Together Again at SuperZoo
This year SuperZoo looked a little different. Fist bumps and elbow taps replaced hugs, smiles shine through masks, and hand sanitizer was a hit in grab bags. Despite this new landscape, one feeling outshined the rest: the overwhelming sense of optimism in the air.
SuperZoo's 2021 theme, Together Again, was all about getting back to building relationships in person with some of the best brands and retailers in the pet industry. Brands, retailers, and pet buffs came together for the first time in a post-COVID world to reconnect and get the inside scoop on the newest hits in the pet space.
OneBark is founded in bringing people together - our technology is built to connect pet parents to pet products. The theme is personal to us, so we took it to heart and set out with one goal for SuperZoo: Help brands and retailers be found online by pet parents in their area.
Did we hit that goal? Oh yeah.
OneBark + Brands + Retailers at SuperZoo 2021 Was a Huge Success!
WPA, OneBark, and NextPaw have teamed up to level the playing field for independent pet retailers. At SuperZoo, OneBark premiered new, Free technology for brands and retailers to be found and chosen by local pet parents online. The process is easy - get started by claiming your free store locator and let our team handle the heavy lifting.
With OneBark, you get more than the average store locator. Our free enterprise store locator expands your website's footprint on Google by tapping into your retailer network. This drives more online traffic to your brand and more in-store traffic for your verified retailers. The modern store locator optimizes your retailer's profile by syncing to their Google My Business Page and makes it easy to shop for your locally available products on a phone, tablet, or laptop without leaving your website.
The benefits don't stop there.
"Store Locators Are the #1 Path for Pet Parents to Choose Local Pet"
NextPaw's Co-Founder, Brandon Swenson, stated during the OneBark New Product Showcase. Google searches for "Support Local Business" grew by over 20,000% in the last year meaning that the future of pet is in local retail. Not only do shoppers prefer to shop locally, but they're turning to Google to see where they can shop locally.
Over 70% of all pet supplies purchases happen offline, but shoppers are using Google to identify where they can buy locally more than ever before. Google responded to the increase in searches by updating its algorithm so the brand's store locator owns the top organic result. Tipping the scales in your favor, Google is pushing customers directly to your brand in fewer clicks.
Shoppers looking for where to buy land on your brand's locator. From there, shoppers move on to your verified retailers to make a purchase. This, my friends, is what we like to call a win-win.
"Trust is Everything in The Pet Industry"
Swenson began in the “How to Communicate with Customers in the New Economy” show floor talk. He continued, "Inconsistent business information is hurting you in online searches". Customers searching for where to buy products don't have time to weed through multiple phone numbers or drive to your store only to find you moved. They want to trust that the information they find is right the first time. In fact, Google does too.
If Google sees that a business's information isn't the same across listings, they don't trust that they're giving accurate answers. When Google loses trust, the business shows up lower in search results. Simply put, you need an omnichannel strategy to control your information if you want to stand out from the pack. Utilizing an omnichannel strategy is tricky unless you have an all-in-one tool that does it for you. That's where NextPaw comes in.
NextPaw's Omnichannel Business Listing syncs information from the retailer's Google My Business page directly to their verified profile. Verified retailer updates couldn't be easier: edit your listing in NextPaw and we'll make sure that update gets sent to our store locator network. A unified approach saves you time, improves your trust with Google, and increases your chances to win new customers.
Allow Consumers to Feel the In-Store Experience Online.
Your retailers work hard to provide the best customer experience in-store, it's time to think about it online. In the New Product Showcase, Swenson detailed how important customer experience is for online shoppers. When shoppers are looking for where to buy a product, they want all of the answers in one easy search. OneBark and NextPaw make sure those answers are readily available no matter where they're looking.
Shoppers searching for your brand will find your verified retailers' business listings, optimized with all of the info and products they're looking for. They can engage with your retailers with questions, get directions or purchase directly from your store locator. When you make it easy to ask questions and shop online, both you and your retailers grow your customer base. Plain and simple.
The Enterprise Store Locator Designed to Build Relationships.
Steering online shoppers to nearby in-stock products is key to closing the sales loop. Building and maintaining relationships is critical to continuing the sales loop.
With OneBark, it's never been easier to attract new shoppers, build brand loyalty and strengthen relationships with your retailers. OneBark offers a Free, state-of-the-art, fully-customizable store locator that moves past basic address referrals and sends shoppers to your preferred retailers. Our Product Locator ensures your brand provides a seamless online-to-offline transition for shoppers by guiding them directly to in-stock products near them.
Want to learn more? Click Here to Get Started!
