When entrepreneur Daniel Aronowitz talks to new business owners about growing their business, invariably, they try to follow advice from one source that claims to know how to do it. While a few important factors remain the same, you grow a local business using different methods than a regional, national, or global one. Consider the logical geography of your company and approach growth from that standpoint.
Local Business Growth
Much of the available literature targets startups that aim for global audiences, but the majority of American businesses operate at the local level. From gas stations to your local plumber, these local businesses serve a finite community. In some cases, through years of hard work and superior service and customer service, these businesses grow to offer other locations within their state or region.
Daniel Aronowitz says these local businesses need to use marketing methods that attract foot traffic to their locations. Using three no-cost marketing options, your local company can attract more customers. Here’s what to do.
1. Create a Google My Business (GMB) profile.
Fill out all the information completely, paying the closest attention to your business name and address, including punctuation. On the footer of your company’s website, add the business name and address exactly as you entered it on your business’s GMB profile.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, competing for customers at the local level enables a business to spend less money acquiring new clients. Most people use their smartphones to search today, and Google prioritizes local businesses, vaulting them ahead of national ones. Your business can nab the top spot with local SEO.
2. Use local promotions to attract customers.
Under 30 CEO suggests starting a loyalty program. Use existing business cards as punch cards by using a rubber stamp to add circles or squares to the back. When a customer makes a purchase, mark it using a hole punch in one of the circles or squares. The customer gets a free coffee, sandwich, or service when they complete the card.
Bakeries, cafés, and retail stores can hold a sampling event. For example, a bakery could cut a few cupcakes into bite-sized pieces and spear them with toothpicks. Have an employee offer them to passersby from a tray. Run a special on the item and have the employee tell each person who eats a sample about the special, and invite them into the shop.
3. Add relevant video content to your website and social media posts.
Your business doesn’t have to create original video content. Search on YouTube and Vimeo for videos from non-competitors or businesses in your industry that only operate in distant states. If you operate a general contracting business in Fort Worth, TX, then a general contractor in Billings, Montana, does not qualify as your competitor. Only a general contractor in the Dallas/Fort Worth and surrounding metropolitan area would.
Get Started Growing Your Local Business
Do what other local businesses don’t to ensure your business grows. Doing each of these three marketing tasks takes a little bit of time, but you won’t need to spend money to achieve any of them. It makes good business sense to use free and effective marketing methods.
