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November 11, 2016
SUBJECT: Industry Trends – Weekly Summary
October 28, 2016 to November 10, 2016
Berry in the News – Trends
No Coverage
Vendors/Partners
No Coverage
Publishers/Telcos
No Coverage
Local/National News – Trends
Survey Offers Traditional Retailers a Mobile Blueprint for Survival | LSA Insider
o lsainsider.com, 29 October 2016
▪ During the Place Conference there was a session called “Retail 2.0: Using Location Intelligence to Beat Amazon.” At the end there was a debate about whether digital technology could improve the in-store experience and increase customer loyalty.
LSA’s Small Biz Marketing Bootcamp Continues in 2017: Call for Sponsors | LSA Insider
o lsainsider.com, 31 October 2016
▪ In April 2015 we held our first ever small business marketing bootcamp event in LA. The one-day intensive brought together speakers and experts from across the local marketing space with the objective of educating SMBs on the fundamentals of digital marketing. The event was extremely well received and continued in 2016.
Report: 93 percent of brands and retailers misaligned, harming omnichannel efforts
o marketingland.com, 31 October 2016
▪ Omnichannel is both an overused buzzword and perhaps, in idealized form, an unattainable goal. In its simplest formulation, it’s an effort to deliver consistent brand and shopping experiences to the consumer across platforms, devices and stores. It also connotes a 360-degree understanding of the customer.
Why Local Search Is Even More Important in the Age of Ad Blocking | Street Fight
o streetfightmag.com, 1 November 2016
▪ At the beginning of 2016, just over 200 million people globally were using ad blocking software. That figure has been on the rise year-over-year, and we can expect the that as we head into 2017 that figure will be significantly larger.
Uber Takes An Innovative View Of Location With New Rider App |
o geomarketing.com, 2 November 2016
▪ “Where to?” is the simple question that Uber has been asking users since its 2009 launch. But the company set for a big change with the debut of its redesigned app: “Where to” doesn’t have to mean the name of a place — it can be a person.
QuickChek Sets Great Store On Location Data | AdExchanger
o adexchanger.com, 3 November 2016
▪ Convenience store chain QuickChek is placing location at the center of its digital strategy. It wants to prove that digital spend leads to foot traffic, said Eric Rush, digital marketing manager at QuickChek, which operates 140 retail locations across New Jersey and New York state.
Coupons Are a Major Purchase Influencer - eMarketer
o emarketer.com, 4 November 2016
▪ More than 70% of US internet users said their purchase decisions were influenced by coupons and discounts, according to a September 2016 survey from Bazaarvoice and CMO Council. Coupons and discounts influenced far more US internet users than any other factor, according to the survey.
Just How Big a Deal Are Voice Search and Chatbots for Local? | Street Fight
o streetfightmag.com, 7 November 2016
▪ Two weeks ago at Street Fight Summit, we raised a little controversy around the degree of hype versus disruptiveness of voice search to the hyperlocal economy. Street Fight believes voice search is a critical emerging technology, a view that seemingly contrasts with that of many companies on the supply side of hyperlocal. Meanwhile, we’re both less than bullish on a related user interface technology, chatbots.
Why is free money that can be used on local search marketing being left on the table?
o searchengineland.com, 7 November 2016
▪ According to a recently released white paper by the Local Search Association (LSA) on co-op advertising programs, titled, “Breaking through the Co-op Clutter,” estimates of unused or unclaimed co-op dollars range from $14 billion to $35 billion. Even on the low end of that range, that’s a lot of cash.
Why Yelp Should Actively Embrace ‘Review Solicitation’ | LSA Insider
o lsainsider.com, 7 November 2016
▪ Among the sites that present online ratings and reviews, Yelp has always had the strictest policies against “review generation.” The company has historically not wanted businesses to ask for reviews, to say nothing of “incentivizing” them with rewards of any kind.
Facebook, LinkedIn Ads Deliver Best Value to B2B Social Marketers - eMarketer
o emarketer.com, 8 November 2016
▪ More than two-thirds of business-to-business (B2B) marketers worldwide devote dollars to social media advertising, according to September research. And among those who do, platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn appear to deliver the best ROI.
