UAE, 26 July 2020: Emirates Post is expanding its product offering with the introduction of a digital location management service for UAE businesses called Smart Places.  In partnership with Local Knowledge, a dedicated local listings management company, the new service will provide an easy and accessible solution to business owners who seek to claim and update their business on Google Maps as well as other important digital platforms.  Smart Places is an innovative digital transformation product specifically designed for bricks and mortar businesses as a “we do it for you” service to ensure they are discoverable on today’s mobile digital mapping platforms, apps, search engines and in-vehicle navigation systems.

 

A study conducted by Ipsos Research1 showed that 54% of business references on Google Maps are for the operating hours of the business alone. Smart Places optimizes business listings with up-to-date operating hours, as well as contact information, exact location, category of business, photos and other important information that ensures the business will be accurately found on Google Maps, OK Google, Apple Maps, Siri Voice Search, TomTom Maps, HERE Maps, Foursquare, Facebook, what3words and other important digital platforms in both Arabic and English.

 

Smart Places is available to all legally-registered UAE businesses with a valid trade license, physical business location and UAE business phone number. Signing up is simple and a dedicated support agent is provided to claim, manage, and update listings for a quick and convenient process.

 

Commenting on the launch, H.E. Abdulla Mohammad Alashram, Group CEO of Emirates Post Group Company said, “Postal services need to adapt to digital disruption and, at Emirates Post, we are committed to improving our existing services and developing new and unique products and solutions to cater to the changing needs of our customers. The introduction of Smart Places is yet another addition to the portfolio of non-postal services we provide to improve our customers’ experiences. With 74% of internet users look for business locations or contact information online on a daily basis1, we are delighted to enter into a partnership with Local Knowledge and excited to be the first postal group in the world to introduce a digital location management service. This is just one of many services we offer to facilitate business needs and we are confident that it will help to ensure the growth and prosperity of UAE based businesses in today’s mobile digital economy.” 

 

Trevor Nadeau, Founder and Managing Director of Local Knowledge added, “It is hugely important and beneficial for businesses to be digitally discoverable and, at Local Knowledge, we pride ourselves on understanding the local business listing landscape in the Middle East. We are proud to partner with Emirates Post on the delivery of this new service, which will have numerous benefits for both businesses and consumers.”