The way people find physical businesses is changing. Traditional search, maps, and directories still matter, but AI is increasingly answering questions before someone ever clicks through to a website. And those questions are getting more specific: Where should I park? Is this location wheelchair accessible? What’s opening this weekend? What time does it close today?
Right now, making sure customers can find accurate answers to those questions (regardless of where they choose to look) requires brands to think differently about the information behind every location and experience.
In this episode of The Visibility Brief, Rebecca Colwell (SVP of Marketing, Yext) sits down with Patrick Flanagan (SVP of Digital Development, Operations and Strategy, Simon Property Group) to explore how one of the world’s largest retail real estate companies thinks about the customer experience.
During their discussion, Patrick shares how Simon manages local information across a massive portfolio, keeps critical details accurate as experiences change from location to location, and uses millions of reviews to understand what shoppers are actually looking for.
This episode breaks down:
– Why traditional search and maps are still important in the AI era
– How reviews can reveal what customers are really experiencing
– Why hyper-local details matter
– How Simon keeps local information accurate at scale
– Why declining traffic doesn’t necessarily mean declining visibility
If you’re a marketing leader responsible for hundreds or thousands of physical locations, this episode offers a practical look at what it takes to stay visible when customers can discover you anywhere.
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