10 Ways for Small Businesses to Dominate Local Markets

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There are several ways small businesses can better position themselves to compete in the local market. Most small businesses need more consistency throughout the year to survive in the increasingly competitive marketplace. Fortunately, there are several ways small businesses can better position themselves to compete in the local market.

1. Small business tips online.

According to a study from Bazaarvoice, roughly 39 percent of in-store shoppers research a product online before buying at a physical location. This means that your small business must have an online presence in order to compete locally. How can your small business improve its online presence?

2. Improve your local SEO.

Focusing on improving your small business’ local SEO will help generate more traffic to your website and ultimately, more leads and sales for your business. With roughly 97 percent of consumers going online to search for local businesses, why wouldn’t you make SEO a priority? Additionally, Google is placing more emphasis on local search with prominent local results floating at the top of targeted search queries. With that said, Google has altered their local results to focus on the top three businesses for a specific search. This means, while difficult, getting your small business inside the top three results can result in tremendous return on investment. To get started, make sure you register your business with Google and Bing Places. Other considerations to improve local SEO include, hyper-local content creation onsite and offsite, outreach and publisher partnerships with local websites, optimizing your website (NAP, keywords, etc.) and strategic social media management among others.

3. Increase online reviews.

Online reviews are a critical part of your local search rankings, not just on Google and Bing, but also sites like Yelp and Facebook. Additionally, online reviews are the modern version of word-of-mouth advertising and can persuade new customers to use your small business, or to not use your small business. In fact, roughly 67 percent of consumers reported that their purchasing decisions were influenced by online reviews. Thus, it’s important to perpetuate reviews from your customers, especially if you know they had a positive experience. Consider adding calls-to-action on your receipts or training your employees to ask for reviews on your Google+, Facebook and Yelp page.

4. Use email marketing.

Email marketing is an undervalued resource for small businesses. It gives you a scalable tool to communicate with current, previous and potential clients. In fact, it seems like most small businesses put more energy into social media than email, even though email marketing is estimated to yield three times higher results and a 17 percent higher value in conversion. Consider using a free email marketing resource like Constant Contact.

5. Target paid local results.

With local search getting increasingly difficult, it might make sense for your small business to consider pay-per-click (PPC) options like AdWords. PPC is when you pay for each individual customer that visits your website after clicking a specific advertisement. The best part is, you can optimize PPC campaigns to target affordable, yet actionable keywords in specific geographical areas. PPC lets you get your advertisement in front of highly targeted keywords in your local market, which will increase your conversions.

6. Small business tips offline.

Brick-and-mortar locations are the staple of small businesses. Even in the increasingly digital world, there are several offline tactics that can help small businesses excel.

7. Become active in the community.

Small businesses are often considered to be “backbones” of their respective communities. As a result, local companies can differentiate themselves by staying active in local affairs. In fact, 82 percent of consumers consider corporate social responsibility as an important factor when making purchasing decisions. As a start, you can join your local Chamber of Commerce to find relevant events in your target market. If you really want to make a splash, consider sponsoring a local event or charity. Social activism in your local community is an excellent marketing tool and a great way to gain positive PR.

8. Target local government contracts.

The government sets aside specific contracts for companies that are designated as small businesses. If your business qualifies, you should consider going after local opportunities. Winning a government contract can provide a stable and consistent revenue stream to supplement other clients. The SBA states that the law requires the government to award 23 percent of their contracts to local businesses, which amounts to roughly $115 billion annually. Winning these contracts are not a given, and you’ll need to devote time and energy into understanding and finding opportunities, as well as creating compelling proposals. However, the risk vs. reward is substantial if you’re able to win a government contract.

