LocalBizBits Local Search Marketing Information and Resources
In addition to getting a copy of Poynt, I was able to sit down with Margaret and Andrew Osis, CEO of Multiplied Media. Here is some of what we spoke about:
Q. Andrew what is the story about GPS in Blackberry phones and Verizon?
A. The short answer is before the Storm, Verizon has locked the GPS feature in its phones to any 3rd party app. Well with the Storm, the GPS is unlocked and Poynt was developed to utilize that important feature.
(Side note: There has been a lot of arguing/debating going on why Google Maps does not use the GPS feature in the Storm, thus this question. Take a look at this post)
Q. What is the reason for Poynt?
A. With Poynt, we wanted to create a quick, user friendly, one stop shop local search app for the Blackberry.
Q. What sort of future developments of Poynt are you looking at?
A. Addition of verticals, including restaurants – allowing users to discover and reserve tables, development for additional platforms including iPhone, Android, WinMob
Q. what is your thoughts/vision on local search?
A. Local search goes beyond discovery of the local area; it moves the consumer further into the purchase funnel. Rather than just find out what movies are playing at your local theater, you can watch trailer, decide on movie to see, view showtimes, purchase ticket.
Local search should move beyond a singular experience to include social network; to continue the above example, the user can invite friends to the show using integration with email.
Q. What advise if any would you give the small business owner?
A. The small business owner needs to realize that we are on the front edge of the mobilization of local search. There is no silver bullet out there that will help you, the best thing to do is partner with the best distribution network or professional you can find to increase your business info distribution.
Thank you Andrew and Margaret for your time and insight. So if you have a Blackberry and need a local search app, check out Poynt (go to http://m.mypoynt.com from your BlackBerry Browser)
Hi,
I agree. More and more people are using local search to locate businesses nearby.
And most of these people are serious visitors. The chances of these visitors converting is very high.
Regards