Wilfrid Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Thanks, that's what I was looking for. Not what Tim and Nina wanted, but better than a slap in the face with a piece of cold halibut. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chambolle Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 so you think they paid less for Zagat than the cost of raiding open tables sales force? Google will approach this business differently than OpenTable. And Zagats would be a great restaurant-related brand to use in this war. Smart competitors in rapidly innovating markets don't compete head-on with and don't do the same thing as the incumbent market leader. Back in that OpenTable thread, I kind of defined the business that OpenTable is in as "revenue/profit optimization for restaurants" and it's a feature (granted a very necessary and important feature) of OpenTable's overall business offering that provides diners with a very convenient reservation-making system. But at the end of the day, OpenTable is selling restaurants on their ability to optimize (ie increase) revenue, that is, get more butts into the available restaurant seats. Expect Google to leverage their inherent strengths in this market (ie a fully web-based product, algorithmic analysis of "big data", mobile offerings using real-time location info and past history, easy-to-use analysis/optimization tools for their restaurant customers, close-to-full automation of the sales process, etc). Hence Google may not even need a traditional salesforce. We'll see. Stay tuned. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anthony Bonner Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 so you think they paid less for Zagat than the cost of raiding open tables sales force? Google will approach this business differently than OpenTable. And Zagats would be a great restaurant-related brand to use in this war. Smart competitors in rapidly innovating markets don't compete head-on with and don't do the same thing as the incumbent market leader. Back in that OpenTable thread, I kind of defined the business that OpenTable is in as "revenue/profit optimization for restaurants" and it's a feature (granted a very necessary and important feature) of OpenTable's overall business offering that provides diners with a very convenient reservation-making system. But at the end of the day, OpenTable is selling restaurants on their ability to optimize (ie increase) revenue, that is, get more butts into the available restaurant seats. Expect Google to leverage their inherent strengths in this market (ie a fully web-based product, algorithmic analysis of "big data", mobile offerings using real-time location info and past history, easy-to-use analysis/optimization tools for their restaurant customers, close-to-full automation of the sales process, etc). Hence Google may not even need a traditional salesforce. We'll see. Stay tuned. I'm not sure I understand what you think Zagat's offers to Google though in that scenario? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stone Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I assume Google will use Zagat as the brand to offer a combined reservations/forum service. Seriously, no one remembers when the Yelp founders made their Restaurant Girl post on eG all those years ago? And were scoffed at? And has everyone been getting Amazon's Groupon-like local business discount emails? I'm guessing Groupon will be gone soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Suzanne F Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Thanks, that's what I was looking for. Not what Tim and Nina wanted, but better than a slap in the face with a piece of cold halibut. A dead trout, right, Sneak? Not what they were looking for??? What is it really worth? Bubkes, when you come down to it. They profited mightily over the years. (Sorry, but I come at this from a limited equity viewpoint, anathema to so many here) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilfrid Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I'm not sure I understand what you think Zagat's offers to Google though in that scenario? Branded content. Crap content, but branded crap content. About the only valuable thing Zagat had left was its highly recognizable branding. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilfrid Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Thanks, that's what I was looking for. Not what Tim and Nina wanted, but better than a slap in the face with a piece of cold halibut. A dead trout, right, Sneak? Not what they were looking for??? What is it really worth? Bubkes, when you come down to it. They profited mightily over the years. (Sorry, but I come at this from a limited equity viewpoint, anathema to so many here) I plead mere factual accuracy. They withdrew it from the market in 2008 when they couldn't find a buyer for $200m. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilfrid Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I assume Google will use Zagat as the brand to offer a combined reservations/forum service. Seriously, no one remembers when the Yelp founders made their Restaurant Girl post on eG all those years ago? And were scoffed at? Hmm. There were a few like that and we were usually right. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lex Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Does anyone know what Google intends to do with Zagat or are we all guessing? (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) So let me join in. Right now when you Google a restaurant the search results usually lead back to Yelp first. I suspect Google would now prefer if the first site quoted was Zagat. OpenTable might not be target #1. It might not even be a target at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
porkwah Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 i think they own the rights to the integers 24-27 and 29, and google needs those Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaliesinNYC Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 i think they own the rights to the integers 24-27 and 29, and google needs those Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TaliesinNYC Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Thanks, that's what I was looking for. Not what Tim and Nina wanted, but better than a slap in the face with a piece of cold halibut. A dead trout, right, Sneak? Not what they were looking for??? What is it really worth? Bubkes, when you come down to it. They profited mightily over the years. (Sorry, but I come at this from a limited equity viewpoint, anathema to so many here) I plead mere factual accuracy. They withdrew it from the market in 2008 when they couldn't find a buyer for $200m. Well, it probably won't be worth as much as Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility which occurred in August (@ $40/share, came out to slightly over $12.5 billion). We can use that as the upper threshold. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wilfrid Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Not unconnected with the Motorola acquisition. Google is committing heavily to local commerce and is also looking forward to the fast approaching day when mobile will be more important than desktop. People using search and maps will get snapshot info on businesses, branded as Zagat. Google must view the branding as valuable (-ish, because it was cheap anyway), as Google will already send users to Menupages and Trip Advisor; there's also a custom interface for people to post their own reviews and ratings. It may be surprising that Google thinks it worthwhile to stamp this kind of content "Zagat," but I guess the brand still has high recognition. Not entirely guessing: more here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lex Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Google is committing heavily to local commerce and is also looking forward to the fast approaching day when mobile will be more important than desktop. You don't really believe that, do you? Have you really crossed over to the other side? Rather than supplanting desktops the mobile devices are filling a previously unexploited void. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sneakeater Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Just yesterday I went to a training session for apps that enable you to do legal research on a mobile (phone or tablet) rather a computer (desktop or laptop). I think that is HIGHLY suggestive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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