Blog Layout

While technology developments have now been around for some years and new upgrades are constantly on the rise, consumers are also getting better and faster in keeping up. Some of these developments include blockchain technology, predictive consumerism, artificial intelligence, retail in the age of everything Amazon and augmented reality.This marks the importance that businesses must efficiently use technology platforms to stay agile and relevant.




Build a Digital Platform Strategy


As part of integrating technology into your business rules, a strategy must be put in place that involves business and IT needs, which will guide the leadership and management vision. Company decision makers must make sure all the business goals make sense for their organization for long-term success. For example, there needs to be a consideration on how the media and news ecosystems will evolve in the future from business and IT perspectives. Not only that, discuss what is more likely to happen and review what could be possibly constraints, issues raised by your audience, and any risks by taking on the digital platform and starting a new service for your brand.


When it comes to the process of implementing digital solution, companies think about all the opportunities it will bring to reinvent their brand and current business models. Others look to leverage this new technology to optimize their current operations. No matter the ambition behind the digital change, most companies usually play it safe and invest incrementally. There always needs to be a timeline for testing industry standard models, as well as finding ways to reduce risks and resistance to change. In the end, the digital platform strategy needs to include the first reaction of employees and the fatigue. Gartner researchers discovered that highly stressed employees result in a 9.1% reduced productivity and 5.7% reduction in revenue.


Your strategy and desire for change should not only be about automating your processes or doing what others are doing, but also being able to translate what parts of your business models need digital offerings and which ones still fit the needs of your clients.


Choose the Right Marketplace Focus


One important thing to remember about online marketplace is that the website does not own any inventory but they only present the inventory of others to facilitate a transaction. As long as people still to search for services or items locally, online classifieds sites still have a place and future in the internet. Some practical ways platforms are utilized in certain industries:


E-Commerce: The new standard of the ease of shopping online and the streamlined product delivery systems to the doorstep, create the perfect space for e-commerce marketplaces to flourish. Why spend so much time trying to find an item you need, just to find out they are out or they don’t have your color. Online sites help to easily sort and filter options that is needed and quickly show that options best match.


Travel & Accommodation:Another category that digital marketplaces have impacted is travel and accommodation search. Travellers do not want to go to travel agencies or call to get cost details but want direct access and plan the trip themselves. This is as personalized as it gets. So sites like Airbnb are a famous marketplace in the travel and accommodation industry to list, discover, and book accommodation from around the world. Other sites also offer residential apartments for rent or sale, as well as cars for sale or services around local travel services.


Service: An important category for publishers to consider again is building options for local professionals and experts to share their services on their online marketplace. The better local opportunities presented, the better online reputation that provide benefits compared to the Yellow Pages. Offering contract accounts helps service providers also register and get better rates and fulfill the needs and requirement of the customer.


Entertainment: The current millennial culture is built around experiences and memories, it is fuelled by celebrations and attending events. These societal changes have given rise to sites like Eventbrite, where events can be marketed to users for booking tickets and sharing with friends. Whether it is offering ad space for event manager to showcase the event, or linking to booking agencies through your marketplace to get tickets, there are many ways online marketplaces can collaborate together.


No matter the marketplace options and industry categories you want to employ for your brand, connecting with business providers and communicating to your customers how they access your marketplace is key. You can offer a subscriber list with a coupon opportunity, reach them through Facebook groups or other digital channels. Your options will differ as you focus on what are the main influencers for your target customers and make those influencers your ambassadors.



Reach your full online potential



Now that you have a strategy and focus for your marketplace, there are some main tools to use with it to meet your revenue and digital performance expectations. These tools include but not limited to website maintenance, content creation, SEO, social presence, and brand reputation management. If one of these tools is missing or not performing, your potential is not being met. SEO works because keywords help your organic ranking in search results and good content needs to be rich in the keywords about your services and brand, without being overwhelming.


Just having a website is not enough anymore. As customers get access to the internet from multiple sources for different needs, social media presence helps you to engage your audience but it also helps your audience to form a relationship with your brand. Use social media to answer their initial resistance and questions, while also building your reputation. Managing your online reputation, does not mean just making sure you can hide negative feedback or focusing on just fixing issues, but making sure that your company is mainly perceived in a positive light.


All of these tools focus on the main battle to be won online – engagement. Once you have your audience’s attention, and they subscribe to your services, they are 5 times more likely to open and click on emails sent from your brand. You can use most of these tools as early engagement strategies to promote new information about your services or organization and provide valuable information even if no direct result comes out of it.



Growing and leveraging a digital platform and online marketplace is not a one-time job. Getting the platform and implementing it is just the beginning and it will be an ongoing project. These different tools, as well as doing the prep work to translate your brand and audience needs into your platform development, will go hand-in-hand to produce promising results for your business.


