RBC, Nextdoor Partner to Improve Local Business Exposure

Businesses can advertise to neighbors with verified local addresses via Nextdoor.

Need to Know

  • Nexdoor and RBC will help connect local businesses with neighborhood residents via the Nextdoor app and its browser version.
  • The first initiative, Open for Business Powered by RBC, allows local businesses to make a Business Page and advertise a Local Deal to community members directly within Nextdoor.
  • Local businesses can access one free post on Nextdoor, while RBC business clients will receive two additional free Business Posts and a free Local Deal.

Analysis

As the holiday shopping season approaches, Nextdoor is making it easier for local businesses in Canada to reach nearby customers, launching a new partnership with RBC that will let such vendors advertise to community members directly within Nextdoor’s platform.

The new partnership launches with Open for Business Powered by RBC, which will allow local businesses to create a Business Page, and advertise Local Deals to Nexdoor users with verified addresses at the local level. These posts and deals will be shown in popular sections within Nextdoor, where neighbors already look for business recommendations. Nextdoor neighbors can save Local Deals to present to businesses when they shop in-store or can redeem them online.

“Small actions lead to big change. Partnering with RBC will help us ensure small businesses in Canada have the opportunity to connect with their neighbors,” said Christopher Doyle, country manager for Nextdoor Canada. “Word of mouth has always been a major part of our platform with neighbors recommending the businesses that make their community so vibrant,”

Doyle added that, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nextdoor was used as a platform for individuals wanting to find out how to support their local businesses. “Now we’re providing businesses with powerful tools to more easily connect with their local customers and help fuel their recovery,” he said. “We’re proud to partner with RBC to bring the power of proximity to small businesses across Canada and help neighbors come together to support local during this unprecedented time.”

Local business owners can now set up a Business Page on Nextdoor, and can create a Business Post to let neighbours know they’re open. Those two functions are free; Local Deals must be purchased, but RBC business clients will be given two additional free Business Posts and a free Local Deal for a limited time.

“During the pandemic, nearly 80% of Canadians polled in RBC’s 2020 Small Business Survey saw the value of local small businesses in their community,” said Lori Darlington, VP of strategic partnerships, RBC. “We’re committed to sustaining that momentum of support as we continue to navigate the road to economic recovery together. And RBC’s partnership with Nextdoor is one of the many critical ways in which we’re helping business owners sustain their operations and making it easier to digitally connect with customers in their local communities.”

The RBC-Nextdoor partnership comes months after Google Canada committed $1 million towards its local business-supporting Digital Main Street program, as part of ShopHERE, the Google initiative launched to support businesses that were struggling to make the transition to e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital Main Street has the goal “of ensuring small and independent retailers can shift towards an increased focus and prioritization of digital development.”

RBC has been diversifying its offerings throughout 2020, demonstrating a strong commitment to innovation. In March, RBC launched a newly-formed technology and innovation banking group, which will provide financial support for tech-focused companies and offer insights into banking and venture, such as advice on how to scale successfully. In October, RBC unveiled Aiden, an AI tool that will use machine learning to provide better trading insights and results for RBC clients. Aiden was developed in partnership with AI research center Borealis AI, which was created by RBC, and leveraged the market volatility brought on by COVID-19 as a powerful learning tool.