You have started your own business? You already have small local business but don’t get many customers? If that’s your case, you need to get serious about your local marketing strategy. The competition these days isn’t easy and the only way for you to gain an edge is by providing a great product or service and marketing it effectively throughout your location of service.
You don’t need a marketing diploma to come up with successful ideas for marketing your products. All you need is a bit of guidance throughout the process of choosing the best medium for your campaign.
What are the local marketing mediums out there? People have been marketing products locally for quite some time, so there are plenty of traditions in this field. You can choose among several effective mediums, all of which will allow you to reach the right audience for your advertisements. Here are the most popular ones:
#1. Newspapers and classified ads
When you think of local marketing these are usually the first two things that pop into your mind. Newspapers are the traditional way for small local businesses to advertise their products or services. Targeting publications that serve only your area of operation work best. You can also boost this approach by promoting a few classified ads. This works extremely well if you are selling actual products.
#2. Leaflet distribution
This is another one of the traditional local marketing approaches and if executed right, can be extremely successful. One of the most common points where most leaflet distribution campaigns fail is the actual distribution. Finding someone who will make sure all leaflets reach their locations can be extremely difficult and in some cases even impossible. To make sure everything is done right, hire leaflet distribution company with a proven track record and with guaranteea to deliver all promotional leaflets on time and at the right locations.
#3. Try local radios and TV channels
If your service area covers an entire city, you can target local radio stations and TV channels. Depending on your location you can bargain for a great offer yourself, but in bigger cities it might be a good idea to use the services of a certified media buying agency to get a good deal. You don’t need to spend a fortune on these, be creative and with today’s online world, you can outsource the work and get it done for just a fraction of what professional companies will charge you.
#4. Use the internet
This is particularly useful if you offer a service and cover a wide area. Starting your own website could pave the way for new business, but just having one isn’t enough. To be really successful online you need 2 main things:
- Tell people that your business actually exists
- Show what makes you different
For number 2 think about what the difference between your service and these offered by your competitors is, why customers should choose you, why your service is better. For number 1 the solution isn’t that easy. The internet is a pretty endless place and letting the world know that your business exists can be quite a challenge.
The best way to let someone see your products or services online is to spread the word about it on popular websites. Over the past few years dozens of websites where customers search and review local businesses appeared. These are a good place to promote your service and let people know about what really makes you different from your competitors. Search engines like Google and Bing allow local business owners to get a special page for their businesses where they can provide detailed information, pictures and videos of their products, as well as get listings at their map services. These are used by millions, if not billions of people to search for locations.
Do you have any suggestions for effective local marketing?
Images: ”Local Marketing. Magnifying Glass on Old Paper with Red Vertical Line./ Shutterstock.com“
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