Local Marketing targets a specific location just within the vicinity of a business to promote products or services. It is also called neighborhood marketing and that describes exactly how specific this kind of strategy gets.
When you think of getting coffee, do you think of your favorite cafe downtown? And when you go to the shop, you will be greeted by a friendly barista.
He will call you by your name and, without saying a word, he would instantly know what your favorite coffee is like.
Or when you need weed removal for your garden, you go on Yelp, key in your area Zip code, and pick up the phone to call. The handyman will likely be in front of your door under 30 minutes.
This kind of customer experience is something you would not instantly expect when you go to a big cafe that serves hundreds of different people each day. Unless, of course, you took your time to befriend the barista there.
But it seldom happens in bigger businesses. Bigger businesses just do not have that personal touch those smaller ones in your neighborhood do.
You as a customer preferring a more personal approach from a local business to a big brand says a lot about how local marketing works.
If you have a physical store, a home-based business, or a franchise, you can implement local marketing strategies to promote your products within your community. Typically, small businesses opt for this route as it is manageable even with a few resources.
Why choose Local Marketing?
There are three key things that local marketing brings to boost your brand:
Gives better customer service
As in the example stated earlier, local businesses and brands that are within your neighborhood can give a more personal approach to how they do business. They focus on a small area and they tend to capture and exude the local culture.
This, in turn, results in higher customer satisfaction. Since there is only a small area that they focus on, they tend to manage customer issues better.
This does not even mean that they get less traffic. Your local bakeshop may be as busy as their bigger counterparts. This goes to show how even smaller businesses can be profitable with the right marketing.
Perceived as high quality
When small businesses create products, they usually do it in small batches. As opposed to big companies producing things at a grander scale, small batches from local businesses are perceived to have tighter quality control.
Instead of manufacturing lines, local stores and shops have less equipment and people in their production. Since these small businesses have fewer products, the craftmanship is perceived to be high.
With proper branding, you can reap the benefits of a higher price point, earning more for your business.
Worried that your products are far from perfect? This could be common for handmade products, most especially for natural ones. The good news is that it all boils down to proper and effective branding.
Quality is subjective. If your prospective customers care more about what ingredients were used or how sustainable your process was, they would still choose your “imperfect” product over the manufactured ones.
Builds customer trust
You trust your sister’s hairdresser because she talks highly of her new hairdo. You trust the local grocer because your mom says she gets only the freshest fruits there.
Promoting a product or service is easy when you have the word of mouth to back up your claims. And you can achieve that easily when you target only a small community, one that is within the vicinity of your physical store.
People tend to share their wins to other people. And it builds trust which is good for your brand.
When the positive experience from your previous and repeat customers reaches their friends and families, you get their trust and they become new potential customers.
The community where you live gives a certain feeling of home and the same goes for home-grown brands. They just feel like family.
Even when you don’t know the salesperson personally, if you live in the same place, you treat each other as instant friends. Aside from the better customer service that goes with it, the trustworthiness is also elevated.
Hence, when your local marketing strategy works, the benefits multiply and stack to build your brand.
Effective Local Marketing Strategies
The main thing to consider when implementing this kind of promotion is the physical location. You need to identify it first and boost your digital marketing techniques to complement traditional marketing techniques.
You might be thinking about how digital marketing can boost one’s small business within a local physical location.
The main reason for this is that about 88% of buyers often perform searches online before going out to an actual physical store.
This is huge for businesses, both traditional and online, and the numbers will just keep growing in the future. There is no denying that going digital is the way to go, even for traditional brick-and-mortar businesses.
Local SEO
When people search online, they tend to add their physical location to the search term. And they tend to click on the top results on the search engine results page.
If your website has poor SEO and it does not rank for your target keywords for your local area, you are losing leads. They will not be able to visit your website, and hence, they will not come to your store to buy.
So, you do not just want a website, you want one that is optimized for local searches. And it is also a requirement that your website is mobile responsive.
With most of your target audience using mobile devices, it is only logical that your site must be mobile-friendly, too. It helps with your SEO and customer experience.
If you are not sure about your site’s performance, avail this free SEO audit.
Updated Google My Business
Make sure that your business name and contact details are updated. In case you are one that has been affected by the pandemic and your operations are temporarily closed, inform your customers.
Recession-proof businesses continue to operate despite the pandemic and many of these turned to digital marketing to boost their online presence.
By updating your Google My Business details, your chances of ranking in searches also increase.
Local Events
To increase brand awareness of your target customers, it pays to host and join local events. Your target customers are just within the community.
So, while this could be more labor-intensive, sponsoring local events is still an effective way to connect with your target audience and local customers.
Within the physical location, you can also implement geofencing. You can set up ads and messaging as your potential customers enter or leave the area.
Your brand can easily reach your target audience with an optimized website and through social media.
Create content that is true to your brand. Share it across social media platforms for brand awareness. It helps with SEO, too.
And these social media platforms also help profile your target potential customers in a small community. When doing paid ads, you can select what specific area you want to target and what behavior or interests your target customers have.
It could be cheaper this way, too, as you are maximizing your budget in just a small local area.
Social media marketing increases your chances of boosting your online presence. You can even build groups of raving fans who will become your brand advocates.
The power of word of mouth translates digitally to social media marketing. Interact with your audience and ask for reviews. Genuine testimonials, both positive and negative, and genuine engagement appeal to your target audience.
Milia Marketing for Your Local Marketing Strategies
If any of these seem daunting, especially if you are a traditional business owner, then, connect with Milia Marketing.
As a business based in Cleveland, you are sure to enjoy the benefits of working with a team that knows Cleveland customers thoroughly.
Experience how local marketing works by doing business with a fellow Cleveland business. Book an appointment now.
