Today’s Emphasis Must be on Local Marketing

Posted on
in Internet Marketing Tips, Local Business, Social Media
by Susie Romans

Today’s emphasis must be on local marketing

The new marketing mantra should be: “Reach specific communities with specialized messages”. The era of mass marketing is being replaced by what marketing mavens are calling “mass personalization.” Tom Feltenstein, a top local marketing proponent, advocates targeting your marketing efforts to specific neighborhoods, “making sure your message is delivered only to people most likely to be your customers — those within 10 miles or 10 minutes of your door.”

Community involvement

This neighborhood-first mantra suggests a heavy dose of community involvement in your local marketing efforts. For example, here are three community-related marketing ideas:

Good grades equal good customers: contact local school principals to offer incentives of free products or services to students who achieve high grades. When someone brings in a good report card to your business, give him or her the reward.
Surveys equal more customers: regularly check the pulse of your customers with an attitude profile survey. You’ll collect useful data, learn what they like and dislike, and demonstrate your concern for their opinions, all at the same time.
Complaints are your best friend: nine out of ten unhappy customers never complain — at least not to you. Instead, they don’t come back and then they go tell their friends. Your business needs to invite criticism so you can address the problem and turn it around.

Other uncommon wisdom on marketing locally

Tap the potential of your greatest profit opportunity within your trading area – the customer base that is right in your back yard. Businesses, schools, churches, community events and even fellow retailers become your promotional allies in building cost-effective programs to capture consumer dollars right within your reach.
Local marketing is face-time marketing. Look for ways to convey your marketing message to potential customers one-on-one.
Contrary to some of the old “rules” of advertising, the local marketing approach eschews institutional “exposure” advertising. “Every local marketing program should pay its way,” says Feltenstein. “A marketing approach is either profitable or unprofitable based on results. If your current marketing is not measurably profitable on a per-project basis, kill it.” Move on to the next tactic, go for sales, skip branding.

Visit Article Source