If you don’t have a marketing strategy for your business, you have a lot of work cut out for you. It’s as simple as that. When it comes down to it, you can’t just let your business go on without some kind of navigating plan. Just like you can’t venture off into the world without a map, you can’t grow your business without some kind of promotional architecture. With this architecture, you can build the walls, the roof and the rest of the structure. Many businesses don’t even think of laying the foundation and they wonder why their business crashes and fails in only a year. This is especially the case with restaurants and service based businesses, because customers need to have a level of trust. Here are some simple and effective local marketing strategies.

  1. Create a loyalty program – when it comes down to it, a loyalty program is really easy to set up and it is really affordable. All you need to do is think of the program you want to offer and your community should respond. For instance, you can offer local discounts or you can offer some kind of rewards card that allows people to get discounts or free products when they reach a certain level of purchases.
  2. Build your website to be friendly and SEO potent – this means that you may have to hire a website designer or builder. If you don’t have the budget, you may want to build the website yourself. There are a lot of platforms out there that allow you the opportunity to build a simple site using themes and templates. You don’t necessarily need to have any website building experience with these platforms and they are mostly free. And if they’re not free, then only a few dollars a month.
  3. Install a great sign – having a sign is essential if you have a brick and mortar establishment and it is the perfect tool for local marketing. All you need to do is find a sign fabricator – like SignPost, Inc. – and have your sign created. What you want to think about, though, is your budget. Do you have the capital for a large sign with blinking neon, or do you go for a smaller sign that fits more with the surrounding community?
  4. Throw a party – if you are just launching, or if you are celebrating an anniversary, you may want to throw a party to celebrate. When it comes down to it, parties are a great way to get the word out about a new business and they are a great way to breathe some new life into an established business. Indeed, parties encourage community growth and customer loyalty.
  5. Build your social media presence – these days, people are on social media every few minutes of their life. What do you think all those people walking down the street are doing? If you really want to connect with your customers, you have to integrate your business into their virtual lives. In the end, building a following on social media will be worth its weight in gold.