key insights from the local merchant report
TRANSCRIPT
David Card Research Director June 2015
THE LOCAL MERCHANT REPORT: WHERE SMALL
BIZ NEEDS HELP
¡ Survey of 500+ small local merchants ¡ Digital marketing usage and expectations ¡ Key challenges they face ¡ How to help ¡ What’s next and key takeaways
AGENDA
MARKETING OBJECTIVES BY BUSINESS TYPE
73% 55%
40% 57%
9%
13%
0%
8%
19% 32%
60% 35%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Local Retail Personal Services
Restaurant Service Provider
Acquire New Customers Build Brand Awareness Retain Current Customers
Share of respondents
LOCAL MERCHANTS’ MOST EFFECTIVE MARKETING MEDIA
19% 22%
24% 25%
27% 28% 28% 29% 31%
47% 55%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Geotargeting Text Messaging
Mobile Advertising Yellow Pages
Daily Deals Local Newspapers
Booking/Scheduling Platforms Loyalty Programs
Coupons Email Marketing
Online Advertising
Share of respondents rating 4,5
LOCAL MERCHANTS’ USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MARKETING
34%
13%
14%
14%
16%
24%
27%
56%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
I do not use social media
YouTube
Google+
Blogs
Share of respondents
EXPECTATIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA IN MARKETING
37%
7%
20%
25%
36%
39%
42%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
I have no expectations
It allows me to work better with partners
It will reduce my marketing costs
It adds credibility to my business
It will engage my customers
It will build brand awareness for my business
It will generate leads for my business
Share of respondents using social media
KEY CHALLENGES
BIGGEST CHALLENGES WITH DIGITAL MARKETING
21%
33%
33%
42%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Not enough resources to hire dedicated personnel
Ad budget not large enough
Not enough knowledge or expertise
Not enough time
Share of respondents
BIGGEST ISSUES WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
2%
9%
9%
38%
51%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
It has hurt my image in the past.
It is too complicated to understand.
Poor reviews are there for everyone to see.
I have not seen any return on the money I have spent.
It is too time consuming to manage.
Share of respondents
WHERE LOCAL MERCHANTS NEED THE MOST HELP – NO SILVER BULLET
9% 10% 10% 11%
13% 15% 16% 17% 18%
24% 24% 25%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
Loyalty marketing Reputation monitoring and review
Deals/promotions/coupons Online display/banner advertising
Mobile marketing Blogging/online content creation
Paid search advertising Traditional media
Getting our listings information Facebook and/or social media
Company website, Ecommerce Search engine optimization
Share of respondents
HOW TO HELP
HOW LOCAL MERCHANTS DETERMINE MARKETING IS WORKING
4%
13%
21%
21%
34%
58%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
We use call tracking
We use promotion codes and coupons
We don’t try and monitor where our business is coming from
We carefully monitor our website analytics
We try to determine where every lead came from
We ask customers where or how they found out about us
Share of respondents
LOCAL MERCHANTS’ USE OF MARKETING DASHBOARDS
55%
10%
15%
35%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
We do not use dashboards
Booking/Scheduling platform
General marketing platform
Social media platform
Share of respondents
WHAT’S NEXT
ONE THIRD CAN HANDLE MOBILE PAYMENTS, EXPECT HIGH SHARE OF SALES FROM DIGITAL
7% 13%
33%
47% 47%
15% 15%
23%
0%
20%
40%
60%
None 1% to 10% 11% to 30% Over 31%
Able to accept mobile payments Unable to accept mobile payments
Share of respondents
BENEFITS OF A POS SYSTEM BY BUSINESS TYPE
0%
43% 38% 50% 50%
30% 18%
17% 25% 5%
10%
20% 25% 22%
35% 13%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Restaurant Service Provider Personal Services
Local Retail
Gathering data on customers Increased repeat traffic Decreased marketing costs Supports mobile
Share of respondents using POS
¡ Small local merchants love digital, but need lots of help
¡ Social is shiny new toy, but ROI is missing
¡ Needed: analytics and dashboards
¡ But “dumbed down” streamlined via templates and benchmarks
¡ On near horizon: Mobile, next-gen POS
KEY TAKEAWAYS