MatchCraft’s CEO Sandy Lohr recently had a conversation with Gordon Henry of Thryv, to discuss trends in digital advertising, the state of the economy, and how the pandemic has affected how consumers will purchase goods and services in the future.
During the course of the podcast, Gordon & Sandy touched upon topics ranging from the role MatchCraft has played, and continues to play, in helping small businesses succeed to the evolution of ad tech over the years. They also talked about the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and how MatchCraft is handling the pandemic.
You can watch the podcast episode here:
Being Local on a Global Scale
MatchCraft has continued to evolve its offerings to stay true to its mission of helping local businesses succeed. Today MatchCraft has a presence in 44 countries and a roster of 75 clients.
MatchCraft’s team intrinsically understands that the process of providing advertising services differs based on the client’s location. For example, healthcare, which is a big category in the US, does not hold as much weight in countries with socialized medicine. To fully understand and take into account the varied needs of our customers around the globe, MatchCraft employs a consultative approach.
Ad-Tech’s Evolution
Over the years ad tech has evolved from just pay-per-click to being more budget-based. In today’s world consumers are in-charge – they rule! The saying “an educated consumer is our best customer” by Sy Syms still holds true.
Specifically, in terms of MatchCraft, the evolution in the industry has brought about the introduction of several new channels over the years. From just offering ad provisioning for Google to providing ad-tech for Bing, Facebook, Instagram, and soon Yelp! And most importantly letting campaigns on these channels run agnostically, based on performance, so our reseller & agency clients don’t have to worry about which channels to spend on.
Impact of COVID-19
As a global provider, MatchCraft began to experience the effects of the pandemic in February throughout Europe, especially in Italy. The ripple effect was then seen in all our markets.
The most important metric we are watching right now is how small businesses are dealing with the current climate – given that the longer they stay closed, the higher the risk of that closure becoming permanent and not just temporary. Sandy discusses in detail the sources we have been using to stay informed and how our diverse client base has helped to protect us from the adverse effects of the shutdowns.
Talking about consumer behavior during this pandemic – consumers are making efforts to shop on, not just the Amazons of the world, but also actively support local businesses. Local businesses are also making a concerted effort to draw in more customers.
COVID-19 has also given rise to previously unheard of retail terms such as BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In-Store) and curbside delivery/pickup. Instead of searching for “near me” people are now looking for “who’s open”. From a local business standpoint, there is a great opportunity to gain market share, given that they are creative. Like pop-up pedicure salons!
Sandy also talks about MatchCraft’s current state, future plans and some recent GDP concerns in the different markets that MatchCraft operates in.
As the Discussion Continues…
During the course of the interview, Gordon & Sandy discuss the big tech hearings in Washington and MatchCraft’s take on those. Sandy talks in detail about MatchCraft’s biggest concern being privacy issues and how consumer data is being used.
The podcast ends with Gordon inquiring about Sandy’s path to becoming the CEO of MatchCraft. Listen to the complete interview, to hear more.