subject: Grow and Advertise a Local Business [print this page] Grow and Advertise a Local Business Grow and Advertise a Local Business
There is a lot of truth in the old business adage that "image is everything." The way customers and clients perceive a local business does more to help or hurt that business' growth than nearly anything else. It can mean the difference between success and bankruptcy.
How does a business owner grow a local business?
Growth is the direct result of creating the right image.
Here are three things that business owners do to intentionally promote their businesses to people who live and work in their areas.
1. Advertise creatively. Gone are the days where the tiny ad in the local classified section gets any attention. Modern advertisers play on consumers' responses to market-driven colors and their desensitization to the written word. Million-dollar advertising budgets drown out the traditional approaches used by small businesses. To grab the attention of consumers, local business advertising needs to be creative, intuitive, and communicate instantly with customers whose attention spans may only last for seconds. As budgets permit, business advertising managers and local business owners must target advertisements to where they will do the most good. Getting the biggest bang for the advertising buck is crucial. Quality advertisements in local newspapers, magazines, shopping guides, storefronts, and other traditional means of getting the word out are still a must, but they're no longer enough.
2. Use modern media. Putting the advertising message in front of potential customers means businesses need to meet customers where they live. The world of electronic media is growing beyond anyone's imagination, and younger customers especially spend hours a day dancing among social media, emails, websites, laptops, texting, and the newest fads in the exploding world of Internet-related and digital communication tools.
Savvy entrepreneurs learn to present a continual stream of information to consumers in such a way that new and existing customers actually want to engage it. Successful fishing guides, for example, begin websites that do far more than list rates for time on the water. These sites are read more frequently when they include links to local weather conditions, up-to-date fishing reports, and informative articles on the best baits and latest tactics of local anglers. The local advertising punch gets delivered to wide-eyed viewers of information that potential clients want to see.
3. Customer service. Word of mouth is still the best local advertising money can buy. The cost to companies is in sparing no expense to creating satisfied customers. The trade-off is repeat business by existing customers that will bring a friend or two the next time they come.
Companies that implement these simple principles are the businesses that grow.
