Case Study: A Michigan Yoga Studio’s Tips For Managing Deal Customers
When Eric Paskel ran his first Groupon promotion in January 2011, he knew it was going to be big. What he hadn’t expected, however, was to get hit with 3,000 new clients by 11 a.m. on the day his deal premiered. In the year since then, the owner of Yoga Shelter has sold approximately 15,000 daily deal coupons. But no longer with Groupon…
Case Study: Delaware Coffee Shop Sees 50% Return for Daily Deal Customers
At The Java House Café in Middletown, Del., (pop. 18,871), Cleo Clarke has run promotions with a couple of daily deals sites. She’s managed to turn 50% of those group coupon buyers into repeat customers. Clarke is now exploring Foursquare as a way to tap into her tech-savvy customer base — 90% of whom currently use smartphones…
Case Study: Deals Earns Restaurant 30% Repeat Business and $120,000
In Winnetka, Illinois, chef Michael Lachowicz has strong opinions on what it takes to run successful daily deal promotions. Lachowicz has run six Groupon deals at his establishment, Restaurant Michael, resulting in more than 5,000 coupons sold and $120,000 in revenue generated in the last two years. He estimates that 30% of coupon buyers have returned after their vouchers were redeemed, and says he’s negotiated a deal with Groupon to get 90% of his payouts just two days after his deals end.
Case Study: Park District Picks Patch and Sees 25% Growth
At the Downers Grove Park District in Downers Grove, Illinois, (pop. 48,724) Brandi Beckley decides which channels to use to draw residents to events. She has relied heavily on hyperlocal sites like Patch, TribLocal, and MySuburbanLife because of the targeted audiences that these publications provide…
Case Study: DFW Airport Uses LBS Offers to Spur Traveler Spending
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is a massive, luxurious airport that in some areas resembles an upscale mall. Many of the travelers who passed through, the airport found, were tech-savvy. 84% owned smartphones and 36% were checking in on location-based services while waiting to board their flights. So to connect these travelers to the stores near their […]
Case Study: Non-Profit Uses Foursquare For Fundraising
At BART stations in the Bay Area in 2010, commuters were encouraged to check-in on Foursquare to posters placed by Earthjustice, a non-profit focused on environmental awareness, as part of an effort to gain traction in the tech community. They hit 6,000 in just a few months’ time and earned media as well, in the New York Times, Mashable and elsewhere. Senior marketing manager Ray Wan discusses the organization’s strategy.
Case Study: The Trouble with Mobile Marketing for a Small Town Restaurant
At Chattan Loch Bistro & Public House in Bellefontaine, Ohio (pop. 13,069), owner Tracy McPherson is struggling to find cost-effective ways to reach customers in her small town. After a promising start with Foursquare in 2010—when customers were checking-in and claiming specials at least a couple days a week—McPherson says interest in the app has waned, in part due to a lack of resources at the restaurant. She now relies on a mix of local ads, email newsletters, and successful beer and wine clubs to get new customers through the door.
Case Study: Portland Salon Uses Scoutmob to Increase Exposure, Not Financial Risk
As a new business owner in Portland, Ore., Robin Carlisle has relied heavily on local press and word-of-mouth to promote her salon, Holiday Hair Studio. She initially shied away from daily deal promotions out of fear that an influx of customers would overwhelm her studio, located inside a vintage trailer. She ultimately decided to give Scoutmob a try this past July, in part because the company was new to Portland . Carlisle felt confident that she would be able to use the promotion for exposure without taking on more financial risk than she could handle…
Case Study: For Seattle Video Store, Print is Still King
Remaining relevant is a challenge for any independent video store that has to compete with subscription-based companies like Netflix. Next Door Media, an ad network of hyperlocal sites, took on that challenge with Scarecrow Video in Seattle, adding its sites to the store’s traditional mix of weekly newspapers, free magazines, and public radio stations…
Case Study: Tracking the Success of an Online Ad
For Richard Stromberg, owner of Chicago Photography Classes, hyperlocal news sites and blogs have taken the place of traditional print publications. To track the effectiveness of his online ads, he uses printable coupons that new clients are encouraged to bring to class for discounted rates...
Case Study: Using Foursquare to Increase Foot Traffic
How does the owner of a business with minimal signage and a hidden fourth-floor location encourage walk-in business? For Tom Elliot of Idea Greenhouse, a co-working office space for entrepreneurs and startups in Durham, New Hampshire (pop. 14,638), location-based services have been key. Elliot uses platforms like Foursquare, SCVNGR and Yelp to let people working in coffee shops know that a more attractive group workspace is available nearby.
Case Study: Connecticut Pub Casts a Wide Net With Patch Ads
Like many entrepreneurs, Daneen Grabe, owner of Little Pub restaurant, has little time to research all the advertising platforms that are available in her town of Ridgefield, Conn. She now spends most of her marketing budget on ads in six local Patch sites, in the hopes of attracting some of the hyperlocal news network’s most plugged-in readers. Here’s why.
How to Market to Local Moms
As publishers of websites for suburban moms and advocates for the main street merchants trying to woo them, we spend a lot of time thinking about what matters to the maternally minded. Since women are responsible for 85% of household purchases, reaching the “Chief Household Operator” is a key objective for most local merchants. While these tips are squarely directed at local business owners, many apply to hyperlocal news and blogs as well…