Local Business Marketing

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What is a Local Business?

Local business is a type of business that is based in a local area and provides goods or services to a local population. It is also referred to as a "brick and mortar" business where it can be a locally owned business or a corporation with multiple locations operating in a specific area. Starting a local business isn't easy because of the competition and seasonal customers. You need to aggressively market your business to your target customers and conduct specific marketing strategies.

THE CHALLENGES OF MARKETING A LOCAL BUSINESS

SELLING THE "INVISIBLE"

Most local businesses don’t have a physical store where people can see and visit and they don’t have a tangible product people can handle.

NO CUSTOMER LOYALTY

The customers only need you once in a great while, so it’s hard to count on customer loyalty and repeat business. Many people can’t even remember which company they called the last time they had a problem.

THE YELLOWED PAGES

You can reach your customers via the Yellow Pages of course, but this medium is getting more and more expensive—even as fewer and fewer people are using it. People are turning to online searches. But who are these people?

RELATIONSHIP ROULETTE

Generally speaking, people don’t want to hear from local businesses at all—until they have a problem. And then, they want your services IMMEDIATELY! This makes it difficult to build relationships with customers.

MEDIA WASTE-LAND

If you advertise in a local newspaper you know that on any given day, only a tiny fraction of people reading the newspaper will need your services. This means that over 99% of the money a local business spent on an ad is wasted! And it’s the same for most other advertising media.

MYSTERY PROSPECTS

Local businesses are getting harder to identify their prospects in advance and are struggling to know how to reach them.

With challenges like these, it’s no wonder that so many local business companies have such bad stories to tell about their marketing experiences. Some already gave up and the lives of their staff were the most affected. At Dreamond, we have a proven experience in providing local business marketing to businesses in different areas around the world.

OUR LOCAL BUSINESS MARKETING STRATEGIES ARE THE FOLLOWING

CORPORATE IDENTITY AND STARTER KIT

A starter kit includes a website and an email address. A website serves as your online representation. This is what makes your business visible online. An email address on the other hand functions as your means of contact for potential customers. A one-page website is often enough for a local business. It is also necessary for the local company to have business cards and letterheads.

APPOINTMENT AND BOOKING SYSTEM

Every local business whether online or offline has to implement the appropriate Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. These will manage the booking procedures and the appointment system of the business. Through a highly integrated system of applications, a local business can provide customer satisfaction.

SOCIAL NETWORKS

Social networks serve as a source of leads and prospects for the business. It is also a good way to build up a relationship to people around the local area so the image of the business will rise socially and locally. Current and potential customers will have more respect and appreciation for a business who provides timely responses.

LOCAL SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

It is important for your local business to rank in keywords that include localized terms such as the specific city or region the business is located (depending on how localized your business is). This makes sure that you are targeting the users in your particular area.

DIRECT MAILING

Direct mailing is a great channel for local businesses to leverage in their marketing strategy. Aside from relatively low to free email marketing costs, it makes email a more attractive option from promotions and campaigns than other paid channels. Whether you want to connect with the local community through a newsletter, distribute coupons or simply welcome new customers, an email marketing campaign makes connecting with your customer base simply and effective.

SMS CAMPAIGN

Since texting has the highest engagement rate with over 97% of text messages opened compared to any other marketing channel, an SMS campaign has multiple benefits for a local business. SMS marketing ensures a high open rate, high conversion rate, and it is also a highly flexible platform, not to mention that it enables instant deliverability.

LOCAL PAID ADVERTISING

Local paid advertising is a great way to produce leads. It is also useful in generating foot traffic for the business. It introduces your services well and highlights services enhancements. It increases brand awareness for the product.

ONLINE-OFFLINE PROMOTIONS

Local businesses require both online and offline promotions to expand and strengthen their customer base. It also helps build awareness for the business’ particular brand identity.

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