How Walgreens’ App Update Will Leverage Beacons To Improve The In-Store Experience |
o geomarketing.com, 9 November 2016
▪ Walgreens latest app update aims to deliver a more personalized in-store mobile experience through beacons, offering customers increased access to deals and coupons while they shop in Walgreens stores across the U.S.
Who Predicted Future of “Local” in 2016? Call for 2017 Predictions | LSA Insider
o lsainsider.com, 10 November 2016
▪ To kick off 2016, the Local Search Association (LSA) shared “24 Expert Predictions for Local Marketing in 2016” and it was one of our most popular pieces of content this year. The predictions explored the perspectives of local marketers representing media publishers, agencies, technology providers and more.
International News - Trends
No Coverage
Berry Blog
No Coverage
Berry Twitter Trends
No Coverage
Berry in the News – Trends
No Coverage
Vendors/Partners
No Coverage
Publishers/Telcos
No Coverage
Local/National News – Trends
Survey Offers Traditional Retailers a Mobile Blueprint for Survival | LSA Insider
lsainsider.com, 29 October 2016
http://www.lsainsider.com/survey-offers-traditional-retailers-a-mobile-blueprint-for-survival/archives#sthash.TqV4MtFz.dpbs
During the Place Conference there was a session called “Retail 2.0: Using Location Intelligence to Beat Amazon.” At the end there was a debate about whether digital technology could improve the in-store experience and increase customer loyalty.
Opinions were split, with Mark Marinacci of Swirl representing a more bullish view about technology and Placed’s David Shim expressing skepticism about whether technology could truly solve what ails retail. Both are right: there are some fundamental issues but smartphone technology can play a significant role in improving the in-store user experience.
A new report from Euclid Analytics explicitly and impliedly offers some compelling recommendations for retailers. The report is based on a survey of 1,500 US smartphone owners, which asked about their use of smartphones during shopping.
More than 90% of respondents said they shopped in stores at least once a week, while only 49% shopped online once a week. However 83% used their smartphones as part of in-store shopping; only 17% said they didn’t use their smartphones in stores.
The survey explored what people liked and disliked about in-store shopping. As you might expect, people went to stores to touch, feel and see products before buying (67%). They also said they enjoyed browsing in stores (51%) and not having to wait for products to be shipped and delivered (51%).
The main reasons people didn’t like shopping in stores included waiting in line (45%), physically traveling to stores (33%) and more limited inventory choices than online (26%). Two out of three of these complaints can be addressed via smartphone apps and digital technology.
In what ways do you use your smartphone in stores?
Asked about which mobile apps consumers used in store, the survey found the following:
- Texting/messaging apps
- Amazon
- Retailers/store app
It went on to explore the capabilities and content that consumers want via their phones during the in-store experience:
- Access the store’s best deals/sales
- Loyalty program information
- Inventory counts
- Store maps
- A more personalized shopping experience
- Ability to request attention of store associate
The survey also asked how these shoppers wanted to be “engaged” by retailers on smartphones while in the store:
- Provided with store coupons/discounts
- Gifts
- Product information
- In-store inventory search
- Personalized recommendations
- “Alert me about products in the store that I’ve previously looked for online”
- Speak to a store associate
Taken together these findings represent a kind of blueprint for retailers (mostly for app development). And while retailers have had trouble getting consumers to download and retain their apps, there are multiple ways to get them to do so. However, once downloaded the app needs to deliver for consumers, who are asking for “digital assistance” in the store through their phones.
Retailer apps (or websites) should enable people to pay with their phones/apps or otherwise avoid long checkout lines (a shorter TSA pre-like line could be established for app users). They should also provide in-store and online inventory search, in-depth product information including reviews, store maps, loyalty information, availability of discounts, as well as other tools (e.g., shopping lists) to help consumers in store. Consumers also want to be able to summon store associates using their phones.
The lists above are pretty comprehensive.
Retailers could also encourage a signed-in experience by linking online browsing and search activity to the in-store mobile experience (app or site) and show “products recently viewed” and personalized recommendations based on prior online browsing. A signed-in experience (or check-in) also potentially provides valuable store-visit/attribution metrics.
In addition to these ideas, there are numerous things retailers can do to deliver a better “omnichannel” shopping experience, if they really think about helping the customer and look at the world from the customer’s perspective.
Beyond this, retailers need to think about the online and in-store experiences as linked but substantially different. The scenarios and lists above provide strong advice for how to create a better in-store experience and how to increase the loyalty of consumers. There are also implications about Facebook and potentially Google advertising, coming from the above findings.
