Local marketing is a bit different from marketing for a company that activates at a global level because you have both your target audience and your competition in the same location. More often than not, the competition may be on the same street or right next door.

So how can you make sure that you stand out from the crowd and attract customers your way? 

While competitive prices, good products, and an amazing location are important, you must not forget about marketing your business. This is where branding campaigns come into place. 

Overall, the more you manage to spread your brand’s image at a local level, the more your chances of getting new customers will increase. In this article, we’ll have a look at the methods you can use to spread the word on a local business level.

Google My Business

If you’ve been in business for a while, you’ve probably heard of Google My Business. This is a Google platform where local businesses can advertise their location (use Google Maps for better accuracy), products, and schedules. Plus, you can also advertise your business website or social media accounts.

However, you have to verify your profile (it’s a rather quick and painless process). Once verified, you have the freedom to update the info on the profile, with the mention that it may take a while for the information to hit Google’s servers.

What’s great about Google My Business is that you can interact with customers, post photos of your business, and gain insight into what people truly think of your brand and service. The platform has some pretty useful analytics that let you follow a few metrics, such as the number of people who find you via Maps vs those who would rather call.

Use Magnets to Advertise on Your Vehicle

Your vehicle(s) (van, car, bike, or boat) can be used as a marketing platform while driving through town. For instance, if you make money with your boat, you can use the sides of the boat to promote your business. This way, anyone taking a walk down the shore will be able to spot it. 

The same goes for a van, especially if you use it to transport products. But it’s not just about the vehicles you use for work; you can also use your personal vehicle and the vehicle of anyone interested in promoting your brand (friends, family, loyal customers). 

What’s even better is that you can use StickerYou custom magnets to decorate your vehicle. This way, you don’t have to invest in special wraps that are often quite expensive.

Entice Customers to Return

Once you’ve made your branding visible enough, people will start showing up. Now it’s the time for phase two of the plan – making sure they return!

There are lots of methods to encourage customer return, but the most efficient ones are discount vouchers in exchange for newsletter signup, loyalty programs, free items on special occasions (a free cookie on a customer’s birthday), and so on.

Just make sure to monitor each of these programs to understand if they work for your area or not. Depending on the audience and type of business, some programs are more effective than others. 

Wrap Up

Overall, local branding is all about making yourself as visible and inviting as possible. In some cases, even something as simple as a new awning made a difference in the number of customers. 

The main lesson to take from here is that you should never stop trying. Also, pay close attention to what works for your competition – you can learn a lot from them.