spending Disparity
Consumers’ relationships with media and mobile devices have changed. Advertising needs to change as well. The responsibility is with advertisers and their agencies and service providers to demand the granularity and specificity that you can only achieve with the targeted data you get from mobile advertising.
As 10-Year Mark Approaches, West Seattle Blog Sticks to Profitable Basics
In December 2005, West Seattle Blog was a “personal project” with no news or advertising. A major windstorm that struck West Seattle and King County in December 2006 changed all that, and in the nearly 10 years since, WSB has become a highly regarded inspiration for independent digital community sites.
Street Fight Daily: Washington Post’s Digital Rise, Snapchat Ends Local Stories
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Leaked Memo Supplies Details on the Washington Post’s Digital, Financial Success… Snapchat Ends Local Stories to Focus on Live Events… Amazon Adds Food Delivery in London…
XPlenty CEO: Pokemon Go Data’s Usefulness Depends on Integration and Visualization Strategies
“It’s pretty difficult to get access to location data,” says Yaniv Mor. “There are quite a few companies today that are starting to provide products for smaller businesses that will help them take advantage of location data, but at this scale — hundreds of millions of users — that’s something that we haven’t seen yet.”
Case Study: Rhode Island Spa Looks to Automate Repetitive Marketing Tasks
When Alayne White first started using an online booking portal at her eponymous Rhode Island spa, her goal was to get just 10% of clients to book online. Eight years later, she’s inching closer to the 50% threshold, as nearly half of her clients are booking their appointments through desktop and mobile devices.
Street Fight Daily: Uber Tried to Buy Lyft, Google Helps Brick-and-Mortar Biz
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Tried to Buy Lyft in 2014 But Negotiations Fell Apart Over Price… Google Helps Brick-and-Mortar Retailers Turn Mobile Scrolling Into In-Person Buying… With Facebook’s Power Growing, Publishers Scramble to Connect Directly with Audiences…
Why Data Attributes Power the Long Tail of Local Search
The mandate for brands is simple: manage data attributes as a crucial element of your location marketing strategy. But it’s not enough to create attributes. You need to constantly monitor the ever-changing nature of your business and your customers and be ready to act on your attributes as needed.
5 Predictive Ordering Platforms for Restaurants
One area where restaurant owners struggle is inventory management — that is, predicting how many diners will show up at a given time and how much food they’ll consume. But many restaurant owners don’t realize that a number of hyperlocal platforms are already offering solutions to help with this issue.
Street Fight Daily: Google Updates Analytics App, Ad Buyers Talk Digital Platforms
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Updates Analytics App, Providing Insights in Five Minutes… What Ad Buyers Think About Facebook, Twitter, and Everything In Between… To Run a Killer Loyalty Program, Retailers Need to Think Big…
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem