Why Should Businesses Advertise Locally?
By Art Gib
The marketing plan of any business is essential to the success of that business. However, that doesn”t mean that every marketing plan is created equal. Some companies have a decent marketing budget, but they spread the budget too thin, focusing on local advertising and national advertising alike. While this can work if you have a fair amount of money to spend on advertising, it is sometimes better to find the niche that your product fits into and focus on marketing to the people who are interested in that niche.
A good place to start when revising or creating your marketing plan is in your own neighborhood. Many people like to support local businesses because it helps build up the local economy. Everybody benefits from a strong economy, both businesses and the local population alike.
The beauty of local advertising is that you can personalize what you send out. Rather than sending fifty thousand fliers to random people across five states, you can send out five thousand fliers to targeted groups of people near the city you are stationed in. You can personalize it by adding a Mr. or a Mrs. And their name. Targeted marketing is just as effective as mass marketing, because you”re marketing to those who are already interested in the product that you offer.
A great way to market in your own community is to get that community involved with your company. That doesn”t mean you need half the father’’s in the neighborhood working for you. What it means is that you offer incentives to the locals or fund raisers for local groups. An example of an incentive is the ”A” equals cash incentive that many banks give out. Basically, for each ”A” a high school student earns, they are give a dollar, two dollars, five dollars… whatever the company chooses, that is deposited in their account or written out to them as a check. If you don”t own a bank the kids could bring in their good grades for discounts. However you want to work it, the key is to get them involved.
Another extremely important aspect of local advertising is customer service. Do what you can to offer better customer service and listen to what your customers want. Offer surveys and comment/complaint cards. Encourage your customers to fill them out. This feedback is essential to any business because it enables you to fill the needs of the customers, and if you fill a need the customer will come back again.
Of course, these are just a few of the many ways you can advertise locally. Just remember, sometimes marketing to a select group of people is more effective than marketing to a large audience. Don”t focus on mass marketing, focus on the quality of your marketing and you”ll soon see results.
About The Author
OrangeSoda (http://www.orangesoda.com) has a unique expertise in local advertising on the internet. Our team has over a decade of experience helping websites show up high in the major search engines when users search for local products or services. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
