Shotguns and Chardonnay... (In that order)

Brilliant sunshine and blazing temps provided the perfect backdrop for MerchantCircle's 3rd Annual Shotguns and Chardonnay Event, taking place yesterday afternoon at the Los Altos Rod and Gun Range.



Over 150 of the Vally's best and brightest turned out to fire off some rounds in between networking and noshing on sweet BBQ bites provided by former Google chef turned local business owner, Dontaye Ball.



Silicon Valley investors and entrepreneurs are known for being straight shooters- we had no idea how true this was! At any given moment one could turn his/her head and see exploding clays in every direction. From tech to targets, we're a well-aimed group.



As the afternoon moved from firearms to Fruit-forward, the staff at Savannah Channelle Vinyards graciously welcomed us into phase 2 of this day-long event. With sweeping views of the Valley and chilled Chardonnay in hand, we compared sunburns and start up stories.



The day wrapped with a visit from the famous Mis Anajitos taco truck and our satiated guests left with full bellies and great business ideas.



Thank you to everyone who attended for making this event such a successes!

New Data on Small Business Adoption of Facebook Ads and Group Deals (Facebook Deals, Google Offers, Groupon and LivingSocial)

New marketing trends data from MerchantCircle's 6th quarterly survey of small business owners across the U.S. reveals that Facebook Ads are gaining popularity among small businesses and provides new insights into the group deals market, including increased pressure on Groupon and LivingSocial from Facebook Deals and Google Offers.



Click here to download the full report.



Key insights from MerchantCircle's research include:



1. Facebook Ads are gaining popularity among local businesses.



• 66% of local merchants are using Facebook for marketing.



• 22% of local merchants have used Facebook Ads, and 65% would use Facebook Ads again.



• Top reasons to use again include ease of use (67%) and the ability to start and stop campaigns (65%).



2. Merchants are warming to group buying, but adoption is still slow.



• Just 9% of local merchants having offered a daily deal using a service like Groupon or LivingSocial.



• While three months ago, only 50% of merchants who had tried offering a group deal said they would do so again, 77% now say they would be willing to offer another daily deal.



• Top reasons for offering another deal include effectiveness in customer acquisition (58%), favorable deal structure (30%) and profitability of the deal (24%).



• Among those who wouldn't offer another daily deal, 42% said that it was not effective in customer acquisition, 25% said it was too costly and 24% said they lost money.



3. Small business familiarity with Facebook and Google may help them win market share from Groupon in daily deals market.



• 52% cited familiarity with Facebook and Google as a reason they might choose Facebook Deals or Google Offers over competitive daily deal offerings.



• Other reasons for choosing Facebook Deals include bigger audience size (26%) and better local targeting (21%).



• Those more likely to use Google Offers cited Google's bigger audience size (42%) and Google's brand reputation (34%) as top reasons for preferring Google.



4. Relevant Charts:

Adoption and repeat usage of Facebook Ads

Perception of Facebook Ads amongst users

Adoption and repeat usage of daily deals sites

Perception of Daily Deals sites amongst users

Reply.com Announces Completion of MerchantCircle Acquisition

The deal is done!



The last several weeks have been as exciting as they have busy, but today we're happy to announce that Reply! Inc has officially completed the acquisition of MerchantCircle.



Our MerchantCircle Founder and CEO Ben T Smith IV is now President of Reply! Media, comprised of MerchantCircle.com, Contractors.com, Bloglines.com, iMotors.com, and other consumer-facing destinations and mobile products.



Our teams have worked quickly to close this deal and we're looking forward to a bright future as one powerful family, focused on delivering the very best marketing and business-building solutions available on the web.

Local Business Merchants Warming up to Daily Deals

Daily deals on the rise?



Small business owners are definitely interested in trying “daily deals”, but few have actually taken the plunge. Despite a plethora of daily deals services, from the big pure-play companies Groupon and LivingSocial, to Facebook Deals, Google Offers, and dozens of other local alternatives, only 9% of small business owners have offered a daily deal via one of these services. This finding is part of the most recent quarterly Merchant Confidence Index survey of nearly 5,000 local business owners across the U.S., published by MerchantCircle.



However, merchants are warming up to the idea of using daily deals on a repeat basis – provided they find the right partners to make these offers effective. According to the Merchant Confidence Index, 77% of merchants who have tried daily deals said they would be willing to offer another daily deal in the future. Just three months earlier, only 50% of merchants who had tried deals said they wanted to offer another one.



This rise in “deal confidence” shows that merchants are becoming savvier with daily deal offerings – finding the right products, price points, and offers to acquire customers at an acceptable cost. Of those merchants willing to offer another deal, 58% cited effective customer acquisition as the reason to try again, while 30% said a favorable deal structure was the reason. Just 24% said profitability was a driver in offering a repeat deal.



