Turing's Tofu #35

Locl’s Secret Sauce for Local Visibility—A Deep Dive 🕵️‍♂️

Author

Andrew Mounier
September 01, 2024

In partnership with

Turing's TOFU: AI-Driven SaaS Growth
Curated by Andrew Mounier

Hey there,

This week, as I sift through the latest stories, I’m struck by the theme of innovation pushing boundaries in ways that redefine what’s possible. It’s not just about incremental progress; it’s about bold, sweeping changes that set a new course for the future. That’s the spirit of this edition of Turing’s TOFU—embracing those leaps that challenge the status quo and redefine industries.

From Piramidal’s groundbreaking work in decoding the human brain to Mercately’s mission to transform sales in Latin America, each story reminds us that bold ideas can reshape entire markets. And speaking of bold moves, our teardown of Locl dives into how this platform is helping businesses optimize their Google Business Profiles, offering critical insights and takeaways that any marketer or business owner can leverage to boost local visibility.

I’m excited to share this journey with you—let’s make it count!

Join in January, grow all year

Take on 2025 with the tools to manage leads, clients, and projects like a pro—and a chance to win a $10,000 prize package for your business.

Table of Contents

📰 This Week in AI & SaaS 📰

  • Eric Ly, from background-checking software company KarmaCheck, shares valuable lessons from his vast experience in the tech industry. Read more.  

  • Piramidal makes a great leap forward in decoding the human brain, with their foundational model for brain waves that could enhance the accuracy and power of EEGs. Read more. 

  • Mercately, the B2B SaaS startup that helps Latin American companies sell products through WhatSapp, gets $2.6M seed with a little help from Meta. Read more.

🌟Turing’s Top Picks 🌟

FEATURED TOOLS 

  • Digital Marketing Manager GPT: This AI-powered tool will assist you in optimizing your marketing strategies, ensuring that they deliver ROI across all channels. Try it. 

  • MindPal: MindPal is a platform that allows you to create customized AI assistants, armed with problem-solving skills and sophisticated knowledge, that’ll help you streamline your workflows. Try it.

  • SEO Writing AI: SEO Writing AI is an AI-driven tool that’ll help you create SEO-optimized, high-quality content, such as blog-writing, articles and more. Try it. 

Read of the Week: 

The Secrets to Scaling to $2 Billion+ in ARR With HubSpot Co-founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah

❝

Don’t be afraid to do the opposite of what people tell you to do

Amelia Ibarras takes a look at some of SaaStr’s “best sessions ever” with Jason Lemkin, and HubSpot founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah.

👾 TOFU Quick Bytes: Locl Teardown 👾

Locl teardown

Established in 2019, Locl is a digital platform that provides tools to brands, franchises and agencies, to help optimize their Google Business Profiles and allow for greater visibility in local searches.

Strategy overview: 

Locl operates in the B2B space, and mainly targets SMBs that have physical premises, such as healthcare providers, restaurants and retail stores. They also target marketing agencies, as well as consultants who manage local SEO. 

Performance Analysis:

  • Locl’s estimated annual revenue is $2.6M.

  • Their customer-base is not publicly available.

  • They’ve raised $700K in funding.

  • They currently have 26 employees and grew their employee count by 24% last year.

How have they achieved this? 

Critical Teardown:

What does Locl do well?

Educational content:  Locl provides educational resources, like blogs, guides and webinars explaining the importance of local SEO. This gives them authority in the local SEO space. 

User-friendly platform: The simple integration of Locl with popular business tools - such as Google Ads and Google Analytics - makes it convenient for users. The dashboard is straightforward and easy-to-access, allowing busy business-owners to make quick decisions from visible insights. 

Data-driven insights: Locl uses data from Google My Business to gain useful insights and analytics that help businesses understand their target market and customer-base, allowing them to make data-driven improvements.

Flexible-pricing and free trial: Locl accommodates for different budgets, by providing a tiered price plan. This gives them flexibility and ensures they can keep their gates open to different sized businesses and markets, while reflecting the needs of their customers. 

What doesn’t Locl do well? 

Limited focus: Locl’s primary focus is on Google Business Profiles, which implies that it may not provide sophisticated tools for managing other platforms like Facebook and Apple Maps, which could be restrictive for businesses who rely on multiple platforms for their visibility.

Limited automation and AI features: When looking at its competitors, Locl doesn’t offer as many automation features, such as AI-driven content creation, automated review responses, or advanced chatbots, which can streamline processes and improve efficiency.

No case studies or social proof: Locl have no case studies or testimonials. To encourage sales, to give their service credibility and to demonstrate their service’s efficacy, Locl could have prominently displayed case studies with reputable clients.

AI integration

Customer insights and personalization: Locl uses AI to analyze data from various sources, such as customer reviews and social media. This analysis helps businesses gain deeper insights into customer preferences and behavior, enabling them to tailor their services and marketing efforts to individual customer needs.

Automated marketing campaigns: Locl uses AI-driven analytics to help businesses create targeted marketing campaigns. The design of these campaigns is informed by customer data, which allows businesses to personalize offers, and segment their audience, encouraging greater engagement.

Review analysis and sentiment analysis: Locl employs AI to monitor and analyze customer reviews and feedback automatically across different platforms.

Predictive analytics: Locl uses AI-driven predictive models to help businesses plan for emerging demands, to help them optimize their pricing, and manage inventory. 

Key takeaways: 

  • Use educational content marketing, such as blogs and YouTube videos, to inform your audience of your service and demonstrate its benefits.

  • Give your product/service credibility by including detailed case studies with reputable clients, prominently on your website. 

  • Integrate AI to analyze data, provide predictive insights, and identify emerging trends that’ll inform your marketing strategy.

What campaign or content marketing strategy would you like to see torn apart, next? Let me know! 

📢Spread the Word📢 

If you found value in today's insights, share Turing's TOFU with your network. Let's grow this community of AI-driven SaaS professionals together!