Three Key Takeaways from #BrandifyIt2016 : Day 1

It’s been a jam-packed day, full of fun activities, industry leading speakers and great brand networking. Throughout today’s events, there have been a few core concepts that have seemed to pervade both breakout sessions and seminars alike. These themes are crucial to understanding local marketing and implementing effective strategies to get your brand found when it matters the most. So, to recap on the day’s events, here are three key takeaways from day one of the 2016 Brandify Summit.   

Data is an Essential Facet of Local Search
From a mobile-first approach to the to review management and customer engagement strategies, big data is a critical component to your brand’s local search strategy. Location data gives brands insight into a user’s daily habits, the places they frequent, and their purchase history. Local marketing is all about creating a unique and personalized customer experience, and location data gives brands the ability to cater to customers in the way their past location history dictates. In our mobile-first world, users often perform searches on-the-go, expecting immediate and contextual results. Location data allows brands to predict a user’s behavior before that moment of need, creating loyalty building opportunities and repeat business.

Data Accuracy Can Be the Deciding Factor in a Brand's Success
Location data is important, but it is next to meaningless unless your data is accurate and consistent across all platforms. Consumers do not have patience with brands who do not have location data accuracy. In the spur of the moment, users expect easy navigation, mobile optimization and accurate local listings. With so many brands vying for the consumers’ time and attention, those without accurate location data or easy-to-find listings are bound to get left in the dust. Inaccurate location data can also impact the the data brands use for geo-targeting campaigns and these skewed the results can lead to ineffective or even negative resulting marketing campaigns. Enterprise brands need to focus on syndicating location data and keeping it up fresh and accurate if they want to be successful at the local level.

Review Response is a Key Component of Engagement
Reviews have become a huge part of the buyer journey. Many customers will not visit a store location without first reading reviews and and evaluating the business based on the feedback of other customers. Eighty-eight percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, which means that your brand sentiment could be drawing or deterring prospects to or from your location. Many customers also use reviews as a means of communicating with brands and providing feedback on their positive or negative experiences. Review moderation and response is a great opportunity to take in customer feedback and make changes accordingly; it is also a way to engage with your customers and let them know that their concerns have been heard and that you are addressing them appropriately. When customers feel like brands are listening and acting up on their feedback, they are much more likely to give those brands another chance.

Location data, data accuracy and review moderation are all essential to your brand’s success and they are key ingredients for any local marketing strategy. With a location CMS, brands can benefit from a centralized database that provides real-time updates to location information and powerful geo-targeting technology that verifies, updates and maintains your brand’s hyperlocal data.