It’s a no brainer that the best market within a small business’s reach is the local area surrounding the business. Don’t you want to make your business the word of the town? Heck, even attract an audience from a nearby town? Then here’s a few tips in developing a strong local marketing strategy for your small business.
Focus On A Target Audience
This is the golden rule for every marketing strategy. Focusing on a specific audience aids in forming a clear marketing strategy. Do some research of your local area and analyze its demographic profile. Is your area full of middle-class retirees? Is your business right next to university with college students on a tight budget? Align your business’s niche to fit your own area's niche. You can create a sustainable business strategy after you've identified what your local audience wants and needs.
Local Marketing Means Marketing Business In Your Local Area
Being a part of your community is a great way of spreading word of your business. Sponsor some local events such as sport competitions. You could even make a presence in local networking events. Take every opportunity in your community to increases awareness of your business’s brand. It'd be wonderful to hear comments such as “Hey, I remember you. You were one of the sponsors in my child’s soccer match”. If you think about it, businesses are part of the community, so it’s best establish a community-wide presence.
Market Online As Well
Users going online more than ever in searching for businesses, their products, and services. Developing your websiteis a huge commitment and a sizable investment, but the returns will benefit your business exponentially. A website filled with complete and relevant information about your business adds a sense of legitimacy to your business’s brand. Making social media profiles and using them is another step in developing a strong online presence.
A social media account allows you to develop a personal level of engagement with your customers.You can immediately respond to inquiries if a user responds to a post you uploaded in Facebook. Sharing valuable media content in Youtube and Instagram enriches your business’s brand even further. Consumers love to follow businesses that have a strong online presence.
Give Out Freebies
Another way your small business can generate brand awareness is to give out freebies. If you think about it, who doesn’t want free stuff? When sponsoring local events, festivals, or county fairs, enrich your presence by giving out free samples. You can even offer exclusive promo prices of your products and services. This is an excellent way of attracting new audiences. It also improves customer loyalty since they're seeing your business more often.
Businesses Should Have Local Citations
Local citations are simply any mentions of your business in a variety of platforms. From yellow pages, Google Maps, to industry or trade-specific websites, and also crowd-sourced review websites such as Yelp. Local citations creates the impression that your business, because it’s frequently mentioned everywhere, has a reputable image. The more frequently your business gets cited, the more it enhances your business’s brand.
Conclusion
The most important concept to remember about local small business marketing is that you need to understand your local area and the people in it. There are small business owners that are stuck in trying to imitate what businesses across town are doing but still failing. Once you have a clear picture of your local area's composition, you then have a good foundation to build a strong local marketing strategy.
