Local customers are the driving force behind a lot of successful businesses. Before you secure the funding and get the strategies right, you need to find ways to market your products and/or services to local customers. In most cases, local customers help drive consistent revenue and growth for small businesses. If you are unable to attract local customers to your business, here are some effective strategies you should try.
Try Geofencing Marketing:
Geofencing marketing involves setting up a virtual boundary that triggers a marketing action (such as sending a push notification) to a mobile device when a user enters or exists the boundary. You can use this marketing strategy to offer attractive deals and offers to your target audience and encourage them to visit your physical store, try your new product, or make a purchase. Since white label geofencing is a location-based marketing practice, you are able to make the maximum impact on the target audience by sending personalized ads at the right time.
Set Up a Free Listing with Google:
If you haven’t already listed your business on Google, you need to do it ASAP. Customers often use Google to find shops and service providers in their locality. By listing your business on Google, you make your business more discoverable to local customers. Google business listing is free and easy to use. You will have to include the following details in Google:
- Name of the business
- Category of the business
- Address
- Phone number
- Operational hours
- Website link (if any)
- Photos
- Directions to the store
Connect with the Local Community:
In order to run a successful local business, you need to connect with the residents and other businesses in a community. The connection will help you understand the possibilities and risks of doing business in a particular area. By connecting with the local community, you will be able to let people know about your products and services. You may also get opportunities to form new partnerships. If you decide to join a local chamber of commerce, you will get to attend various events and meetings where you can explore new business opportunities.
Offers Deals and Discounts to Gain Attention:
When you are struggling to get the attention of your local audience, you should consider offering some free deals and discounts to the customers. Everyone loves free deals and price drops. And it does not even cost much to share the news with the local audience. To get these promotions across more effectively, use a dynamic QR Code on your promotional print or digital materials, this will provide customers instant access to your current deals and discounts on your website. The word of mouth does most of the job. If you have the budget, you can share the details of these deals and discounts with your target audience through geofencing marketing. Such deals and discounts generally increase your sales.
Run Contests to Attract Local Customers:
If you decide to run a contest, people start to get automatically involved with your business. Since you are targeting local customers, offline contests will be important for your business. However, you can also try online contests to engage with more clients. You can promote the contest on your business’s social media account. The contest is a great way to drive more traffic to your social media accounts. With the right marketing strategies, you can turn those visitors into customers.
Work on Your Customer Service:
To ensure that the local customers keep coming back to your business for new purchases, you need to make sure that their buying experience is great. If the local people do not like your services or products, it will be difficult for you to build a successful business out of them. To improve the customer experience, you need to offer several services, which include:
- 24/7 customer support
- After-sale service at home
- Timely product delivery
- Moneyback policy for flawed or damaged products, etc.
You also need to check your reviews on Google and social media platforms and address any criticism or feedback your business may have received. As you resolve the issues, ask the customers to leave a positive review based on the service.
Conclusion
Every business has a different target market. So, you must research the market and understand what the audience expects from your business. Once you have that clarity, it will be easier to employ these strategies and build a local customer base.
