PETS PLACE BOERENBOND
80% increase in local impressions
Simultaneous data synchronisation on 30 networks
400 hours saved with Local Tooling
80% INCREASE IN LOCAL IMPRESSIONS DURING COVID
Pets Place is the biggest pet shop in the Netherlands, Boerenbond is one of the most famous Dutch garden centres, together they have 175 stores.
THE SITUATION
Pets Place Boerenbond’s (PPBB) marketing team had previously ignored maintaining their presence in social, navigational, and directory networks. Store managers started inquiring, “can the marketing team maintain and update the Google My Business accounts?”. A few store managers already worked on optimising Local Search themselves, while others barely knew of the existence of Google My Business. PPBB quickly figured it would be time-costly to keep all store listings up to date from one central team. In addition, PPBB had the intention of expanding its presence onto all relevant (social-, navigational- and directory-) networks.
Backed up with offline conversion data from Google, the marketing team was on the hunt to utilise online marketing to drive more footfall to the offline stores. PPBB also knew that other relevant networks (other than Google) could increase the number of store visitors. More needed to be done to reach the growth goals for offline sales.
PPBB started optimising their GMB listings to make all relevant information available for Local Search through Google. Then, they synchronised all their location data on more than thirty pertinent networks. These networks included TomTom, Apple Maps, Facebook, Instagram, and Uber. PPBB created the opportunity to simultaneously change a store’s information on more than thirty networks with their new tooling.
After that, a content and review strategy was developed. This strategy ensured that PPBB could easily publish content over all the different networks while still being relevant for specific types of stores. Their brochures are mainly being promoted on Facebook and Google My Business. The brochures’ delivery areas have been translated into catchment areas on GMB and Facebook, making it possible to utilise the obtained data in online marketing. Future omnichannel campaigns will understand which catchment areas are most compatible to drive more footfall to a particular store.
“Developments around operating our physical stores change faster than ever, and our customers demand accurate and up-to-date information. GMBAPI’s tooling makes meeting this need easier and one step ahead of the competition.”
Ard Malenstein, Managing Director of Pets Place Boerenbond
Just before the implementation of the location-based strategy, COVID-19 happened. This sudden pandemic changed consumers’ behaviours rapidly. Customers suddenly had different expectations regarding the information needed and services expected. PPBB reacted quickly and adequately to the unforeseen situation, thanks to the newly set up location tool for businesses.
During the first COVID-19 wave, PPBB has grown by providing up-to-date and relevant information about its products and services. One of the most significant changes was adding other business attributes to the Google My Business listings, which provided the consumers with important information on how they could continue shopping at physical Pets Place stores. Simultaneously, the webshop was promoted as an alternative.
PPBB’s search for a solution to make results insightful and time-saving ended at GMBapi. Up Analytics’ direct support enables PPBB’s marketing team to speed up their in-house marketing efforts. The ability to execute A/B tests with the Up Analytics tool was also a significant plus. PPBB needed an accurate measurement tool to map out the impact of the changes on Local Search to win internal support. The review strategy and a significant rebranding effort, which both required considerable investment, were A/B tested on small groups of stores.
THE RESULTS
80% INCREASE IN IMPRESSIONS ON LOCAL SEARCH DESPITE COVID-19
The investment in providing a great user experience on Local Search was shown to deliver positive results immediately. PPBB’s stores have seen a percentual increase of 80% in impressions on Google Search and Google Maps. This comparison has been made between the first nine months of 2020 (read: pandemic included) and 2019, a year in which COVID-19 barely impacted customer behaviour. Potential customers find PPBB’s store more often through discovery searches. The marketing team’s biggest surprise: users who find PPBB through local search also significantly increased the website sales.
By investing in the right tool, PPBB has saved approximately four hundred hours of manual optimisation on Google My Business. In addition, they save twelve hundred hours of keeping the store information up-to-date every year. The reporting of results has been entirely automated, and all thirty networks are now maintained with an investment of sixty minutes per week.
Up Analytics offers a simple tool that enhances your ability to manage the omnichannel experience and gain detailed insights on opportunities to grow your business.
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