Think Local is a website designed to introduce local residents to local businesses across the Northern Beaches and North Shore, helping small, local businesses grow through loyal customers.
Growing by the day, Think Local attracts over 120,000 local, unique users every year and has grown an email database of over 33,000 local residents.
Our website hosts the best local Events, the most eye-catching local Promotions and local Deals which offer at least 50% off the normal price.
For businesses and merchants, our ethos is simple; we turn local residents into loyal customers.
| What Our Customers Say
During 2017 we completed a customer survey to understand exactly what our users do on Think Local, and the value they bring to local businesses; -81% of users have (or intend to) return to the local business to pay full price
-51% of users have referred the local business to at least one friend or family member
-70% of the users rated their Think Local experience between 8/10 and 10/10
-89% rated their experience with the local business as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very Good’
-70% of users visit Think Local at least once a week
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From product pages designed to engage new and returning customers, to business listings heavily optimised to attract Google traffic, we have the perfect package for all businesses.
Together we develop long-lasting, loyal relationships across the Northern Beaches and North Shore.
Think Local is the online product of Active Networks, the publisher of Peninsula Living and North Shore Living magazines.
Case Study
Here is what a client’s dashboard looked like following one month’s activity:
| Sales | Value | Emails | Phone Calls | Website Referrals | Views |
| 3 | $495 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 400 |
In this example the client has sold 3 deals for a total value of $495. The cost of their advertising was $165 so their ROA (Return on Advertising) is 300%, RIGHT? Well yes if I take a short-term, simplistic view and NO if I look deeper to see the true value of the business’s results.
The Numbers
Emails & Phone Calls – HOT leads
We know about 3 sales so lets lock that in. Next lets consider the email and phone calls, 5 in total.
I think it is fair to say that if someone has emailed or clicked to get your business’s phone number, they are a pretty hot lead! In fact, it is reasonable to expect that some of those people will purchase now or tomorrow but they will purchase. I’m going to be safe and pick a 20% conversion rate. 20% of 5 hot leads is one more sale.
Website referrals – WARM leads
Your prospective customer has decided that they need more information on your business! They are now on your website exploring, they are engaged and actively seeking information on your business that will allow them to make a purchasing decision. They are a WARM lead.
Pick a conversion rate that works for you – I am going to say 10%. That’s 30 website visits or 3 more sales – lock it in!
Views – WARMish leads
Views are locals clicking on the various promotions and events that you have up on Think Local. They are exploring your business, you have got their attention and they are browsing with intent. Maybe they are not as strong a prospect as those that went on to visit your website but then again maybe everything they needed was on Think Local.
Point is, they are WARMISH and now that your business has become VISIBLE some will turn in to customers. I’m going to say 2% convert, that’s 8 more sales!
The sum of what we know and what we expect, using very conservative estimates, is 15. That’s 15 sales from an investment of $165!
So that’s the true value right? Wrong, lets go one step further.
The True value of Think Local
It’s all about the LOYALs, the sale is great but it’s not where the value is.
Lets consider what a LOYAL valued client is worth to the business? I’m sure you have thought about it. What is a typical purchase from one of your better clients? $100, $200, $400? How often do they return; every 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months?
For the sake of this exercise, lets assume your Loyal client spends $160 a visit and returns every 8 weeks. In one year that means they spend 6 x $160 or $960. So one LOYAL client is worth $960 a year, you do your numbers.
ROA
The last question is how many new clients do I need to get to generate one LOYAL client. You know the answer for your business, I’m going to say 5. For every 5 new clients I turn one into a LOYAL local worth $960 a year.
-We know we generate 15 actual or expected sales which results in 3 LOYAL locals
-3 loyal locals are worth $2,880 per year
-Our investment for ONE month in Think Local was $165
-Our ROA is ($2880/$165) 1,745%. We generated in one year 17 times what we spent in one month!
Conclusion
Lets draw the conclusion on the business at the top of this article. We worked with them to explore the real value of their July activity and one of those 3 initial purchases went on to purchase a $5,000 membership for the year! That’s their Think Local advertising covered for the next 2.75 years. Now that’s the true value of Think Local.
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