As a small business, you need an edge in positioning yourself in your local market. After all, you probably don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on marketing and advertising each month.
So what can you do to help set yourself apart from your competitors?
1) Become Active in Your Community
If you’re not already invested in your community, there’s no better way to ingratiate yourself to potential customers. The first step is to join your local chamber of commerce and attend events in which you can collaborate with other local business owners. You can also sponsor a charity, PTA activity, or local event to further improve your presence.
2) Emphasize the Customer Experience
Small businesses are an integral part of every community. In fact, 90% of U.S. consumers frequent them at least once a week. So what makes them come back? Fantastic customer service, a friendly environment, and the fact that they value their customers’ opinions and feedback.
3) Improve Your Local SEO
With the majority of consumers going online to research local businesses and services is it any wonder that SEO is a vital component to getting your name out there? You can do this by registering with Google and Bing Places and then creating hyperlocal content; focusing on strategic social media management; and optimizing your website with your name, physical address, e-mail address, and phone number, along with keywords.
4) Focus on Online Reviews
Consumers primarily rely on online reviews to make purchases. So it’s imperative that you engage with your customers online and organically and ask them to write a review on your Google+ and Facebook pages, and review you on Yelp or a site that is popular with your industry like TripAdvisor if you’re in hospitality.
5) Utilize E-mail Marketing
E-mail marketing is an effective tool that can help you target current, prior, and potential customers, while providing measurable results. And there are many free e-mail marketing resources, so you don’t need to worry about breaking the bank.
Yes, the economy is global these days but making a niche for yourself in the local market can help bring in additional revenue and get people talking about you.
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