News and Analysis
Local Search Association Announces New President, Bill Dinan
The Local Search Association, which brings together over 300 companies intent on connecting enterprises and small businesses alike with consumers, announced on Wednesday morning Bill Dinan as its new president. The announcement follows the retirement of its previous president Neg Norton, who held the role for 15 years.
Commentary
In Google/Facebook Duel, SMBs Are the Real Winners
With Google’s recent changes, Facebook may now offer small business advertisers a better way to reach low-funnel shoppers — those currently in-market for a product or service, not just those vaguely searching for the category. Google’s move could drive many businesses into Facebook’s arms.
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Q3 Earnings Roundup: Shift to Mobile Presents Commerce Challenge for Yelp, Angie’s List, Groupon
Consumers are spending more time on their mobile devices than ever, a shift that is affecting both traditional and digital businesses. Recent earnings reports from Yelp, Angie’s List, and Groupon indicate that some of these publicly traded local mainstays are handling the transition better than others, particularly the rising challenge to effectively combine content, commerce, and services.
Zenchef CEO: The Restaurant Tech Sector Is Booming
French company Zenchef, which offers an all-in-one marketing solution for restaurants, has taken on the challenge of uniting thousands of European eateries on one platform. With 2,500 customers in France, Spain, and the UK, and plans to expand to Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Turkey in 2016, co-founder and CEO Xavier Zeitoun said “the key in this market is distribution.”
Case Study: Restaurant Group Takes a Data-Driven Approach to Email Marketing
Data is changing the way large restaurant groups cater to their highest-value customers. Richard Sandoval Restaurants, the upmarket restaurant group with more than 35 locations worldwide, is looking for more strategic ways to use data for customer retention and acquisition. It has started harnessing its email database to make more data-driven decisions using tools like customer analytics and marketing platform Venga.
Constant Contact CEO Touts ‘Distribution Benefits’ After $1.1 Billion Acquisition by Endurance
Endurance International Group, which operates a stable of small business-oriented services, has acquired email marketing giant Constant Contact, in a transaction valued at $1.1. billion. Constant Contact will become the largest brand under the Endurance umbrella. “It’s taking our mission further by getting broader distribution. That’s the number-one rationale for the acquisition,” said Constant Contact CEO Gail Goodman.
Street Fight Daily: Google’s Drones to Hit Skies by 2017, Apple’s New Indoor Mapping App
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Plans to Deliver Packages with Drones by 2017 (Business Insider)… Apple’s ‘Indoor Survey’ App Maps Venues Using Radio Frequencies (The Next Web)… Amazon to Open First Brick-and-Mortar Bookstore (Wall Street Journal)…
#SFSNYC VIDEO: Booker CEO on the Tricky Process of Expanding into New Local Verticals
Booker CEO Josh McCarter opened his Street Fight Summit keynote address with a question that’s on the minds of many small business solutions providers: “How do you take a system that’s designed for one vertical and take it across more categories?” Factoring in the differing needs of various service-based businesses makes that question even more complex. But given the size of what McCarter termed the “local service commerce” opportunity, answering it could be tremendously lucrative.
How Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Uses Quality Journalism to Pay the Bills
Like other dailies, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has taken big hits in advertising and distribution revenue on the print side, but it’s still profitable. To find out how the Journal Sentinel uses quality journalism to stay in the black, Street Fight spoke with editor and senior vice president George Stanley.
#SFSNYC VIDEO: How the World’s Largest Advertiser, P&G, Targets Consumers on a Local Level
In a wide-ranging Street Fight Summit fireside chat, Ajay Kapoor, who oversees global business solutions for Procter & Gamble, covered everything from the wealth of market research sources P&G has at its disposal to channel marketing strategies to on-the-ground local initiatives in emerging markets like India.
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Kills Its Groupon and Square Competitors, the Rise of Hypertargeted Ads
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Kills Two Businesses: Local Daily Deals and Its Square Competitor (Recode)… The $21.8 Billion Reason Ultra-Personal Online Ads Are Coming (Fast Company)… Pondering Homejoy’s Failure (Medium)…
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