All business is local. How well known is yours?

All business is local. How well known is yours?

All businesses start locally, and even national businesses are just local businesses in multiple locations.

Ø  Coles & Woolies started out as small local family owned general merchandise shops. Today they account for 67.8 % of all supermarket sales in the country.

Yet 80% of their stores are less than 10 minutes’ drive from each other.

Ø  46 % of all Google searches are local. When you bear in mind that Google is used primarily as a reference source that is phenomenal. And 78% of local mobile searches result in an offline sale.

Ø  In fact, over 90% of all transactions involve a local buyer and a local seller.

So, as a small business owner in a local area are you maximising all the opportunity that is there?

How to grow your local brand and sales

1.       Get clarity about answering one question: Why would anyone buy from you?

The fundamental question and dig deep. What makes your business special / different? Why are people buying from you? What do they really want? E.g.  Books are adventure, knowledge, escapism. They are not bound pieces of paper with words in a cover.

2.       Develop a promotional offer

People are creatures of habit and getting them to change and try something new is hard. An offer that pulls on emotional drivers and gives a reason why they should trial your business. Give you a go.

 Then share it. Or promote it. But get it out there.

3.       Build your networking circles – work together

People do business with people. What local business environments do you participate in? BNI, Local Business Chamber and other business groups.

Link up with other associated businesses and work out how you can cross refer. And always ask competitors. We can’t do everything so maybe we are better at some stuff, our competitors at others and we could collaborate.

4.       Build your digital visibility

64% of local customers use search engines and online directories as their main way to find local businesses. Can they find yours? And make sure your website is digitally responsive.

Optimise your website for local search terms, make it visible through GMB and online directories. Target promotional offers to customers with GPS enabled mobiles walking nearby. Facebook can be used very effectively to sell, especially to customers. 

5.       Be Excellent

Word of mouth is a very powerful tool. And it can work both ways. So, take care of them and they will take care of you. Sharing the love, telling friends, referring you.