Google Caffeine Gives Me No Rush
Am I really going to care that Marriott hotels is running a room special in Delray Beach today if I’m not there looking for a room today? No, and neither will anyone else.
Google Caffeine is a great tool for business advertising with lots of potential. When released, it will definitely open new marketing strategies for drawing in customers. But it isn't a magic wand to cure all your advertising woes. Let’s look at my hotel example again.
It’s late in the evening and I’m driving—or a flight has been cancelled—and I’m looking for a room. Fortunately, Marriott hotels has planned how to put Google Caffeine to good use.
They set up a special section of their website for hotel managers to list their vacant rooms. Every day after eight p.m., they post which Marriott locations have available rooms – real-time availability to match the real-time search function of Google Caffeine.
The hook is that those rooms are listed right when you need them. It’s an ad campaign just for weary or stranded travellers who need a room at the last minute. Then, at say two a.m. each day, those ads are all pulled down, there is a six-hour window intended to serve a specific segment of Marriott’s audience.
That's great for Marriott, but how does "real-time search" help a local brick-and-mortar business owner? Can a hardware store owner make use of this?
The answer is yes. Planning and creativity will make Google Caffeine useful to every business.
The question to ask yourself is this: Who is the person that comes into my store with a last minute need, and what are they looking for?
Maybe it’s a traveller with a broken fan belt. In rural communities it might be farmers needing seed, nuts and bolts, or shovels. The point is to look around your community and understand your audience.
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