Unfortunately, many merchants continue to be disappointed with the results of the daily deal offerings. Among those who wouldn't offer another daily deal, 42% said that it was not effective in customer acquisition, 25% said it was too costly, and 24% said they lost money.  Due to the high costs associated with daily deals via big sites like Groupon and Living Social (which take upwards of 50% of all proceeds on already discounted sales) many merchants feel they cannot “afford” to do them.

Even though less than 10% of small businesses have ever offered a daily deal, it’s not for lack of aggressive sales and marketing efforts on the part of big deals sites. More than a third of respondents who offered a daily deal did so after being contacted by a sales rep (34%) or seeing an ad for the service (31%).



Daily deals may feel omnipresent – what with the number of “deals” that land in most peoples’ inboxes daily and the recent news of Groupon’s proposed mega-IPO topping headlines – but the reality is only 9% of merchants have ever offered one. That may change as more competitively-priced deals partners enter the space. New offerings from Google and Facebook are catching on quickly with small business owners and may take a bite out of Groupon and LivingSocial’s businesses.



The Merchant Confidence Index shows that 52% of small business owners are considering using either Facebook Deals and Google Offers, citing their familiarity with these two mega-brands as the main incentive to choose them over competitors. Other reasons for choosing Facebook Deals include larger audience size (26%) and better local targeting (21%) compared to Groupon, LivingSocial, and other pure-play daily deal competitors. Those merchants likely to use Google Offers cited larger audience size (42%) and Google's brand reputation (34%) as top reasons for preferring Google.



Whether you run a hair salon, a dog walking service, a restaurant, a gym, or any other small business,  the reality is most merchants are working with very small marketing budgets. Daily deals may get new customers in the door, but at what price? With consumers reaching daily-deal overload, many people use the coupons to visit a business one time, then move onto another offer – never becoming a regular customer.



The draw to try Facebook Deals and Google Offers is not at all surprising. Because many merchants already buy Google ads and use Facebook, testing the daily deal waters with these familiar giants seems like, familiar one-stop shopping for what could otherwise feel like a risky expenditure of limited marketing resources.



However, unless Facebook Deals and Google Offers address some of the lingering concerns merchants have about daily deal services – high costs and few repeat customers – merchants may use them a few times, but not return. After all, small business owners are driven by one goal: grow their businesses profitably and sustainably. They don’t have time for gimmick marketing that doesn’t deliver.

Q2 2011 MerchantCircle Merchant Confidence Index Survey Results

Below are the results of our quarterly Merchant Confidence Index (MCI) survey for Q2 of 2011. The Index is designed to track trends in small business sentiment over time.



This sixth Merchant Confidence Index survey was fielded online, between April 30th and June 6th, 2011, and sent to a random sample of MerchantCircle's member base of over 1.6 million local business owners. There were 4,942 total responses from local business owners across the United States and no incentive was offered to complete the survey.



Merchant Confidence Index tracks track four key questions designed to synopsize the prevailing trends among local business owners.  The overall index score is based upon a standardized five-level Likert scale. 



78.2% of responses from merchants with 1-4 employees

12.5% of responses from merchants with 5-9 employees

7.4% of responses from merchants with 10-49 employees

2.0% of responses from merchants with 50+ employees

State of the U.S. economy

How would you rate today’s economy compared to the past twelve months? (n=4,942)

Expectations for the future revenue

How do you expect your sales revenues to change over the next three months? (n=4,942)

 

Marketing expenditures

How do you expect your marketing/advertising expenditures to change over the next three months? (n=4,170)

Hiring expectations

How do you expect your company’s headcount to change over the next three months? (n=4,942)

Merchant Confidence Index Calculation

Marketing Budget

What is your annual ad/marketing budget? (n=4,170)

Adoption of specific online marketing services

Most effective marketing channels

Select the top THREE most effective marketing or advertising methods your business uses or has used. (n=4,170)

Adoption and repeat usage of Facebook Ads

 Perception of Facebook Ads amongst users.

Adoption and repeat usage of daily deals sites

Perception of Daily Deals sites amongst users

Perception of Facebook Deals and Google Offers

Awareness of group buying sites

How did you find out about the group buying site you used (n=366)?

Tablet adoption

Do you use a tablet device for your business (e.g., iPad)? (n=3,786)

Tablet adoption

Do you use a tablet device for your business (e.g., iPad)? (n=3,786)

Respondent Profiles

Size of business

How many people does your business employ?

Business categories

Which single business category best describes your business?