News and Analysis
AR in Local Commerce: Google Shows the Way
Mike Boland: A recent and relatively understated development from Google could portend the future of augmented reality. Its previously teased “VPS” was released into the wild for a small set of users. For those unfamiliar, VPS (visual positioning service) guides users with 3D overlays on upheld smartphone screens. Sort of a cousin of AR, this type of experience could represent the sector’s eventual killer apps. Though we’ve seen the most AR success so far in gaming (Pokemon Go) and social (Snapchat AR lenses), it could be more mundane utilities like navigation that engender high-frequency use cases.
Communicating on GMB Poses Some Challenges, but the Local Ecosystem Has Answers
Google has been hard at work on local in 2018 and 2019, taking strides toward making its Google My Business app the one-stop-shop for local businesses hoping to connect with customers through digital means. Nevertheless, local is a tricky, 24-7 business, and when it comes to connecting brick-and-mortars with customers nearby, Alphabet’s core business has some room for improvement.
5 Platforms Using AI to Analyze Customer Reviews
Beyond the star ratings lies a wealth of information. Sentiment and opinions can be used to shape the way brands develop their highest-selling products. Given the volume of reviews posted each day, however, it would be impossible for most major brands to analyze every customer reaction individually. Instead, a growing number of brands are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to extract and analyze the sentiment from product reviews. Here are five examples of platforms that offer this type of AI technology for analyzing customer feedback posted online.
Commentary
E-commerce Is a $341.7 Billion-dollar Industry — Can SMBs Get a Piece of the Pie?
Small businesses can close the gap between online and offline commerce with some hard work and adherence to a smart strategy. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Brands, Meet the Data Amplifiers
Data amplifiers distribute and publish your data to a broader audience than you could ever do on your own — what I call the “network effect.” Your brand becomes more visible because your business data becomes more open and accessible to the influencers who are in a position to help customers find your business.
Retailers Shift Focus to Offline Affiliate Marketing
Location analytics represent the new battleground in retail, but imagine if you could apply the same analytics for online attribution to offline purchases. Offline affiliate marketing does just that, giving retailers the tools to analyze data from in-store purchases similar to what they can do for online purchases.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Twitter Launches ‘Buy’ Button, AOL’s Armstrong Ready to Fight Ad Blocking
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Twitter Makes ‘Buy’ Button Widely Available (New York Times)… Tim Armstrong Says AOL Is in the ‘Best Position’ to Fight Ad Blocking (Adweek)… Sources: Jack Dorsey Expected to Be Named Permanent Twitter CEO (Recode)…
Yext Gets in the Customer Engagement Xone
Fast-growing Yext is broadening its suite of location-based targeting products with the launch this week of Xone, a beacon-based program for businesses to engage in-store consumers with relevant content. Xone’s central feature is Tips, which enables businesses to customize and deliver messages to smartphone users who pass within range of an in-store Xone Beacon.
Whither the Search Engine in the Age of Mobile?
The path to purchase ceased being linear some time ago, probably as soon as online-to-offline became a standard part of the marketing lexicon. But as mobile has begun to wield increasing influence over the shopping process — at home, on the go, and in-store — the path has grown even more convoluted. The latest evidence comes from a new study conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) on behalf of YP.
ReachLocal’s Rowlands: In Order to Stay Relevant with Your Market, You Have No Choice But to Broaden
“A lot of companies started with a one-product solution — ReachLocal in search and other companies in email marketing or social. But our customers’ needs evolved, and they needed more than that one product. In order to stay relevant with your market, you have no choice but to broaden,” said ReachLocal CEO Sharon Rowlands about the pressure to offer a full suite of services.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Wants Your TV Ad Budget, Are Ad Blockers ‘Highway Robbers?’
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Why Sheryl Sandberg Says Big Brands Should Spend Their TV Ad Budgets on Facebook (Adweek)… Ad Blocking Companies Are Like Highway Robbers, IAB Says (Wall Street Journal)… Instacart Hires Its First CFO (TechCrunch)…
Case Study: Coffee Shop Leverages Dayparting to Perk Up Afternoon Lull
Walk into any coffee shop in the late afternoon and you probably won’t have a problem finding an open table. That afternoon lull can be tough to overcome. At Sunshine Coffee Roasters in Northern California, owner Mike Doherty’s approach adds a shot of technology to established customer outreach tactics. He relies on his cloud-based POS system, ShopKeep, for the majority of his promotional work and business management.
Editor’s Take: The Apps vs. Browser Debate Is a Distraction
The venerable apps vs. mobile web debate continues to rage on but it is largely a distraction for local merchants. Business owners do need to understand the changing media landscape to make the most effective possible use of their limited marketing budgets, but their time and their dollars are better spent on marketing fundamentals rather than investing in the increasingly difficult and crowded race to acquire, retain, and monetize app users.
Street Fight Daily: Thumbtack Is Now a Unicorn, Amazon Leverages Existing On-Demand Workforce
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Thumbtack Becomes Latest Unicorn, Raises $125 Million at $1.25 Billion Valuation (Forbes)… Amazon Taps ‘On-Demand’ Workers for One-Hour Deliveries (Wall Street Journal)… Walmart Doubles Down on Online Grocery Shopping with Curbside Pickup (TechCrunch)…
Redpoint Ventures’ Dharmaraj: There Will Be Many Different Craigslists
“It’s about establishing trust and community. I think there will be many different Craigslists, each for your own local community. That’s where something big can be built in the local space — a Craigslist that’s organized by neighborhoods, rather than by cities,” said Redpoint Ventures partner Satish Dharmaraj about local “unicorns” waiting to emerge.
Street Culture: HR Strategies for Startups
Hiring isn’t rocket science. It’s pretty simple to create basic procedures that turn hiring into a standard company practice. But it does takes time and concerted effort. For Cat Hernandez, talent partner at investment firm Primary Venture Partners, it starts with making sure that everyone in the company is closely aligned with whatever the company is trying to achieve.
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AI Won’t Fix Advertising – It May Scale Its Chaotic Nature