None of this is easy to pull off in practice and many traditional retailers are slow and conservative. However they must offer better in-store experiences — stores are really their competitive advantage over Amazon — and smartphone technology is one way to do that. They simply can’t stand still and expect to survive.
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LSA’s Small Biz Marketing Bootcamp Continues in 2017: Call for Sponsors | LSA Insider
lsainsider.com, 31 October 2016
http://www.lsainsider.com/lsas-small-biz-marketing-bootcamp-continues-in-2017-call-for-sponsors/archives#sthash.acVRj13e.dpbs
In April 2015 we held our first ever small business marketing bootcamp event in LA. The one-day intensive brought together speakers and experts from across the local marketing space with the objective of educating SMBs on the fundamentals of digital marketing. The event was extremely well received and continued in 2016.
After a total of nine successful shows to date, we are excited to announce that the show will go on in 2017 — with a slightly different name. The MarketingBitz Bootcamp (formerly LSA Bootcamp) will make stops in Atlanta, Nashville, New York City, Phoenix and Toronto. We’re also considering other stops.
There are a variety of sponsorship benefits, depending on level of support. Sponsors can speak, exhibit, provide swag, one-on-one consultations and most importantly, interact with business owners. Each event is like a focus group to better understand the SMB perspective. The event is increasingly becoming a “must-attend” event for SMBs looking to grow business. Attendees are enthusiastic and highly engaged.
There are a number of ways to get involved. Sponsorship packages are built for companies interested in all five shows, but opportunities are available for a single show or a combination of a shows. Here are the sponsorship opportunities available:
Speakers and sponsors from 2016 included a wide range of companies and provides in the local and small business marketing space:
If you are interested in participating or learning more, click here or email LSA at .
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Report: 93 percent of brands and retailers misaligned, harming omnichannel efforts
marketingland.com, 31 October 2016
http://marketingland.com/report-93-percent-brands-retailers-misaligned-harming-omnichannel-efforts-196676?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Brands are spending to drive offline sales, but not partnering with retailers or properly measuring the in-store impact of digital.
Omnichannel is both an overused buzzword and perhaps, in idealized form, an unattainable goal. In its simplest formulation, it’s an effort to deliver consistent brand and shopping experiences to the consumer across platforms, devices and stores. It also connotes a 360-degree understanding of the customer.
In a new survey and report from Netsertive and the CMO Council, “189 senior marketing leaders with organizations that currently sell products through a physical retail channel” were asked about their omnichannel strategies. Though this isn’t made explicit in the document, respondents are brands that sell primarily through third-party retailers (e.g., appliance brand that sells via third-party appliance retailer).
Asked which media channels are most critical, these survey respondents said:
· Digital advertising (generally) — 60 percent
· Corporate websites
— 56 percent
· Mobile — 54.4 percent
· Social media channels — 51.2 percent
· Email — 47.2 percent
· Local in-store engagement and promotions — 40 percent
· Live events — 24.8 percent
· Local retail partners and resellers — 22.4 percent
· Television advertising — 21.6 percent
· Digital video
— 19.2 percent
· Traditional print advertising — 19.2 percent
· Direct mail or printed inserts — 16 percent
· Radio advertising — 8.8 percent
· Partner websites and social channels — 8 percent
The overwhelming majority of respondents (94 percent) said that omnichannel “is either important or critical to reaching their business goals.” Indeed, these brands need drive people into physical stores to buy their products. Yet there’s ambivalence (or ignorance) about the importance of coordinating digital and offline retail experiences: “88 percent of brands don’t consider local retail partners to be a critical ally in achieving business outcomes.”
One of the primary findings in the document is that available measurement tools are not being utilized. For example, the report finds less than 25 percent of brand respondents are using tools such as Google Store Visits, FourSquare or LiveRamp to measure the impact of digital on offline commerce.
Netsertive argues that despite the ambition and effort to drive in-store visits and sales, the omnichannel breakdown for brands often comes in the last mile because brands and retailers are effectively not aligned:
[M]arketers are struggling to align strategies with their local retail partners. In fact, only seven percent of marketers believe they are fully aligned with local partners, feeling that both brand and retail partners are in lock step with seamlessly executed brand campaigns.