How to Get Local Customers for Your Small Business in 6 Months
Your business needs local customers to help it succeed.
This is especially true for brick-and-mortar stores, but that requires local marketing.
In this blog post, I’ll show you the best ways for small businesses to get local customers. Let’s get started!
Local Marketing Events
Local marketing requires both traditional marketing and word-of-mouth marketing.
Most areas have meetings and events where local businesses can discuss common issues or introduce themselves to the local community.
These local events are a great way to build brand awareness and can help you build valuable connections with other businesses in the area.
Here's a list of some of the local marketing events that may be happening in your area:
Farmers markets
Business owner meetings
Farmers markets
Trade shows
Even if you aren't playing a big part in an event, it's still a good opportunity to give people your business' contact information. You should also take this opportunity to network with other businesses in the area. If you can connect with a business owner that is well-established in your area, it can open the way for a larger client base.
Many events like community business meetings or councils are free to attend. These kinds of events will require all of your networking skills and a well-thought-out strategy. It may be a good idea to attend several meetings before trying to build connections. This will allow you to get familiar with the local business climate and figure out who the big players are.
Events like farmers' markets and trade shows are seller events. You're going to do better if you have a physical product that people can see and buy on the spot. However, don't completely write off seller events if your business provides services instead of physical products. There's always the option of teaming up with another business owner who is willing to display your cards or information pamphlets in their booth. This will cost you money, but it can still be an effective advertising method.
Local Social Media Groups
Even if you live in a larger city, there's a good chance that there is a community Facebook group or some other forum that you can join. Many people turn to social media to figure out what's going on in their communities, which makes it the perfect place for you to advertise special sales or events at your business.
Adding local social media groups to your marketing strategy is much cheaper than direct mail. However, if you can afford to do direct mail in your local area, do it while still advertising yourself on the local social media groups.
Local News Papers
Newspaper ads
I live in a small town, so the newspaper is a very important part of advertising. A local business can easily gain new customers by using large eye-catching ads.
In larger cities, you may not have quite the same results. You have a lot more people and a lot of large newspapers and magazines competing for everyone's attention. Your target audience may be subscribed to newspaper A while you're advertising in paper B.
In this scenario, you need to put extra effort into figuring out which publications will give you the best result. Sometimes you can narrow it down by focusing on a certain part of a large city or a specific niche. Other times you'll just have to use trial and error until you figure out where the best business leads are.
Some newspapers have their additions online, which means advertising efforts can generate interest from people that don't read the physical newspaper every week.
Newspaper stories
Newspaper advertisements keep your business in front of people, but stories are what really grab their attention. If something interesting has happened at your store, take advantage of it and see if a local newspaper is willing to write a story about it.
This will accomplish two things.
First, people who may not have known you even existed will learn about your business.
Second, stories naturally create emotion and curiosity. This means that people will check out your business just to satisfy their own curious natures.
For example, let's say a truck ran through your building. People who drive by will take a closer look at your store once they've read the paper and learn that you're having to reconstruct an entire wall.
Another example would be if you were hosting a charity event.
Not only would this be a great opportunity for people to get acquainted with your business, but it also puts you in a favorable light. You're seen as a business that adds value to the community and is worth buying from.
Local SEO
Local search engine optimization isn't as difficult as some people think.
SEO focuses on the specific words and phrases people type into the Google search engine (as well as other search engines). Local SEO just narrows down the search result to include words related to your local area.
Business owners can add simple words to their website like "Grandmont local market center" or "horse riding lessons in Silverton".
By hitting both local and regular SEO, your business has a much higher chance of outranking its competitors.
As a bonus tip, you can implement this strategy in your social media campaigns. Use hashtags that incorporate your city's name or local events. And your phone number, a color photo, and you're all set!
Set Up Your Marketing Strategy
The final step in getting more local customers is to take all of your new ideas and form them into a concrete plan.
Phase One
List the following bits of information on a sheet of paper, Excel spreadsheet, Word document, or whatever works best for you.
Location
Ideal customer
Three local events your business could somehow participate in
One idea for a new event/meeting your business could host.
Two potential competitors (if there are any)
The three main ways your two biggest competitors are marketing to the local community.
Three positive reviews from your current customers.
Five ideas for weekly social media posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and any other social media platform you use.
Billboards, information desks, etc in the local community where you can post business cards with your contact information.
Two local newspapers that you can run as advertisements in.
Two people you can network with to help spread the word about your business.
Once you have all of this information, it's time to start phase two.
Phase Two
Create social media posts for the next 4 months.
Attend meetings about business, local economics, etc at least once a month and get the contact information for at least one person at each meeting.
Have a weekly advertisement in the local paper. Change it up every now and then so it doesn't become stale.
Interact with posts on online local community forums.
Sign up for and participate in the next local festival, trade show, etc.
Talk to people about your business and hand out business cards to everybody that you can.
Create a website that incorporates local SEO and content that would be valuable to your local customers.
If you work hard, stay focused, and follow your plan to the letter. You should see growth within 6 months.
Warning: Do not rush any of these steps! Put a lot of thought into your strategy. If you don't, it will probably fail.
That's all for today, make sure to keep an eye out for my next blog post. As always, don't hesitate to contact me for help with your website, SEO, content, and more.
How can I get customers for my local business?
You can get customers for your local business by using local SEO on your website and advertising in local papers. You can also get more customers from your local area by networking and building your reputation in the community.
How can I promote my small business locally?
You can promote your small business locally by advertising in local papers, and local online forums, and participating in community events and business meetings
How long does it take for a business to get customers?
It takes 2 years for a business to get customers. You can lessen that time span by networking with other businesses and hosting events. This gives you access to other businesses' customer bases and gives your business a good reputation.
How do I get free customers for my business?
You can get free customers for your business by attending free community events and meetings where businesses are allowed to promote themselves.