Here is today’s roundup of news related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more.

95% of New Products Fail: Successful SMB SaaS Products Must Solve Real-World Problems (May 6, 2019)
LSA Insider: “The world is constantly being flooded with new products of all shapes and sizes. Whether it’s a non-stick pan, a workout machine or a new technology, the success of these products is, in many cases, determined long before their launch.”

30 Million SMBs: How Many Are Your Potential Customers? (May 6, 2019)
LSA Insider: “This week is national small business week. In honor of that, here are a few statistics about small businesses and what they represent in the roughly $20 trillion US economy.”

Does Google’s Hint at Pay-to-Play for GMB Put The Channel at Risk? (May 6, 2019)
LSA Insider: “Google recently sent Google My Business users a survey about charging for services and features, among other topics. While the survey isn’t necessarily indicative of any sudden changes, it points to Google’s willingness to tinker with the historically free model. A subscription model would have far-reaching effects on Google itself as well as the digital advertising world.”

Key local stats every marketer needs to know (May 6, 2019)
Search Engine Land: “Local is the Rodney Dangerfield of digital marketing; it simply doesn’t get the respect it deserves. But when we look at the totality of the data, it becomes clear that the majority of brands and retailers should be focusing a great deal more energy and effort on local digital marketing.”

Google Tests New Type Of Shoppable Ad (May 3, 2019)
MediaPost: “Google began testing “shoppable ads” in Image Search last March, which allows advertisers to highlight products in ads. A few brands, such as Kate Spade, have dabbled in what the search engine called a “shoppable ad” unit on YouTube.”