The Face of Local Has Changed

… And It Affects Your Marketing Strategy in a New Way

During COVID, the world embraced e-commerce. But there was parallel interest in supporting local businesses and preserving the integrity of local communities. These two developments are not as contradictory as they might seem at first.

Download the complete infographic here

11% More Local Engagements Globally in 2020 Despite the Pandemic

In 2020, consumers worldwide were seeking more information about local businesses. Their ‘near me’ queries increased by 8%. The number of indirect queries grew by as much as 23%, which means more consumers were searching for categories (“bookstore near me”) as opposed to brands (“Powell’s Books near me”).

A growth in local queries naturally led to a growth in local engagement. Google My Business profiles stimulated an average of 349 actions by local customers per month in 2020 – an increase of 11% compared with 2019.

This increase in customer actions included 32% more website clicks but also a 37% increase in phone calls to the local businesses in question. This shows that consumers sought alternative and safer ways to find information.

Businesses Need to Digitalize for Growth

Not every industry could grow its local engagements in 2020. However, businesses got more local traction when they were able to digitalize their offering.

Industries that increased local engagements are

• Retail: +18% local engagements
• Finance: +10% local engagements
• Businesses & Services: +34% local engagements
• Community & Government: +93% local engagements

How Businesses Embrace the Future of Local

After interviewing various marketing experts, we analyzed their insights and tips and identified 5 best practices:

1. EXPAND YOUR CHANNELS
2. THINK ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS’ CONVENIENCE
3. KEEP YOUR LISTINGS UP-TO-DATE
4. PROACTIVELY ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
5. ENABLE YOUR TEAMS TO CONTRIBUTE TO BUSINESS SUCCESS

Want more stats and insights? Download our report The New Face of Local.

For this report, we analyzed 80,000 mid-market businesses worldwide, surveyed 4,000 consumers in the US, the UK, France and Germany, and spoke to marketing experts from various companies across the world.