A recent study by Street Fight indicated that the two most important factors for merchants evaluating hyperlocal marketing campaigns are the ability to attract new customers and ensure the right people are being targeted. Yet, current options – from daily deals to location-based platforms to mobile loyalty programs – are proving costly and ineffective. The launch of edo Marketplace addresses multiple pain points and gives local merchants a targeted, pay-for-performance way to drive traffic and sales that is simple for both the merchant and the consumer.

 

“Local merchants are looking for marketing techniques that will help them stay competitive, yet options like daily deals and other social or mobile advertising models are proving costly, laborious, and unable to deliver clear ROI,” says Ed Braswell, CEO, edo. “With edo Marketplace, we are transforming the status quo for small businesses, giving them access to the same tools and insight capabilities usually reserved for large national retailers and restaurants. Finally, hyperlocal marketing is simple, measurable and profitable,” adds Braswell.

 

edo helps local merchants achieve three simple things: Easily find new customers, convert new visitors into loyal customers, and measure program effectiveness. With edo, merchants can easily extend targeted offers to current and prospective customers without installing additional point-of-sale (POS) systems, training staff, or slowing service with coupons. edo Marketplace is powered by a data analytics engine built on the most predictive data – consumers’ transaction data. This enables edo to deliver the most relevant and personalized offers. The instantly redeemable offers are automatically available to consumers on their credit cards, debit cards, or mobile devices, and the savings are immediately credited back to the customers’ account. Merchants can monitor the campaign in real-time and only pay when an offer is redeemed.

 

“As with most small businesses, it’s critical that our marketing efforts bring new customers to our store in a trackable way. We have tried several different advertising approaches, from print ads to direct mail, but struggled to attribute revenue dollars to these efforts,” says Bill Baskin, owner of BoutiqueMMM, a ladies shoe salon located in Franklin, Tennessee. “That’s where edo comes in – for us, Marketplace is a no brainer. It gives us a simple, pay-for-performance way to drive traffic that is also measurable.”

 

Through edo Marketplace, merchants have access to local market data and targeted analytics around current and prospective customers that is rarely provided by local marketing offerings, including: 

 

·         Total dollar amount spent per week at competing merchants within a geographic region

·         An ability to understand spending behavior for both existing customers and new customers within a specific timeframe

·         The merchant’s current market share

·         How the merchant compares to competitors in terms of average purchase size

·         Percentage of customers who made a return visit post-program and how much was spent

 

To help scale edo Marketplace, the company also announced a partnership with 2Go Media, a leading Internet based technology company offering an ecosystem of integrated services designed to help merchants maximize sales. As part of the relationship, 2Go Media will integrate edo Marketplace into its suite of marketing services, offering retailers an all-in-one, electronic marketing solution that makes it easy to market customized consumer offers online and via mobile devices to reach millions of consumers.

 

edo has more than 200 local and national merchant partners running offers through the edo network, including Burger King, Best Buy, and Crate and Barrel. Through partnerships with six of the 10 leading financial institutions and card issuers, edo offers merchants a combined reach of more than 140 million cardholders. Consumers can choose their preferred form of deal notification, which includes email, text message, or mobile update, and easily redeem the targeted offer using their credit card, debit card, or mobile phone.