Good morning, Marketer, is local-digital marketing an untapped opportunity?
Despite generating most of their revenue in stores, multi-location brands (chains like Home Depot, Macy’s, Chipotle, and Walmart) have been slow to focus on local-digital marketing tactics – like SEO, GMB optimization, review management, and localized social marketing. Instead, many of these chains rely on national strategies – even though evidence suggests consumers engage with these entities primarily at the local level.
A recent survey from Forrester found that 60% of multi-location marketers agree local ratings and reviews and social media have “a direct impact on their customers’ decisions to visit a store and make a purchase.” And 61% now say that improving local marketing effectiveness is a high priority “next year.” But what makes it such a challenge to implement local-digital marketing? The organizational challenges and pain points the study identifies include:
| • | Not enough resources to scale marketing programs locally across hundreds of stores and locations |
| • | Siloed operations: a lack of internal cooperation and coordination among teams |
| • | Lack of interaction between in-house marketers and external agencies that are managing different channels or campaigns |
| • | Gaps in strategy: 31% reported no locally targeted paid social media strategy |
| • | Use of distinct software solutions that aren’t integrated for a global or holistic view of performance |
| • | Inability to respond quickly to customer engagement or complaints at the local store level |
Keep scrolling for more, including a look at IPG Mediabrand’s first media responsibility report.
Taylor Peterson,
Deputy Editor
