Posted on Thu, Aug 16, 2012 @ 02:15 PM
Originally published in Mashable
There’s now another reason for small businesses to be skeptical of daily deals.
New research found that 43% of consumers said they would be more likely to purchase a daily deal if it was offered at a local business they knew. However, a similar number of respondents also said that buying a daily deal would not make them more loyal to the company or business offering it.
“Only 42% of respondents said that getting a good deal would imbue them with an attachment to a business,” according to the eMarketer report. “That may be further hindered by deal vendors’ tendency to withhold customer contact information from the businesses they work with, making it difficult for small businesses to follow up and develop deeper relationships with customers.”
Several factors played a large part in the success of daily deals. Thirty-nine percent of consumers also said that they would be more likely to purchase a daily deal because it was offered at a store that was close to where they lived. Both those factors, however, do not beat familiarity with a product, the eMarketer report found. Six in 10 consumers said they would purchase a daily deal if it was for a product they already liked to use.
The research also found that daily deals do not need to come from daily deal websites like Groupon and LivingSocial in order to be successful. In fact, half of the report’s respondents said that the biggest factor influencing consumers in their decision to purchase a daily deal was if it was recommended by friends and family members.
Only 32% of consumers said they would be influenced to buy a deal if it came from sites like LivingSocial and Groupon and 6% of consumers said they would be influenced to buy if it were recommended on a social media site.
Among those deals that were recommended on social media, deals on restaurants were most popular. Nearly 70% of respondents said they had recommended or shared a daily deal via social media for a deal on a restaurant. Deals on entertainment, food and groceries, travel and spa and beauty services all followed.
Chadwick Martin Bailey, a market research firm, conducted the research in this eMarketer report for Constant Contact.
Posted on Wed, Aug 15, 2012 @ 10:38 AM
Originally published in Credit Union Times
Online and mobile banking is boosting convenience ratings of credit unions, helping the cooperatives catch up to big banks, market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey said Wednesday.
A February 2012 survey of 1,400 consumers revealed that credit union members use online banking as much as bank customers, and in addition, give credit unions higher service ratings, the company said in a new report.
“These findings suggest a new banking value proposition is emerging,” said Jim Garrity, managing director of the Boston-based firm’s Financial Services practice. “The growth of online and mobile banking services means convenience and accessibility don’t belong solely to large bank customers.”
Ten years ago, the firm said in the report, consumers who valued convenience chose a bank, while those who valued service joined credit unions. However, credit unions are closing the convenience gap and enhancing their value proposition, as larger banks struggle to positively differentiate themselves without the convenience advantage, the report said.
Credit union members reported that branches have less to do with convenience than bank customers did. Just 58% reported that a nearby branch was importance, compared to 50% who reported that online services were key to convenience. Comparatively, 65% of large bank customers valued branches compared to 46% who favored online services. Nearly 70% of community bank customers valued branches while just 35% felt online services were important components of service.
Credit unions blew the field away with remote service satisfaction, with 85% of members giving a thumbs up to their credit union’s online and mobile services.
Sixty-six percent of large national bank customers were satisfied with their online and mobile services, but just 55% of community bank customers and 53% of regional bank customers reported satisfaction.
As a group, 42% of participants reported using large national banks as their primary financial institution; however, credit unions tied for second with regional banks, with 21% of respondents each. Community banks claimed just 13% of the PFI pie.
Additionally, credit unions came out on top in length of relationship, with the average credit union tenure lasting nearly 17 years, compared to an average national bank relationship of 13.5 years. Credit unions also came out on top when participants were asked to rate the value of their PFI relationship: 85% reported receiving value from their credit union relationship, compared to just 56% at large national banks and 52% at regional banks.
Community banks fared better in the value proposition, scoring a 72% value rating from their customers.
Posted on Mon, Aug 06, 2012 @ 01:27 PM
Originally published in The Financial
It’s practically common knowledge at this point that social media users follow or friend brands so they can get exclusive offers—especially money off.
In Q4 2011, for example, Chadwick Martin Bailey found that for Facebook users, the desire to receive discounts and special offers was the top reason for “liking” a brand, cited by 41% of US users. But social media users also want to be entertained, and many look to follow brands and share posts that have engaging content.
As eMarketer reported, in a May 2012 study from performance marketing company Performics, 48% of US social network users who accessed at least one social site a day said they “liked” or followed an entertainment-related company or product on a social network. Additionally, 43% said they “liked” or followed restaurants and food-related companies, and 37% said they were interested in celebrity-related companies or products. Sports was also on the list, with 32% of respondents having “liked” or followed such companies on social networks. Industries with less entertainment appeal, such as appliances, were “liked” by just 10% of respondents.
