How Decathlon Increased Google Maps Visibility by 179%
Decathlon improved its visibility and customer interaction on Google Maps, increasing traffic and engagement. By utilizing Center AI solutions, the company optimized the management of its store listings, achieving impressive results. Learn how Decathlon achieved these outcomes.
Increase in-store listing views
Increase in conversion from listing views to website visits
Increase in requests for directions
Company
Decathlon, founded in 1976 in France, is a global leader in sportswear and equipment, operating in over 60 countries with 1,700+ stores. The company offers products for over 90 sports, focusing on accessibility, quality, and promoting values like responsibility and innovation.
Headquarters
Industry
- Retail
- Sports Equipment
Challenge
Decathlon, a global leader in sports retail, aimed to increase its online presence, particularly on Google Maps.
The company recognized that Google Maps could become a key communication channel with customers, especially in updating store locations, opening hours, and available services.
However, Decathlon faced several challenges:
Data Accuracy: The company struggled with manually updating information across all store listings, leading to inconsistencies and customer frustration.
Customer Engagement: Decathlon realized it wasn’t fully leveraging the potential of listings to engage with customers, particularly in managing reviews and feedback.
Consistency Across Listings: Maintaining up-to-date and consistent information across all locations was challenging, and lack of consistency negatively affected customer trust.
Google Maps became a crucial communication channel for us. We needed a tool that would allow real-time updates of store information and effectively engage customers by actively responding to their reviews.
Wojciech Zięba
Chief Digital Officer
Poland and Central & Eastern Europe
Solution
To address these challenges, Decathlon implemented the Center AI platform to streamline the management of store listings on Google Maps.
This allowed the company to manage store information better and actively communicate with customers via listings. The key functionalities of the implementation included:
Centralized Listing Updates: Center AI-enabled Decathlon to update information for all 64 locations in Poland using a single tool. This ensured consistency in data such as addresses, opening hours, delivery options, and accessibility for disabled customers, which enhanced the overall customer experience.
Protection Against Unauthorized Changes: The Center AI platform safeguarded listings from unauthorized changes made by Google users, ensuring that customers always had access to accurate and up-to-date information.
Review Management: Decathlon leveraged Center AI’s advanced review management features, allowing real-time monitoring and professional responses to customer feedback. The module allowed for categorizing reviews and response templates, improving the customer communication process.
Bulk Publishing of Marketing Content: Through the platform, Decathlon could simultaneously publish promotional and informational posts across all store listings, significantly reducing the time required to manage marketing content. Information about new products, promotions, or events reached a broad audience quickly.
Advanced Analytics: Center AI provided Decathlon with advanced analytical tools, allowing the company to continuously monitor marketing performance and respond quickly to customer needs, adjusting its strategy accordingly.
Thanks to Center AI, we significantly simplified listing management and improved our collection and analysis of customer feedback. We can now quickly respond to customer needs, which translates into better shopping experiences.
Wojciech Zięba
Chief Digital Officer
Poland and Central & Eastern Europe
Results
The implementation of Center AI delivered measurable results for Decathlon, which translated into improved visibility and customer engagement.
First and foremost, the number of store listing views on Google Maps increased significantly, leading to more customer interactions. The company saw a marked increase in website visits and requests for directions to stores, indicating heightened customer interest and engagement.
With Center AI, Decathlon gained an easy-to-use tool for managing all its locations, which streamlined operational processes and saved time. The teams managing the listings could now focus on data analysis and responding to reviews, resulting in better customer service and increased satisfaction.
Review management became more efficient. Center AI enabled Decathlon to respond to reviews quickly and efficiently, positively impacting the brand’s image. More significant customer interaction not only built loyalty but also contributed to an increase in in-store visits and phone inquiries.
In summary, implementing Center AI significantly improved Decathlon’s marketing results. Store listing views increased by almost 180%, website visits by over 160%, and phone inquiries by 130%. These impressive increases demonstrate the effectiveness of Center AI in improving the brand’s visibility and conversion rates on Google Maps.
Thanks to Center AI, we significantly increased the visibility of our store listings and improved communication with customers. The increase in customer interactions with the listings directly translated into more foot traffic in our stores.
Wojciech Zięba
Chief Digital Officer
Poland and Central & Eastern Europe
