The Local Commerce Universe is expanding. What does this mean? "It's a new way to look at the integration of all the elements of the local commerce ecosystem," says BIA/Kelsey analyst Abid Chaudhry. "This includes traditional media, social, mobile and…
Ad spending is dropping for Core* SMBs according to BIA/Kelsey's Local Commerce Monitor™ (LCM) survey. BIA/Kelsey research director, Steve Marshall attributes the drop to two main causes: Increased use of digital media Increased use of social media Though we've tracked steady growth in SMB digital…
The Local Search Association recently reported that that small businesses on average use more than seven marketing channels. Our current 2015 Local Commerce Monitor ™ (LCM) Wave 19 also shows that for small businesses in our survey the average number…
Search marketing has become mainstream. This has created more competition, which is a double edged sword: crowded bid marketplaces make it harder for SMBs to rank... but it also motivates evolved SEM tactics. This is according to BIA/Kelsey Senior Director, Industry…
According to BIA/Kelsey's Local Commerce Monitor (LCM) Wave 18, the average annual spend on advertising and promotion for SMBs in the financial services vertical* was $31,012. This is the second highest of the verticals covered in the survey. Financial Services SMBs…
The trend of print directory ad dollars shifting to digital continues, according to findings from BIA/Kelsey's Local Commerce Monitor (LCM 18) upcoming look at SMBs who use directories for advertising and promotion. In LCM Wave 18, "net decreasers" -- those planning…
In the six years that BIA/Kelsey has tracked social media as an advertising/marketing medium for SMBs, it's developed from an experiment (blogs, email, and reviews) to a tsunami. Last year, social media achieved a "double first" -- It was the top media used…
We like vertical specialization for local marketing, and have long admired the approach of G5, the Bend, Ore- based local marketing firm that started with a focus on self-storage unit owners in 2005, and later added senior housing, multi-unit property…
Acquiring very small businesses at a low cost of acquisition and then locking them into a suite of services that they rely on to run their businesses (thus driving higher lifetime value) is a huge opportunity that is also incredibly difficult to…
It's well known by now that mobile has overtaken desktop as the primary mode for online searches. Home services has a tendency to lag broader online trends and this is no exception. However consumers are expected to soon use mobile for…
Any company that sells to small businesses knows that demographics can be a stronger indicator of preference than vertical category. We recently met with the leadership team at Home Advisor to ask about the trends they are adapting to in the SMB…
Following vertical drill downs into the buying habits of pizzarias and pharmacies, the team at Buzzboard recently took a look at optometrists. The biggest takeaway: Chain optometrists have a healthy digital presence while independent stores fall behind. This goes especially…
Do SMBs really want a one stop shop solution for all of their digital marketing needs? This question is becoming more important as the stack of services being offered to SMBs grows broader and more complex. It's becoming too much for…
SMBs that use video* for advertising and promotion (Video SMBs) have more aggressive plans for media spending over the next 12 months than those that do not use video, according to Local Commerce Monitor, Wave 18, BIA/Kelsey's survey of small…
A slew of membership-based loyalty plays such as Belly, Five Stars, SpotOn, MOGL, Spring, Perka, Thanx and others launched around 2011 to focus more on customer loyalty than new customer acquisitions. The business model: charge SMBs monthly fees; recognize customers…
Video is a big component of how small businesses market themselves. And it appears that SMBs are beginning to take advantage of the full range of opportunities that video offers, not just to promote their brand but to educate consumers…
One of the great challenges in selling digital services to SMBs is that relatively few SMBs go shopping for these products. These products need to be sold by outbound sales channels. Making these channels more efficient is a big opportunity…
Scheduling software programs for SMBs have had their ups and downs since they were initially introduced in the 2008-2009 timeframe. But the emergence of cloud platforms and the use of scheduling as an anchor for loyalty and leads programs suggests…
It's always useful to ask actual small-business owners what they really need to run their businesses, what their objections are to the various digital marketing solutions being pitched to them and what messages resonate with them. We did just…
Building a business that involves acquiring thousands of small merchants as customers and then driving mass quantities of quality leads to those merchants is one of the toughest challenges in the local space. HomeAdvisor is one of a relatively few companies out there that…