9. Focus on the customer experience.

If small businesses are the backbone of a community, then customers are the heart of small businesses. As such, it is vital that your small business focus its efforts on providing the best customer experience possible. Cox reports that 90 percent of U.S. consumers frequent small businesses at least once a week. Furthermore, 63 percent of the respondents said that they feel a strong need to support local entrepreneurs. This is mostly in part to the convenience, customer service and social equity of local businesses compared to corporations. As a result, small businesses can dominate their local market by providing incredible customer service, convenient operating hours, a friendly atmosphere and the inclusion of customer opinions and feedback into strategic decisions.

10. Don’t be afraid of change.

Change is one of the hardest things for small business owners to accept. However, an inability to adapt to changing trends can kill your small business quicker than any competition can. In fact, autonomy and flexibility are two benefits that small businesses have over corporate competitors. The bureaucracy of larger companies can make it difficult for pivots or strategic changes, but as a small business with a typically flat management style, you are able to adapt on the fly. CRM and other integrated data systems can provide small businesses the insight needed to see trends in their operations. This will help you capitalize on opportunities and prepare for imminent threats.

Life as a small business owner can be difficult. With the saturation of local markets and the increasingly globalized economy, the external pressures forced down on small businesses can seem insurmountable. However, there are several strategies that small businesses can focus on to improve their competitive position. Remember to market yourself online, continue to improve your relationship with customers and never be afraid to change.

Original Article written: Derek Miller

Culled from: Enterpreneur.com

Marketing in a Recession

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With Nigeria being a highly import dependent country especially on consumable items, the hike in dollar rate has prompted a lot of clamour for “buy Naija” with many households adjusting their taste buds to fit with current reality, in order to manage household expenses. Even at that, a lot of people are feeling the hit as the dispensable income is buying less than what it previously could buy.

The current scenario offers local brands an opportunity to recruit new users and grow their franchise. However, beyond consumers just deciding between imported and local brands, there are many competing brands locally to choose from; as such it is important that brands devise strategies to win in the competitive landscape.

Some valuable Marketing Survival Tactics during Recession:

1.     Maintain brand visibility:

The most likely reaction of most organizations is to cut the marketing budget. This will not be a wise decision given that every brand will be currying the favour of consumers and it is important not to be lost in the crowd. There are many innovative ways of maintaining brand presence without going above the top – the mix of the marketing plan can be altered or skewed towards certain demographics, channels or locations. For example, buying a 15sec radio spot rather than a 30sec slot would reduce spend and still sustain brand visibility.

2.     Understanding the changing consumer behavior:

In a time of recession, consumer behaviors and habits change. This is not the time to rely on old consumer data, the behavior of consumers will be altered in many ways that could affect their buying decisions, consumption habits and even their media choices. It is quite important for organisations and brands to understand how these patterns evolves and tailor their campaigns along those lines.

3.     Communicate value for money:

Consumer expectation will increase and they will demand product performance from brands in exchange for their money. They will be more discerning and price conscious and would likely trade down on volume and quantity purchased. This is the time to let consumers know the value they are deriving from your brand as the competitive landscape will be quite intense. Value communication will be relevant at points of sale and at critical decision points.

4.     Be careful of price cuts & promotions:

Price war may be the order of the day during a recession, while it is okay for brands to execute occasional price discount to identify with consumers, there is an extent to which pricing can be used as leverage before it starts impacting the bottom line (especially with respect to low margin brands) and ultimately the brand value.

Critical times call for critical actions! As much as buyers are looking at options to stretch their available funds, they still need to be assured that they are getting the right brand experience; while marketers need to ensure that they are deploying their funds in areas that will generate the most returns.

Adapted  from Bolajako Bayo-Ajayi’s Article. Originally Published in Business Day Nigeria Newspaper Tuesday 06 September 2016

TRAINING: Value Added Marketing: Advanced Marketing Strategies

Event Description:

At the end of this course, participants will:

• Develop enhanced skills in formulating strategic marketing plans
• Have higher creativity in brand management for profitable customer relationship and market segmentation
• Acquire deep understanding of how best to introduce new products successfully