Have you ever wondered why companies might have an amazing product but still spend so much time and effort on their marketing techniques? Well, check out this quote by Seth Godin, Author and entrepreneur:
Seth is saying that customers nowadays are savvier than they were 20 years ago. You can no longer rely on a listing in a phonebook and expect people to call you. Consumers will research, browse and compare a variety of solutions, and in most cases will have already decided on who they’ll buy from before even speaking to a salesperson. So, your marketing needs to stack up and provide potential customers with what they’re looking for...and before your competitors.
But, with such a plethora of options out there, what’s really going to give you a competitive edge? Here are our top five techniques to drive more local sales to your business.
1. Reach the heart of your community with your local news brand
Your local paper could be key to unlocking a goldmine of new customers. A whopping 74% of people think that their community's newspaper is a trustworthy news source, three times more than social media. If you appear in a trustworthy publication, your credibility will increase in turn, meaning more people will put trust in your business and make you their first choice.
This type of advertising also makes your budget more efficient as your ad will probably only be seen by people in your area, rather than someone miles away who's unlikely to travel to make a purchase.
Don’t forget you can also reach online readers by advertising on their news site too. This usually comes with additional targeting options, such as specific demographics or profiles, which means you can really focus in on your ideal customers.
Find out more: Read our article on Four Ways Your Local Paper Can Help You Reach New Customers
2. Get found prominently in local search results
You’d be surprised how helpful Google Ads can be for any modern local business. It may seem a bit complicated at first, but if 85% of all searches in the world are done on Google, it’s worth investing time in getting Ads right. In case you weren’t aware, Google Ads is online advertising run by Google, the world’s largest search engine. Google shows adverts prominently related to what the user is searching for. For example, you could advertise against search terms like “wedding flowers Leeds” and “florists near me” An example of how it would be seen is illustrated below:
You can target people by location and search terms on Google Ads, as you can see from the example above. You only have to pay when someone clicks to your website, or calls you, which makes it a low cost way of driving up likely sales.
Find out more: Read our Beginner’s 101 To Google Ads For Local Businesses to see how key Ads is for driving local sales to your business.
3. Content is King, but distribution is Queen (and she calls the shots!)
Content marketing is one of the key elements to promoting your business as an expert in the products and services you provide. In short, it is any piece of quality content that you create, such as videos, articles or guides that are focused on educating or engaging your customers. The key here is that it’s not a sales pitch.
As mentioned in the introduction, many customers will be searching out information that will help fulfill their needs and solve their problems before approaching a business - from tips on painting their kitchen, to where to take their kids over the Easter break, to how to fill in a tax return. Make sure you are providing this advice, so that you are seen as an expert in your field, and become the first choice when they are ready to buy that paint, book that outing or consultant an accountant.
It’s all well and good producing content, but you also have to tell people about it. here are various different channels you can use to promote it such as sharing it on your social media channels, emailing it to your customers or by using adverts to drive people to it.
Find out more: To read more about the benefits content marketing can bring to your business, read A Beginner’s Guide to Content Marketing
4. Claim all your online directory listings
Consumers may not reach for the phonebook any more, but there are a plethora of online directories out there that can increase the number of sales you make. Joining an online directory will not only mean that you’re listed as a supplier of your products and services, but it can actually boost your ranking in Google’s search results as well. It’s important to review the information on these directories, as you may already have a listing with incorrect information without you even knowing about it. Take some time to get listed on the key ones such as Google My Business, the Yellow Pages and Thomson Direct and ensure any existing details are correct.This will also send good signals to Google to help you appear organically when people search for local businesses like yours.
Find out more: Read more in our article Market Your Business For Free Using Online Directories
These are only a few marketing techniques which will make a huge difference to your local business. Start implementing these today and see how many more local sales you can drive.
If you need more advice, we have a further three articles to help you on your journey to driving more sales to your business:
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