As June comes to a close, we are excited to welcome more cities and businesses onboard Bludot Open, with our latest addition Martha's Vineyard. To date we have reached over 350,000+ views and supporting 4,000 local businesses on site. We have also continued to work closely with our city partners to adjust and improve as states entered various phases of reopening. Local government partnerships are key to Bludot. We are proud to share our latest feature roundup as well as what's in store next.
1. Customizable Filter Options
The Takeout, Delivery, and Gift Card filters are now toggles with a more intuitive design, along with brand new options such as Open Now, Outdoor Dining, Online Shopping. These filters help businesses highlight the services they have to offer, and provide an easy way for site visitors to find the businesses they are looking for. The filter, category, and area options are customizable by city admin.
2. Robust Business Profiles
To make each business's profile most useful for site visitors, we now have ways for businesses to add clickable links to their social media and other online profiles, eg. Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, Google Map, and more. Businesses with delivery services can also add clickable links to their delivery sites, eg. UberEats, Doordash, GrubHub, etc. These features are built with the simple goal to let site visitors get to the relevant sites as easy as 1 click and immediately take action, whether it be place an order or get driving directions. In addition to our default selections, businesses can add custom links and point people to any sites that are most relevant to their business.
3. Promotions + Gallery
As businesses reopen, many are considering promotions to boost their traffic. Businesses can now highlight their promotions directly in their profile, which will also be highlighted in the listing page with a special banner as well as an easily accessible "Promotions" tab. Moreover, businesses can also add images to the gallery to showcase their products or services.
What's next?
Several of our partner cities are now transitioning their Bludot Open site from an "Essential Business" page that was just for the pandemic to a permanent "Digital Business Directory". It will serve as a place for residents and visitors to see what businesses are available in the city. Promoting local businesses is a critical part of every city's economic development function, especially now when they need the most support. We are excited to make Bludot Open a permanent addition to the Bludot product suite. This is another step in our commitment to build the best, most comprehensive software tools for economic development staff across the country. Expect to hear more Bludot Open product updates from us in the coming weeks!