7 Best Marketing Strategies to Attract local Customers

Finding local customers is a prerequisite for a small business. It helps in attracting buyers who are present in proximity to the location of the entity. Local marketing is needed to position the business as a trusted name in the community because consumers do not want to travel long distances to find the products and services they need. It helps in creating word-of-mouth publicity and acceptance in the community. The pandemic has once again brought the focus back on local consumers as businesses are able to cater to their audience during the lockdowns because of the disruption of the supply chain and distribution.

If you wish to realise your entrepreneurial dream by purchasing a business for sale in New Zealand, you must utilise local marketing to stand out from the crowd. It includes both online and offline strategies that help buyers find the business without any hassles. Also, it is more cost-efficient and effortless to reach local consumers as compared to catering to a wider audience across the state or country. So, here is a list of the best marketing strategies to attract local customers.

1. Build Relationships with the Community

Carving a niche in the community where you are operating needs networking with the locals and other businesses. Make your customer care representatives speak with your clients in a friendly and warm manner to build lasting relationships. Offer customised experiences to your buyers and address them with their names so that they feel special.

Make your brand visible in the community by volunteering for social causes like a cleaning drive or providing funds for a charitable event. Attend local business workshops to connect with other entrepreneurs in the community. Sponsor the local sports team or a school event so that the target audience feels emotionally connected to your brand.

2. Branding and Signage

The foremost way to attract buyers is to use visible and attractive signage where you are located to help customers identify your business without any help. Use hoardings, posters, and pamphlets to inform customers about your presence in the community. Marketing collateral can help in introducing the walk-by traffic to the business and influencing them to visit the physical store.

You can partner with surrounding restaurants, cafes, and bars to put up your fliers and business cards in their shops. It will help in grabbing the attention of the local customers who visit the popular businesses in the area often. Use in-store branding materials to make your frontage inviting and enticing. High exposure helps in increasing local brand recognition, reaching the right audience, and positioning the brand identity.

3. Advertise in Local Publications

Brands advertising in local newspapers, community magazines, and business journals enjoy top-of-the-mind recall value. It helps to position the brand as a trustworthy entity. It aids in informing the consumers about the products and services and making them interested in the offerings. Customers are more likely to visit stores that advertise in the local publications as they feel associated with them.

You can also get in touch with the local journalists and publications to pitch yourself as an opinion leader in the industry. It will make them contact you when they need an expert opinion or quote from an industry insider for news articles related to your sector. It will further enhance your credibility in the local region.

4. Create Local Business Listings

Most of the buyers these days search for businesses online to research about them before purchasing. Thus, it is imperative to be present on local business listings that are a significant part of local marketing strategies. The online profile has all the business contact information and pictures that lend credibility to the business. Most of the searches have a local intent. Thus, if your business is not present on these listings, the consumers will not be able to find it.

For example, if a customer has a toothache and needs to visit a dentist quickly, he will search for ‘dentists near me’. The online local directories and listings will throw up all the results in the geographical area. Thus, you must create an updated profile on Google My Business, Yelp NZ, Localist, Neighbourly, Yellow NZ, Finda, etc. It makes your business more searchable and visible online.

5. Use Location-Specific Keywords

Websites are the most valuable tool for persuading web traffic to physically visit the store. It can also aid in selling online, which has become quite prevalent after the pandemic due to the lockdowns. Customers look for products and services online and they choose to visit the stores that show up in the first few ranks of the results page of the search engine. Local SEO helps in generating web traffic organically and ranking higher in local search results for a targeted area.

Geo-targeting or using location-specific keywords must include the postcode, name of the town and the city. Also, the website must have a targeted top-level domain of the country where it is operating. It must be optimised for local searches so that the consumers can find the business easily.

6. Get Customer Reviews and Ratings

Satisfied customers are the biggest asset of an organisation. They can be used as brand ambassadors to promote the business through word-of-mouth publicity. In the digital world, these have taken the form of reviews, testimonials, and ratings. Since consumers rely on the views and opinions of other buyers before purchasing, it is highly recommended to get positive reviews and testimonials from local customers and display them on the website and the physical store to boost the confidence of buyers.

Leverage social media to engage with your loyal customers and encourage them to provide reviews and ratings for your business and services. It will make other locals in their friend circle to take note of the positive words and get attracted to the business.

7. Offer Discounts and Loyalty Program

The easiest way to grab the attention of the buyers is to offer coupon codes, discounts, free gifts and run contests. Promote the discount sale through local newspapers, social media pages, company website, email marketing and local radio channels. It will help in spreading the word across the region and bringing more local customers to your doorstep.

Once you have established a customer database, you can use loyalty programs and referral codes to retain the buyers and find new ones. Do not let your existing customers slip away. Keep sending marketing messages to each of your prospective and current buyers to promote the latest offers.

Endnote

Local marketing is essential for small businesses as they get maximum foot traffic and orders from their geographical region. Thus, entrepreneurs on the lookout for a business for sale in New Zealand must include the strategies mentioned above to attract the local audience and thrive in the location.