When it comes to running any sort of business, your ability to market yourself properly is always going to be a major factor in determining success.
Of course, what ideal marketing looks like depends on what type of business you’re running; if you’re a local business, the route you’ll take will be quite different to someone operating entirely online.
With much of the focus these days being on the latter, this one’s for those involved with the former: if you want to up your marketing game as a local business, here are some tips and tricks you should know about!
1. Utilizing Leaflets and Posters
Leaflets and posters are one of the oldest methods of marketing a local business can use – but that doesn’t mean they’re not just as effective as they’ve always been.
In the beginning, it’s important to work on getting your name out there as quickly as possible, and working with a graphic designer and then distributing posters across your city or town in other stores, lamp posts, exterior walls, and so on is a simple but surefire method. Quality leaflets can work even better: you can have these delivered directly to people’s houses or hand them out in public for a more direct approach.
2. The Importance of Social Media
No matter whether you run a business locally or work mostly via the Internet, social media is going to be a key component of your marketing efforts.
The reality is that everyone’s glued to their phones these days, and you want to make sure you’re part of people’s Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok feeds. Properly utilizing social media can be a bit of a minefield, however, so it could be worthwhile to contact a social media marketing agency to help you make some high-quality short-form content that’ll resonate with your audience.
3. Partner with Other Local Businesses
Collaboration with other local businesses and your wider community is a great way to get your brand out there. You don’t have to see every other business as outright competition as relationships can be mutually beneficial.
Consider running cross-promotions and referral programs, as especially in a smaller town, the connections you make will be extremely important. For example, if you run a wedding planning business, you could collaborate with a local bakery that makes cakes and come to an arrangement that offers a discount to customers. This provides a more enticing deal to prospective clients than your own efforts alone.
4. The Importance of a Well-Designed Website
Even if you’re a local business mostly dealing with physical products in a physical store, a website can be a key asset. Many people forgo having a website these days because of how prevalent social media has become, but a customized site offers a central ‘hub’ for your operations that Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok don’t account for in the same way.
You can use a site to direct people to make purchases for pick up in your store or for quickly and easily making repeat orders. They can also be useful for plainly outlining each of the services you have to offer in an aesthetically pleasing way, and you could even use on-site chat functionalities on your pages so that people can interact with you personally if they need help.
5. Implementing SEO at the Local Level
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical for online operations. It governs your visibility within Google in relation to the key terms people search for when they’re looking for a business like yours.
There are special considerations when it comes to SEO for a local business. For example, you’ll always want to include keywords specifically related to locality such as ‘best bakery in (your city or town)’. SEO is a complex topic, so take a look at this page to learn more about how you can tailor your keywords to appropriately support your daily opperations.
6. The Benefit of Community Events
As a local business, it’s key that you get involved with the community as much as possible. Make sure that you’re aware of any events running and secure a spot to represent yourself.
If it’s something like a market or fair, set up a stall: you could provide a sampling of your menu if you’re a restaurant, or simply operate a stand encouraging people to come over and talk to you so that you can get to know them, hand out a few freebies, and explain a little more about what you do.
7. Utilizing Local Media for Promotional Purposes
While digital media is, by and large, replacing physical media, newspapers and newsletters are still a key part of local communities, so you should do your best to use them to your advantage.
Find out who the local journalists in the area are and reach out to them to see if they’d like to feature you as part of their next piece: if you have something interesting to share that would benefit the population, they’re usually all ears. You can also pay for advertising slots directly within the paper itself to pull in the demographic that doesn’t use the internet much.
8. Why Email Marketing Campaigns are Useful
Even with the advent of social media, email technology is still as useful as ever for marketing. In fact, it remains the backbone for many businesses, both big and small, digital or online.
Email is a great way of directly informing your prospective customers about any special deals and discounts, and it’s excellent for reaching people who aren’t using social media or don’t read the papers.
The most important thing, especially when it comes to targeting local residents, is to keep it personal. You always want to foster a sense of being integrated into the wider community, so if it appears like you’re just sending spam, residents will quickly switch off!
9. On Loyalty Programs
If you have loyal customers that you’ve built a rapport with and who visit your premises regularly, you should always endeavor to reward them.
Everyone likes to feel prioritized, so encourage your most loyal customers to continue their relationship with you with special offers and exclusive deals. For example, if you own a coffee shop or cafe, one of the best methods is to use a punch card system: these work by enabling a customer to stamp a loyalty card every time they buy a drink and claim a free one after however many purchases.
10. Hosting Workshops
Depending on what sort of business you run, workshops can be a great way to have a bit of fun and get people involved in what you do.
For example, as an Italian restaurant or sushi place, you might put on a cookery class to teach people how to make pasta from scratch or roll maki professionally: this adds an extra level of depth to the relationships you’re building with your customers and demonstrates your passion and enthusiasm for your craft, which always goes down well.
11. Use Vehicle Advertising
One of the most effective yet often underutilized forms of marketing is vehicle advertising. This is where you deck out your daily vehicle(s) in eye-catching artwork and lettering that advertises your brand as you drive around.
It’s unique in that it’s a moving advertisement: rather than having to count on people walking by a billboard or coming across a social media post, you have a sure-fire way of reaching hundreds of people a day just by virtue of going about your daily activities.
Vehicle advertisements usually feature bright colors and bold font to attract attention, and they should display all of your key information such as social media handles, email addresses (and sometimes physical addresses), phone numbers, and more. If you go this route, do your best to try and strike a balance between having enough information and too much, though!
12. Going the Extra Mile for Your Customers
Local businesses rely substantially on word of mouth, and if you could only name one thing that makes a business stand out, it’s excellent customer service. No matter what sort of business you’re running, always try to go the extra mile with how you serve and cater to your customer’s needs.
News travels fast, both good and bad, so one of the best ways you can make yourself visible is by letting people do the work for you with who they tell. Create an environment where people are sure to say good things about you and recommend you to their friends.
Wrapping Up
Running a business is hard work, and marketing – especially at the local level – is one of the most difficult aspects you’ll need to puzzle through in the beginning. There’s a lot to learn and many new skills to master, but hopefully, this guide has offered you some food for thought about the methods you can use to get started.
The best way to learn is through experience. There will be a lot of trial and error involved, but rest assured – you’ll soon get the hang of things!
