Once you start a business, it is time to grow it, which often means spending more time on activities that get more customers through the door. So, you must have a marketing plan in order to succeed at this.
And when it comes to promoting a business (the brand and the products and services you are putting out there in the market) there are many ways to do so.
And some of the sales and marketing strategies can be used to spread the word about your business throughout the country or even beyond the borders.
In this list though, I’d like to share some of the things you can start doing to promote your business within your local area.
These are things you can do without spending a lot of money – and when executed well are sure to bring in more customers your way.
1 – Let your product or service speak for itself
Contents
- 1 1 – Let your product or service speak for itself
- 2 2 – Ask the customers you’ve already got to spread the word
- 3 3 – Use a Facebook page you create and Facebook ads to reach people in your locality
- 4 4 – Go out there and pass out flyers
- 5 5 – Use third party sites: classified ads websites, business directories, online shops and marketplaces
- 6 6 – Sponsor events in your local area
- 7 7 – Work with publishers from your area to create more awareness about your business offerings
- 8 8 – Advertise on local radio stations and TV stations
- 9 9 – Find areas with good traffic where you can erect posts with banners advertising your services or products
Provide a high quality product at a great price – and accompany it with excellent customer service. You want people to love what they pay you for. This is one of the best ways to keep them coming to you for more. It is one of the best ways to make sure your business idea turns into a growing profitable business enterprise.
It is one of the best ways to ignite word of mouth marketing. You want your buyers to tell others about how great your product / service is in a way that persuades the listeners to seek you out for the same product.
2 – Ask the customers you’ve already got to spread the word
You can mention this in passing, or get their contacts and text them (or call them) ask for their feedback and then also ask them to tell their friends, family, colleagues and people within their network about how they can benefit from your business (what they liked about you).
Of course, you can also increase loyalty by increasing the quality of your products / service, giving them discounts, giveaways, affiliate commissions, coupons and some freebie bonuses.
3 – Use a Facebook page you create and Facebook ads to reach people in your locality
You can create a Facebook page, then in combination with your blog / website and Facebook ads, advertise only to the people in your local area.
This ensures that you can start immediately, with a low ad budget, and reach a lot of people with your offer. Some of them will convert into customers – and come to your shop or order online / or via the phone.
Just test the ads, learn what works (what doesn’t) and reiterate as need be.
Test different ads. Change your targeting by age, gender and see which ads convert well.
Run those more often, even as you work on creating newer ones, trying to improve your conversion rates.
4 – Go out there and pass out flyers
You can create the content for your flyers by typing it on your computer or phone – and then get it to a cyber cafe for a printed copy and some photocopies – say 100.
Pass out these 100 flyers – and listen to the feedback you get. Use the feedback to improve your product, service delivery and of course the copy you used in the first batch of flyers you gave out.
Then print and make photocopies of 100 more flyers. Pass them out in your locality.
Go out there in the streets and hand them out – or at parties, events or any reasonable place you think of where you can find prospects who in turn become customers.
You can share coupon codes in some of these flyers – to give prospects an incentive to look more into your offerings – make a call or send an email to buy something from you at 10, 20 or 30 percent off.
5 – Use third party sites: classified ads websites, business directories, online shops and marketplaces
Take advantage of some of the free platforms out there already flocking with buyers and sellers – for example business directories, classifieds websites, vendor marketplaces and online shops to reach more people – and get their business.
But don’t forget to set a site of your own as well. here are some ideas to start a blog for your business – which you can use to market your business to people living in your local area (and beyond).
6 – Sponsor events in your local area
You know your area better than I do so I will assume that you can find some where you can work with – become a sponsor of theirs – and get some exposure for your business.
You can sponsor:
- Football teams / tournaments
- Beauty / pageantry competition in your area
- Tree planting / conservation initiatives by your local community
To take things further, find ambassadors to promote your brand from some of the events happening in your local area. You can find great angles to work with musicians, sports people / athletes.
7 – Work with publishers from your area to create more awareness about your business offerings
Work with publishers in your area to come up with great stories that can be shared with their audience.
In the stories you will just have to come up with creative ways to mention what you do – and how people can benefit from associating with you – either as customers or partners.
You can work with different kinds of publishers such as:
- Owners of magazines
- Publishers of town / weekly newspapers
- Editors working in various local journals
- Bloggers creating content about your area…bloggers creating content targeted at people living in the same town / city as you. You can even work with some of these bloggers as affiliate marketers for products and services sold in your online store.
8 – Advertise on local radio stations and TV stations
Ask about their rates, reach and how effective some of the campaigns they have run for other businesses in your local area have been.
Then if you like the data you get, it is time to record a simple ad that will be aired on radio or TV.
You can create the ad yourself, work with an agency / studio to create it or just listen to what the TV / radio guys tell you on how best to come up with an ad to share on their platform.
Can be yours or a third party’s. Think of this, coming with banners by the side of the road, sign posts on buildings or by the roadside, and taking advantage of various notice boards available locally.
One more tip: Work with marketing agencies in your local area.
They can help you come up with creative ways to get people in your local area to talk about your business with others winning you more new customers.
They can help you come up with creative ways to package your products, vehicle branding, and even help you come up with giveaways with your company branding on them (T-shirts, keyholders, mats, umbrellas, utensils, hats among other common household items).
To close this, start implementing the tips above. See what works and refine your processes.
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