How to Improve Your Local Marketing Strategy

Marketing is a prerequisite for every business that drives sales and helps gain a credible market position. It gives visibility and recognition to the brand and persuades customers to purchase products. Also, branding activities and advertising help customers differentiate products from competitors and understand their unique value proposition. Most marketing tactics are meant for a large audience as they are broadcast through prominent media channels.

While mass communication is vital for increasing brand awareness, local marketing is also needed to attract customers and increase foot traffic. It allows the target audience to find the business when looking for products in their geographical area. It boosts local sales and helps build a loyal customer base, bringing consistent income to the business. Thus, here are a few tips for improving the local marketing strategy. These suggestions will help you leverage the power of local marketing and become an icon in the community.

1. Create and Update Google My Business Listing

Every customer searches for products online using their smartphones and computers. Thus, businesses must show up in the search results for their products. Many customers use localised search terms. For example, they search for ‘dentist near me’ or ‘hair salons in Nottingham’ on the search engine. An optimised Google My Business Listing can help businesses connect with the local audience and attract them to their stores.

If you have purchased a business for sale United Kingdom, you must update the profile with the correct address, URL, and contact details. The profile must also have high-quality images of the physical store or office and be managed efficiently. Customers’ reviews must also be acknowledged and responded to increase credibility and improve engagement.

2. Build A Mobile-Friendly Website

Most customers use their mobile phones to search for products and services around them. Thus, it is essential to build a mobile-optimised website that can be accessed through all devices and allows customers to browse the pages and take actions without hassles. The users must be able to easily navigate through the site, read the content and tap on links. In addition, entrepreneurs can also develop mobile apps to increase the recall value of the brand and repeat orders.

Entrepreneurs must ensure the NAP (Name, Address and Phone Number) data is consistent on the website, social media profiles and other platforms. Any contradiction in these details can confuse the customers and make them opt for competitor’s products.

3. Create Listings on Third-Party Websites

Whether you have a start-up or a recently acquired business for sale in the United Kingdom, you must create local listings. These can be made on third-party websites, product review sites and local directories. The business details on all these sites must be accurate and updated regularly to generate website traffic and foot traffic in the stores.

These sites are also helpful in getting customer reviews, which helps to increase the business’s credibility. Word-of-mouth publicity improves search engine rankings and customer acquisition. Customers use these reviews to compare businesses and make significant buying decisions.

4. Optimise Your Site for Local SEO

Local SEO is vital for attracting customers from the community. It can be achieved by optimising the website content, URL, meta descriptions, title tags and headers with location-specific keywords. The images on the site must also be optimised by geotagging them with location information.

The business can also create location-based landing pages and customised content to cater to the audience in the geographic area. Getting inbound links from local businesses can help increase domain authority and search engine rankings. Entrepreneurs must use their professional network to get backlinks and become guest bloggers to get website traffic.

5. Use Print Media and Radio Ads

Businesses can increase their reach in their geographical area by leveraging local print and radio channels. Most customers in local areas read newspapers and magazines and listen to radio shows. Entrepreneurs can sponsor radio shows and pay to get their brand story covered in the local media. Businesses can also partner with local social media influencers to create content that can become viral and inform customers about the brand and its values.

Budding entrepreneurs who have purchased a United Kingdom business for sale can use these media channels to retarget their customers through marketing and advertising. These platforms can help build connections with the community members and engage them.

6. Location-based Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing allows entrepreneurs to target customers based on their demographics and psychographics. It allows business owners to customise the message for buyers at each stage of customer journey. Tag the location in the posts to geo-target the content and reach the local audience. This ensures that the display ads are visible to a selected audience present in a specific location.

Entrepreneurs must measure their efforts’ impact to determine their marketing campaigns’ performance. They must tweak them to make improvements and generate conversions and leads. Social media can also help to engage customers in conversations and increase brand advocacy.

7. Partner With Local Businesses

Businesses can increase their local reach by partnering with popular commercial entities in their location. This allows them to tap into each other's customer base to increase profits. They can organise events together in the community or cross-promote each other's products to increase brand awareness. Both businesses benefit from this symbiotic relationship.

It is highly recommended that you partner with businesses offering complementary products to attract an audience. For example, if you sell bakery goods and there is a coffee shop in the neighbourhood, you can tie up to cross-promote the products. Many aspiring entrepreneurs who purchase businesses for sale in the United Kingdom can use this local marketing technique to acquire more customers.

8. Engage With the Community

Businesses are more than conscious about their social impact in the current world. It is vital for commercial entities to give back to society, which allows them to make profits. Thus, entrepreneurs must regularly take steps to get involved with the community and hire employees locally. They must sponsor local events and sports teams to encourage talent and increase the credibility of their business.

Community development as a part of social responsibility is an effective local marketing tactic that can increase customer loyalty. It helps to enhance word-of-mouth publicity and bring referrals to the business.

Wrapping Up

Local marketing is crucial for businesses to attract a constant flow of customers. Many small businesses have evaded economic troubles because of their strong local following. It ensures the business has the support of the community and is recognised as a valuable part of the social structure.