When it comes to the type of content users respond to on social channels, the entertainment trend continues. Photos and videos were popular, as 44% of US social network users said they were likely to engage with brand posts that contained pictures. However, traditional status update posts were also popular with 40% of respondents. After that, 37% said they were likely to engage with video posts, and 36% highlighted posts with jokes, cartoons or memes.
And the reasons why consumers engage with posts like this may be changing. Performics found only 45% of US social network users said that insider knowledge or special deals was a reason to “like” a company, brand or product. A larger percentage, 59%, said they followed companies simply because they shopped at their stores or purchased their products.
Overall, social network users have different reasons for why they “like” or follow brands online. But, in addition to stated reasons, like receiving deals and discounts, they demonstrate that they also want to be entertained by brands. Marketers, whether they work for an entertainment-related brand or not, can use this knowledge when planning what content to post on social sites.
Posted on Thu, Aug 02, 2012 @ 08:52 AM
Originally published in Street Fight Magazine
A new study of why consumers use daily deals paints a pleasant picture for local merchants looking to get new customers in the door — but it remains to be seen if they can get those customers to keep coming back.
The study, conducted by digital SMB marketer Constant Contact and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, concludes that more than one-third of consumers are more eager to buy deals from local, small-to-medium sized business as opposed to big, national brands. But for 58 percent of the study’s 1,433 respondents, even a positive deals experience does not automatically equate to customer loyalty.
“The true value of running a deal for a small business is bringing in new, repeat customers, not one-time deal seekers,” said Dave Gilbertson, general manager of Constant Contact’s local deals platform SaveLocal, in a press release, citing some deals vendors’ unwillingness to distribute subscriber contact information to merchants as a reason for few return customers. “Without the tools to follow up, unfortunately, that’s what many of them become.”
Otherwise, the study’s findings, though not overly surprising, should be taken positively for daily deal providers. Almost 80 percent of the deal subscribers polled said they’ve purchased at least one deal in the past six months, with 27 percent of that chunk buying five or more. And 92 percent of deal users said they think daily deals, at least locally, are here to stay.
Consumers, the study finds, are also willing to share deals, with word-of-mouth among family and friends being the top reason — 50 percent — why locals buy deals from an unfamiliar business.
From a consumer perspective, a Groupon or LivingSocial deal voucher generally fetches at least 50 percent off any purchase. Merchants, though, have the leverage to decide whether to run deals, and appeasing one-time, coupon-hungry consumers at around 25 percent normal value is not a sustainable, long-term business model.
Other conclusions from the study include:
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Consumers, especially women (35 percent), are more likely to buy a deal if it’s recommended by someone they know.
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Customers will share deals if they’re “great” (54 percent), regardless if they’re a current customer of merchant.
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More than twice as many consumers (55 percent) share deals via email than social networks.
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Deals for restaurants (65 percent) and entertainment (48 percent) are the most commonly shared.
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A clear majority of consumers think deals help attract new customers to local businesses.
Posted on Thu, Aug 02, 2012 @ 08:44 AM
Originally published in BizReport
Daily deals may not be attracting as much headline attention as a few years ago, but they are still capturing the attention of shoppers - and those shoppers aren't keeping the deals to themselves, it turns out. New data from Constant Contact and Chadwick Martin Bailey indicates shoppers are sharing deals and buying from unknown-to-them stores thanks to the deals.
Some interesting takeaways from Constant Contact and Chadwick Martin include:
• Women are more likely to socially share deals with a personal endorsement
• Over 33% will try a new-to-them business because of a daily deal
• 60% aren't loyal customers, even with deals and even is the experience is a good one
• Shoppers are more likely to share deals via email than social networks
• Restaurant, entertainment deals are most likely to be shared
"Two of the more important findings in this research were that word-of-mouth is key for the success of a deal and that personal endorsements drive deal purchases. This falls right in line with what we heard from merchants when we were developing SaveLocal: they wanted a tool that brought in new customers through word-of-mouth," said Dave Gilbertson, general manager, SaveLocal.
"More than 50% of consumers said that they are willing to share a deal if it's a great deal, regardless of whether they are current customers of the business - reinforcing how important it is for merchants to create compelling offers and then incentivize consumers to share them," said Kristen Garvey, vice president of marketing, Chadwick Martin Bailey. "Our research also confirmed that email is still king when it comes to sharing deals. More than twice as many consumers share deals via email (55%) than on any social network. Additionally, we found that deals from restaurants and the entertainment industry are the most commonly shared deals."
The research shows it is important for shoppers to opt-in - so include easy opt-in and opt-out forms for shoppers. Researchers studied more than 1,400 consumers over age 18 to reach their conclusions.