The Business View of E-Mail, Reputation and Presence Management Part 2: Interviews

1. The Business View of E-Mail, Reputation and Presence ManagementPart 2: Interviews A BIA/Kelsey Webinar Thursday, October 15th

2. Interactive Local Media Conference • Dec. 9-11, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles, California • ILM is where the local online media community gathers to learn what's working, make connections and conduct business. • According to the latest wave of BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor Study, 77 percent of small and medium-sized businesses now include digital/online advertising in their marketing mix. At ILM:09, we will focus on how local media companies are helping SMB advertisers manage their online reputations and maximize their online investment. • Attendees are a global audience of executives responsible for corporate management, marketing, product development, business development, and sales.

3. Background SMBs We Interviewed Online Resumes of SMB Interviewees Findings Value & Usage Time Savings Awareness & Control of Online Presence Bigger Online Footprint Pricing, Sales & Distribution Platform Evolution Agenda for Today’s Webinar 2

4. Background • About a dozen SMBs in 10 different businesses were interviewed • Interviews conducted weeks of Oct. 5 and Oct. 12, 2009 • Interviews were by telephone, 15-40 minutes • About a dozen questions • Anonymity assured • Customers of two early-stage platforms for managing SMB online presence: • Marchex ‘Reputation Management’ (currently in beta) • SMBLive ‘CloudProfile’ (recently commercial*) *SMBLive has provided similar core technology for British Telecom’s www.BTTradespace.com, since April 2007.

5. Marchex Reputation Management

6. SMBLive’sCloudProfile

7. SMBs We Interviewed • Home-renovation contractor • Skilled craftsman (stonemason) • Salons (one day spa; salon with 7 locations in same metro) • Packing & shipping store franchise owner (3 locations in same metro) • Restaurants (one bistro; chain with 8 locations in same metro) • Several specialty retailers (e.g. high-end audio; wine merchant) • Lodging establishments (boutique hotel & hostel) • Skin care clinic (7 locations in same metro)

8. Online Resumes of SMB Interviewees • Marchex customers (‘Reputation Management’): • Already had websites • Had been using Reputation Management a couple of months • Tended to be fairly web-savvy (some web advertising; highly aware of review sites like Citysearch and Yelp) • Almost always had researched competitors’ online presence/reviews • SMBLive customers (‘CloudProfile’): • Most did not have a website previously • Had been using CloudProfile a few months (longest was six months) • Tended to be less web-savvy (little or no web advertising; not focused on review sites) • Tended to have more limited objectives (with notable exception) • Tended to pay less attention to competitors’ online presence/reviews

9. Findings: Value & Usage • SMB users were unanimous in seeing high value to these platforms: • Create big time savings • Support a larger online footprint • Provide efficient competitive intelligence • Increase awareness and control of online presence and dialog • Accordingly: • Usage is frequent (although big differences by category) • Creative uses emerging • There are some challenges, not atypical for early-stage products: • Some product enhancements are desired • Price point not clear (if priced explicitly) Continued…

10. Findings: Value & Usage • Usage frequency varies: • Lowest is once a month (specialty retailer) • Highest is daily (restaurants) • Often a strong interest in competitive intelligence: • Several SMB users said the first thing they did was check on their competitors (“love the spy stuff”) • As with usage frequency, interest in competitors varied by category • Platforms are viewed as “hubs” for managing online communications: • In some cases, platforms distribute content to social networks, without the need to log into the network (e.g. CloudProfile can publish to Twitter and Facebook)

11. Findings: Time Savings • SMB users consistently mentioned time savings as the #1 benefit • Savings are seen in: • Checking listings information (a particular issue for businesses with multiple locations) • Monitoring reviews (again, particularly helpful for businesses with multiple locations) • Marketing (“Helps beat the bushes to reach new customers”) • Boosting PR (even damage control, in some cases) “I don’t have time to go to all the sites that matter to my business.”

12. Findings: Awareness & Control of Online Presence • Strong interest in the content of reviews (e.g. if there is a particular problem, they want to fix it). • Several SMB users emphasized the importance of “keyword” reporting. • “I had no idea how many review sites were out there” • Bogus reviews, by competitors or disgruntled employees, are a fact of life • Awareness and control over listings/identities (“dirty, filthy data”) “We need to give [SMBs] secure, understandable, trustable ways to own their information” David Glazer, Director of Engineering, Google (speaking about the new Google Wave product), quoted Oct. 12, 2009 in the San Francisco Chronicle.

13. Findings: Bigger Online Footprint • In general, SMB users believe they’re more discoverable by search engines because of these platforms • In general, SMB users have gotten smarter about online marketing: • More discriminating about keyword purchases • Track click sources • Smarter about the SEO game: • Fresh, unduplicated content from SMB • Links (to sites, blogs, social networks, YouTube) • Online UGC (often via social networks)

14. One SMB’s content ecosystem, driven from CloudProfile Findings: Bigger Online Footprint Automatic content transfer via CloudProfile widgets Local online media that scrape Twitter and Facebook

15. Findings: Pricing, Sales & Distribution • Most popular price: Free • “This would be a great add on” • If priced explicitly, most SMB users said they’d be willing to pay up to ~$25 per month • Where there was a channel preference expressed, it was generally in favor of online players (such as a search engines, SEM providers, or local content providers like Groupon), as opposed to traditional media

16. Findings: Platform Evolution • More robust push notification • Connection to email marketing (and eventually, to CRM) • Even simpler user interfaces • Ability to contest suspect ratings or reviews with publisher (e.g. Yelp, Citysearch) “This builds my relationships without having to go to all those [expletive deleted] cocktail parties and Rotary meetings.”

17. What it all Means… • A major new business platform for SMBs is emerging that combines advertising/marketing/communications: • Delivered via the web (ASP model) • Leverages ‘Web 2.0’ features • Will engender many new ‘micro-content’ ecosystems • Will be offered by multiple providers, bundled and stand-alone • Will probably evolve quickly • Will probably create numerous new partnerships between technology providers, various online service providers, and distribution channels

18. Interactive Local Media Conference Dec. 9-11, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles, California Webinar attendees receive $200 off ILM:09 registration. Register online at www.kelseygroup.com/ilm2009and use one of the following promo codes: Public: ILM09WEBINAR BIA/Kelsey Clients: ILM09WEBINAR-C Build Your Digital Strategy BIA/Kelsey helps clients evaluate their strategic options and navigate the complicated issues affecting the media and communication industries today. We provide a range of research, consulting and analysis services designed to complement a company's mission statement and long-term or interim strategic goals.http://www.bia.com/services_planning.asp Interactive Local Media Advisory Service (ILM) is the authoritative source for research and analysis on business models, technology, advertising models and trends in the interactive local search and media space, offering a global view of local search, mobile search, social media, Internet video, directory assistance and free DA.http://www.kelseygroup.com/services/interactive-local-media.asp

19. Thank you for attending today’s event.Following today’s event you will receive an email with a link to a landing page so you may download the slides, view the video and listen to a MP3, as well as access other resources. We will now take questions. All unanswered questions will receive a response in the coming days. Important Links: ILM Conference:www.kelseygroup.com/ilm2009 ILM Advisory Service:http://www.kelseygroup.com/services/interactive-local-media.asp Steve Marshall - smarshall@kelseygroup.com Matt Booth - mbooth@kelseygroup.com