Comparing Local Marketing Software

Local-Marketing-Software Definition: What is Local Marketing Software?

Local marketing refers to customer acquisition and retention activities specifically tailored to a smaller geographic area. These measures can have two basic orientations:

1. A local business only considers a certain region around its headquarters and the prerequisites of the respective clientele.
2. Mainly larger, national and international corporations tailor their marketing to several regions relevant to their business with different requirements of the respective target groups.

A local marketing platform ideally offers companies all the tools they need to plan, implement, and sustain their actions in the long term. Sometimes additional services are also offered for the development of strategies and staff training. These features help brands increase their revenue at local touchpoints by spreading their messages across multiple channels and optimizing them in the long run.

With specific tools for local marketing, businesses can shape location-based campaigns and tactics. They also help to manage industry directories in a regional framework, create content, perform SEO, use social media marketing and advertising on social media, place display ads, and track all efforts.

The core goal of local marketing software is to perfectly reach (potential) customers when they are looking for a business corresponding to their own in their vicinity.

Why should companies use a tool for local marketing?

Google, the leading search engine, today records about 50 percent of search queries referring to the immediate vicinity of the respective users – a trend that is on the rise. Similar developments can be observed in other digital channels, such as social media. This of course means increased relevance for many companies to optimize their online presence in their region.

But not only online, but also in general, despite increasing globalization (or partly because of it), there is a growing focus on the use of local services. Thus, the strategic acquisition and retention of local customers can offer significant advantages for many businesses.

Local marketing is therefore extremely important for business both in the digital space and in the real world. In order to effectively reach local (potential) customers, their channel preferences and offer-related needs should be precisely addressed in marketing. After all, depending on the customer's needs, diverse campaigns should be run via search engines, social media, newsletters, but also through analogue media, such as flyers or newspaper advertisements.

In principle, companies today have to consider much more than ten or even 20 years ago for sufficient or long-term competitive local marketing.

Many businesses, however, have the problem that conventional marketing tools cannot precisely meet the requirements of local marketing. The results of the measures supported by them often fall far short of the possibilities.

A local marketing software solution tailored to the company context effectively provides a remedy: it supports those responsible with the central to-dos for customer acquisition and retention at the regional level and can even automate some processes.

Smaller, predominantly locally operating companies benefit from this. In fact, corresponding solutions are particularly interesting for companies operating regionally and internationally.

How does Local Marketing Software work?

The functioning of programs for local marketing naturally depends essentially on which features they have. The following components and related processes are typical.

• Local Listing Tools: The basis for successful local marketing is clean data and correct entries in local business directories - including business name, address, phone number, photos, and business hours. The correctness and consistency of the information is crucial for perfect local findability. Local marketing software often includes specific tools to organize presences in relevant directories.

• Local SEO: Local search engine optimization and business directories (especially Google My Business) are closely linked. Because search engines draw a large proportion of local search data from these catalogs. Local marketing software also supports its users in the region-specific integration of keywords, links, ideal structuring and more.

• Local Landing Pages: If there are multiple brand locations, each should have at least its own, responsive landing page. This then includes local information for (potential) customers and search engines. Local marketing solutions can provide tools that perfectly design such pages.

• Reputation Management: Local online reviews are an important part of local marketing. They can positively influence regional SEO. But they also show real experiences of customers from the immediate surroundings who have probably processed quite similar problems or wishes with the offerings of the respective company.

• Digital Advertising: Local marketing software often includes tools that plan and place ads in search engines and social media.

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM): CRM functions enable companies to record and track central data of regional customers and customer interactions - including contact logs and purchase histories.

• Social Media Integration: With social media tools, companies can manage respective channels and the marketing in them from a central location.

• Content Creation Tools: Some local marketing programs have features on board with which companies can set up advantageously designed content, such as blog posts and newsletters, for regional recipients.

• Location-based insights: Special analytics functions provide companies with access to real-time information about the behavior of their customers at specific locations. They help those responsible understand how these people interact with their offers there.

• Analytics and Reports: Reporting and analytics functions integrated into local marketing software provide support for monitoring relevant campaigns.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Local Marketing Tools?

The universal advantage of local marketing software is the given possibility to run comprehensive, highly efficient customer acquisition and retention at the regional level.

Going hand in hand with this benefit are many other strong advantages, which are summarized as follows:

• Centralized Data: Local marketing software enables businesses to store all data relevant for similar measures in one central location.

• Automation: With local marketing software, those responsible can automate many recurring tasks.

• Cost Effectiveness: Local marketing tools are generally available at an affordable price and thus fit into most budgets.

• Flexibility: Many software solutions for local marketing are cloud-based and can thus be used on practically any internet-enabled device or specific (mobile) apps.

• Scalability: Local marketing software typically allows businesses to expand or restrict the respective package as needed as their requirements change.

• Understanding Customers: With local marketing software, companies can categorize and analyze their target groups by location, age group, gender, income level, interests/hobbies etc.

However, there are indeed some downsides. But these are less real deficits of the local marketing software providers and more about difficulties in ultimate usage. These can be practically eliminated with good preparation.

• No Strategic Basis: A local marketing software never replaces a good strategy for local marketing! That is, even the best solution can (if corresponding additional planning services are available) only contribute to a certain extent that marketing is based on the right tactics.

• Overabundance of Functions: Local marketing software can bring a lot of features, each with its own great benefit.

How to choose the appropriate program for regional marketing from the local marketing software comparison?

In comparison of local marketing programs, you can find solutions for all company contexts. The large supply doesn't make the research any easier.

For a purposeful approach, those responsible should narrow down their options. The following factors should be considered in this regard.

Market Overview Those interested in purchasing software should start by getting an overview of the various software options for local marketing.

The best tool for the respective purposes naturally provides all the required marketing channels and related forms "from one source".

Flexibility It often makes sense to use a local marketing system that is modular and flexible. Local listings, social media, SEO, digital advertising, support for analogue marketing etc.

Test version Ideally, local marketing software is offered for free – at least for a certain trial period.

Then users can try out the respective solution to get a better feel for how well it meets their requirements before purchasing a full version.

Support Before purchasing local marketing software, those responsible should inform themselves in detail about the customer service and support options.

A reliable provider is able to quickly answer all questions or effectively solve problems.

What do Local Marketing Tools cost?

The prices of local marketing software result from different factors. Software-as-a-Service platforms (SaaS) often use subscription-based pricing plans with monthly or annually billing. Here, the functional scope plays a central role that decides the cost.

Well-equipped tools with listing applications and social media components are already available for around 20 euros.

Prices for packages for specific marketing in several regions typically range between 80 and 180 euros – again depending on the scope of the included functions.