19 Oct, 2020
AdPerfect, one of the leading obituary platforms used by media companies across North America, will provide its technology and expertise to The Seattle Times, the most read local news and information company in the Pacific Northwest. The AdPerfect Obituary platform provides readers and customers with an exceptional experience for sharing the life and memories of a loved one who has passed. The platform provides a modern user interface and an efficient self-serve option for funeral homes and private parties to place obituary notices. “We’ve worked closely with AdPerfect for a number of years on other products and their customer service, attention to detail and willingness to be a true partner is second to none”, said Gary Smith, VP of Advertising – The Seattle Times AdPerfect was acquired by Tribute Technology last August, a company that provides funeral management and website software to 70% of the funeral home businesses in the U.S.A and Canada. Today, with a direct connection between AdPerfect’s obituary software solution and local funeral home’s software, this never-before-seen opportunity is quickly being adopted by hundreds of local media outlets. “We’re ecstatic to have The Seattle Times take advantage of our obituary platform, as the devotion and admiration they enjoy from informed readers throughout the Pacific Northwest demonstrates how committed they are to their customers. Being able to provide The Seattle Times and funeral homes in the Seattle area with a fully integrated platform will mean better service for families” said Jim McIntosh, Executive Chairman of AdPerfect. About AdPerfect AdPerfect is the most trusted provider of mobile-friendly self-service advertising solutions for publishers and newspapers. We build reliable online platforms and engaging interfaces focused on attracting advertisers, driving user traffic and growing print and digital revenue. For more than a decade, we have always been, and continue to be, committed to designing technologies that support the evolving needs of the media publishing industry. For more information, contact Jim McIntosh, Executive Chairman, AdPerfect at jim.mcintosh@adperfect.com or phone 604.760.9039.   About The Seattle Times The Seattle Times serves the Northwest with independent, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, as the region’s most trusted news media company, dedicated to public service. The Seattle Times is the second largest newspaper on the West Coast and the most-visited digital information source in the state. Founded in 1896 by Alden J. Blethen, The Seattle Times is now led by the Blethen family’s fourth and fifth generations. It also owns the Yakima Herald-Republic and The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin About Tribute Technology Tribute Technology is the leading technology provider for the funeral and death care industry. Tribute Technology provides website design and development; online obituary applications; case management software; extensive funeral payment technology including credit card processing, ACH payments, crowdfunding, financing, and life insurance assignments; floral eCommerce solutions; digital marketing services; and personalization software for keepsakes, funeral stationery, and video. Tribute Technology's goal is to be the turnkey funeral technology solution for funeral homes and publishers across North America.
08 Sep, 2020
In partnership with the Local Media Association’s Digital Summit, Daryl Hively of Guarantee Digital conducted podcasts with each of the Association’s many Research and Development partners prior to the start of the conference. In this episode, Daryl sat down with Matthew Ipsan, to learn more about the AdPerfect freemium model, how the company is focused on helping the industry find new and sustainable business models and how the acquisition of AdPerfect by Tribute Technology is a game changer for local media companies.
04 Sep, 2020
Kirsten and Matthew were joined by guests Ashley Montroy, Executive Vice President of Tribute Technology and Nancy Davis from the Arbor Day Foundation. Both companies have seen tremendous revenue results by harnessing the power of data to make the customer journey both enjoyable and efficient.
04 Sep, 2020
With nearly 600 people in attendance, virtually, Matthew Ipsan of AdPerfect explained how the AdPerfect freemium model is a perfect example of a new business structure - one designed to provide local media companies with two essential elements for sustainability - significant expense reduction and new incremental revenue through e-commerce.
By jgreen 15 Feb, 2020
Tribute Technology, the leading provider of funeral management and website services, with cutting-edge personalization and technology solutions used by more than 70% of funeral homes in the United States, has acquired AdPerfect, one of the leading obituary platforms used by media companies across North America. The acquisition will deliver online and self-serve obituaries at no cost to local publishers, while also providing publishers of all sizes and platforms with significant revenue-driving products, such as the Tribute Store.
By jgreen 22 Jul, 2019
The primary goal of online marketing and content is to attract leads and lead them to make a decision. Online conversions are now the ROI of every company. To keep up, every company needs to be aware of new automation options and technology to accomplish wider online reach. Here are some stats […]
By Pelin Arin 20 Jun, 2019
Communicating with customers and prospects are spanning to wider applications. Just calling a phone number is no longer enough. As customers are more aware of their options, they want more robust and agile services and the content of your message needs to be multifaceted and provide value. In comes social selling, using […]
By Pelin Arin 12 Jun, 2019
With Google and Amazon investing more and more in artificial intelligence, there is still a lot of expectations and hype around the upcoming developments in technology. Although no one for sure can confidently forecast or speculate where the industry stands on this, we looks at some interesting numbers and stats.
By Pelin Arin 10 Jun, 2019
Online interactions are not only redefining how we receive and gather information, but also our definitions of ethics online are also being redefined. Majority of consumers now believe that using data to personalize ads is unethical. According to research, 59% believe that personalization to create tailored newsfeeds — precisely what Facebook, Twitter, […]
By Pelin Arin 05 Jun, 2019
According to recent research from the Online Classifieds Industry Report, 56.9% of companies are confirming that they plan to launch new products or services, while 58.6% planning to hire new staff in the next year and even, 38% plan to modify their business model in the next 3-5 years. This shows an optimistic and […]
More Posts
Share by: