The internet and the advent of social media have, without a doubt, revolutionized how most businesses carry out their marketing activities. Rather than being restricted to a customer base only in your local area, you can connect with potential customers worldwide. However, you must pay attention to your local customer base, as loyal customers allows you to connect with your community and provide something positive. Here are some ideas for attracting local searchers to your business and turning them into loyal customers.
Optimize your Google My Business listing.
Google My Business is a valuable tool that enables you to manage and optimize your business profile on Google, allowing you to create and verify your business on the search engine so that your business information can be shown on Google Maps. This means that local customers can find your business when searching for services in the local area. The Google My Business service benefits businesses that rely on their location for their services, such as coffee shops or in competitive metropolitan areas.
Coupons and loyalty cards
Offering discounts is one of the best way tools you can use to draw in new customers. For instance, offer coupons via email or traditional mail that will grant the recipient a discounted item when presented to your front desk. You could take this further by offering a loyalty scheme for repeat customers. For instance, if you own a coffee shop, customers could collect stars on a loyalty card that entitles them to their tenth drink for free. Loyalty schemes are relatively inexpensive to maintain and offer your business a high return on investment in encouraging a loyal local customer base.
Use pamphlet marketing
Loyal customers is all too easy to concentrate your marketing efforts on the digital world – understandably so, with social media having such an extensive outreach. However, traditional marketing methods, such as distributing pamphlets and flyers, enable you to connect with customers in your local area. Use the Adobe Creative Cloud suite to design your marketing pamphlets; alternatively, you might prefer to hire a graphic designer if you are not confident in your design skills. You can mail your booklets and flyers to homes in your local area or display them in public places like cafes for interested people to pick up and keep.
Local events One of the best ways of increasing your customer base in your local area is to get involved in local events. This means being present at local markets and festivals and offering free tasters or product demonstrations. Or, you might want to align yourself with the ‘buy local’ movement to tap into people’s desires to support small, independent local businesses instead of large, impersonal global conglomerates.
