Whether you’re searching for a business address on Google Maps, reviewing a restaurant on Yelp or rating a hotel on TripAdvisor, local data is becoming a crucial aspect to everyone’s online experience, and can have a substantial impact on a business’ bottom line.
Take for instance the previous examples, and how location data could make or break a customer’s opinion of a business in these scenarios:
- A prospective renter doesn’t know if an office building will be open on weekends because its office hours aren’t filled out in its Google profile
- A great Yelp review encourages a hungry patron to visit a new restaurant for lunch
- A negative comment about a hotel’s cleanliness makes a traveler select different lodgings
And those three examples are just a start.
Take for instance some of the other commonly used online location services (and this list is by no means exhaustive):
Based on this list, you can also conclude that there’s a strong connection between location tools and mobile devices.
The tech buzzword that describes this group of online services is SoLoMo (Social, Local, Mobile). And as mobile usage increases (and it’s increasing fast), location data becomes increasingly valuable.
Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg said during their 2012 earnings call,
”Local is huge, it’s the holy grail of the Internet. The problem with local businesses is that they’re not very tech savvy. Something like 40% of them have no web presence at all.”
The value in local data is no longer just in being able to find what you’re looking for - it has massive social implications.
My previous examples include reviews, but take for instance services like Facebook Places or Foursquare that let you ‘Check In’.
Yet a recent infographic we shared indicated that 65% of businesses have no intention of using geo-location sites of that nature, which may be a missed opportunity.
Fast Company states the merit of these geo-location services very well:
Foursquare's location database is more than simply a list of venue names and addresses. It's not just location data that Foursquare is collecting: The company knows when you check in to a venue, whether your friends join you there, and often what you did before and after. The Yellow Pages knows the location of Blue Hill restaurant, Grom gelato, Washington Square Park, and Third Rail coffee; Foursquare knows how they're all connected. Perhaps it's common for users who check in to Blue Hill to head to Grom afterward, before grabbing coffee following a stroll in the park.
In fact, this type of socially-aware location data is considered to be so valuable that
Microsoft may invest in Foursquare to integrate rich location data into its products and services.
But local doesn’t just apply to finding information on businesses in your area, or sharing your location with your friends.
Here are some other location-based options that could be pursued for different types of organizations:
Retailers & Local Product Inventory
In addition to offering deals through ‘check-in’ apps like Foursquare and Facebook Places, retailers could leverage the services offered by local product search engines such as
Goodzer.
Competition in the inventory space is heating up quickly, given that Microsoft has just partnered with Local Corporation to include local product inventory in Bing search results for BestBuy, Costco, Express, Fry’s, Home Depot, Kmart, Lowe’s, Nordstrom, Orchard Supply, Office Depot, Radio Shack, Rite Aid, Sears, Staples, Target, True Value and Wal-Mart.
Corporate Communications
Corporations with locations around the country or globe would benefit from an interactive map that showcases their properties from a portfolio perspective, as well as making it easy for any visitor to find the closest regional location, and pertinent information on what services are offered at each spot.
As the world continues to get smaller through the use of technology, the use of location-based services is going to be increasingly important. If your business hasn’t already considered how it can leverage location-based data, it’s definitely time to consider it.
