subject: Online Marketing for Rural and Remote Businesses [print this page] Online Marketing for Rural and Remote Businesses
Being located in a rural and/or remote geographic location presents different challenges to the business owner. With a location further away from an urban, where most of your competitors are located it is important to present to your customers that you are the preferred business of choice for them. One of the best ways to increase your business is to market yourself online. Online marketing is the best tool that a small town business located in rural and remote centre can utilize to increase sales.
Small town businesses located in a rural and/or remote location you do not have an immediate large pool of customers that you would normally have being located in an urban centre. People will shop at your store or business because they know about you as part of the community. Your immediate customer base in located in your area but the chance for expansion and further sales needs to come from outside the area. This is where online marketing lets customers know about you.
Before you begin to start an online marketing program you need to first decide who your customers are and who and where will the new customers be located. Are you looking for a certain geographic region or global influence? You will need to figure out who they will be and why they will but from you. The purpose of online marketing is to present your business to the customer immediately. You only have one chance to make a great first impression. This is where you need to have a plan.
This plan can be a simple one of having a proper and up-to-date website to all aspects of social media. The overall goal is to look professional. Keeping your website clean and simple will make the overall appearance to the customer positive. With your website you are now open 24 hrs a day. Remember to use the KISS method for your website and online marketing plan Keep It Simple Stupid. Do not attempt to do more work and present more information that you can not handle or understand. Start small and grow.
Online marketing requires time a commitment for business database registration, social media, press releases, website key words, article submission as well as many other tools. Utilizing any of these methods require planning and development. In order to increase your SEO ranking and bring in more customers to your business, you will need to start somewhere with your online marketing plan. Prepare and implement an online marketing plan so it will produce results for your business.
