Clik here to view.
MyTime to Compete for Scheduling, SMB Marketing Services
We’ve long seen scheduling as a possible anchor for SMB marketing services (coupons, leads, promotions, analytics, upsells et al). Obviously, we are not alone. More than 75 players are positioning...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FiveStars Links Growth to Big Data Analytics; Projects 8,000 + SMB Customers...
FiveStars, the well-funded SMB loyalty company that competes against Belly, SpotOn and others, is projecting it will grow its merchant base to 8,000-9,000 businesses by year-end, up from its current...
View ArticleClik here to view.
$139 Billion in Local Ads: The Word with BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist Mark Fratrik
Local ad spending reached $137.9 billion in 2014, and will see a slight boost to $139.4 billion in 2015. We talked with BIA/Kelsey Chief Economist and SVP Mark Fratrik about the new research...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ReachLocal Now Captures SMB Leads from Across the Web
Leads are coming from everywhere, and the digital marketing firms have adjusted to this reality. ReachLocal, for one, has now opened up its ReachEdge lead conversion and marketing automation software....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Signpost Raises $20.5 Million to Provide CRM-Based SMB Services
Signpost announced today it has raised a new $20.5 Million round, which will let it build out an evolved, CRM-based “close the loop” strategy of tracking SMB digital sources via transactions, social...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Facebook Focuses Hard(er) on Small Business
Facebook is felt by some to have the potential to dominate SMB online advertising because of its incredibly high organic usage. But the challenge to drive even more SMB advertisers remains. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BIA/Kelsey Bookshelf: 'The Internet of Things'
Last year, like millions of others, I bought a Nest thermostat. It is connected to my WiFi, and I can use its iPhone app to turn off the heat from the Airport. It also knows if we aren’t home, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
UT San Diego Sale: Online Isn't Adding Value to Traditional Media Sale Prices
Today’s announcement that UT San Diego and its eight regional publications will be acquired by Tribune Publishing’s Los Angeles Times for a slightly better-than-fire sale price of $85 million (plus...
View ArticleClik here to view.
AOL's Sale to Verizon: All Eyes on Mobile and Video
Verizon‘s announcement today that it will buy AOL for $4.4 billion is a bid to get beyond dumb pipes and airwaves to get deeply into mobile and video. By doing so, Verizon, a $200 Billion company,...
View ArticleGoodBye Pennysaver: Is There Life Left in Shopper Publications?
Is there life left in local, broadsheet “shopper” publications that highlight home and trade businesses and things for sale? Not according to OpenGate, a $3 Billion LBO firm that abruptly laid off...
View ArticleClik here to view.
BIA/Kelsey NOW: The Impact of the Local On Demnd Economy
BIA/Kelsey’s NOW conference today in San Francisco highlighted the Uberification of the local space and its impact, pro and con, on traditional marketing channels, especially advertising. “It is about...
View ArticleHomeAdvisor Is Rolling Out ‘Instant Booking’ Nationally
HomeAdvisor, formerly known as ServiceMagic, is set to roll out its Instant Booking service in July on a national basis. The Instant Booking service, which is now live in 20 cities, represents a...
View ArticleWanderful Bets on Mobile ‘Cash Dash’
Wanderful Media, the newspaper-owned promotions company, has expanded on its original Find&Save coupon portal, which now includes 500 national and regional merchants, and 18,000 brands. The new...
View ArticleeBay Sells Off Craigslist Stake
eBay’s one-time dream of anchoring its large classifieds/marketplace business with Craigslist as now officially ended. Last week, eBay accepted a cash buyout from Craigslist for its 28.4 percent stake,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘On Demand’ is New Focus for Some Home Service Providers
Competition in the home services leads space has been heating up – and so are the tensions. Just this week, Angie’s List has filed suit against Amazon, contending that Amazon Home Services has been...
View ArticleBenzing’s MyNeighbor Provides Household Items for On Demand Rentals
The last player standing in the hyperlocal neighbor wars might be considered NextDoor, which has raised over $210 million from several major VCs on the basis of converting a mountain of neighborhoods...
View ArticleCentro: Boost Demand Side Ads With Full Program, Not Just Programmatic
Chicago-based Centro, which helps provide targeted ad solutions to 13,000 publishers — 4,000 at any given time — says it is refocusing on providing publishers with complete Demand Side solutions that...
View ArticleGroupon Joins Food Delivery Wars
Groupon today announced it would join the online food delivery space, acquiring Baltimore-based OrderUp, which has O&O and affiliated delivery service in 40 markets. Most of the markets are college...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New BIA/Kelsey Insight Paper: ‘Scheduling as an Anchor for Commerce’
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...
View ArticleReview: Planet Retail’s Report on The Future of Shopping
We lose track of the incremental changes in our culture that digital has wrought. But shopping has really changed. The core components of shopping — Search and discovery, promotions, prices, inventory,...
View Article
