Local Marketing for SMEs: Creative Tactics to Increase Sales on a Tight Budget
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 6:53 am
Local marketing is very important for SMEs, especially those with physical stores (retail stores), which depend on a specific geographic market. The problem is that these companies do not have the necessary resources to launch traditional marketing campaigns that generate enough traffic to their points of sale. For this reason, they must find creative and effective ways to achieve this.
The aim of this article is to help these companies boost their local marketing.
Typically, these companies have a small number of sales outlets (compared to large companies) and do not start national campaigns, so their marketing is born with segmentation by usa phone numbers list
default. But many times local and hyper-local marketing is the part of the strategy that usually fails.
At the end of the article you have a summary video.
1. Understand the Local Market
It is one thing to sell in the city where the company was born, and another to reach a new city (where few know the brand), and get sales to reach the expected level and pace.
To explain the different situations throughout the article, we work under the assumption that the store is already operational and what we are looking for is to promote it locally.
Before launching any marketing campaign, it is crucial to thoroughly understand the local market. This involves knowing the specifics of the company's customer profile ( buyer persona ), the volume of customers that fit this profile, purchasing behaviors, direct and indirect competition, and other factors specific to the area.
How can an SME conduct local market research?
In this context, we have to forget about the more professional ways of doing market research. We have a limited budget that we cannot dedicate to more traditional research.
Now we will see a series of platforms or channels that will help us and that fit our budget. But the reality is that to get to know a town, there is nothing better than learning on the ground. This is something that is beyond the reach of large companies, but there must be some advantage to being small, right?
So:
Sales team : For me, it is essential to start with people with experience in the town where we have the store. People who not only know how to sell our product, but who also know the market, the city and have an eye on local promotion opportunities (beyond the standard options of local radio, press, websites, etc.).
Digital survey panels : These are an effective and cost-effective tool for conducting market research. There are several options available to SMEs that allow them to recruit users for surveys, interviews or product testing. Below are some options:
WeAreTesters : allows companies to conduct market research with access to user panels who can test products or services, answer surveys and give their opinions.
NetQuest : specializes in consumer panels in Spain and Latin America. It offers access to a panel of qualified users for conducting market studies and surveys, ensuring high data quality.
Other options are Dynata or Opinaia ,
Local digital communities like Nextdoor : This is a local social network that we can leverage for market research or as a marketing channel.
In-Store Surveys : A good way to learn about the market is to ask customers directly. You can offer a small (non-monetary) incentive to customers or potential customers.
Social Listening on Social Media : This is a bit of a long shot for an SME, but it doesn't hurt to try to locate conversations on Twitter (X) and Facebook. Look for local hashtags or mentions related to your type of business or the area you operate in to identify local trends and preferences.
Google Trends and Local Searches : It is always very useful to try these two paths. You end up finding interesting things.
2. Optimizing Online Presence for Local Marketing
In every project, whether it is an SME, a small business owner or an entrepreneur, I always say that marketing should be worked on from the inside out and from less to more.
2 weeks ago I started working with a great startup that is launching an app-based ecommerce in Costa Rica (as the first country in the region) and this is one of the first pieces of advice I have given them:
“The first step is to lay the digital foundations of the brand: website, app, SEO and analytics. Then comes the strategic part, optimizing campaigns, etc.”
In the case of an SME that also needs to have a local or hyper-local presence, we can take these digital pillars into account.
Google Business Profile (GBP) (formerly Google My Business (GMB)).
I'm not going to give you a technical guide on how to optimize a company profile on Google. If only because we use Google on a daily basis, you already know the importance of appearing in these cards in the search results (SERP):
Complete all the most relevant business data.
Using keywords (including the name, although Google tends to remove anything that is not unique to that store).
Reviews: Very important to improve visibility and build trust.
Extra info, articles and relevant photos.
Local SEO
Local SEO is about more than just keywords; it's about making sure your business is relevant and visible to searches in your area. Here are some specific tactics:
Local Links: Collaborate with local blogs, online newspapers in the area, or business directories to obtain links pointing to your website. These links will improve your ranking in local searches.
Hyperlocal Content: Create content that speaks directly to the community. For example, articles related to your business and local events. This type of content is not only valuable for SEO, but it also strengthens your connection to the community.
3. Local Digital Advertising Strategies
Social Media Advertising with Geographic Segmentation
Social media allows for very precise geographic segmentation, which is perfect for attracting local customers. This is almost a default option in all digital strategies, but the correct segmentation is not always applied (we can go down to the postal code level).
The aim of this article is to help these companies boost their local marketing.
Typically, these companies have a small number of sales outlets (compared to large companies) and do not start national campaigns, so their marketing is born with segmentation by usa phone numbers list
default. But many times local and hyper-local marketing is the part of the strategy that usually fails.
At the end of the article you have a summary video.
1. Understand the Local Market
It is one thing to sell in the city where the company was born, and another to reach a new city (where few know the brand), and get sales to reach the expected level and pace.
To explain the different situations throughout the article, we work under the assumption that the store is already operational and what we are looking for is to promote it locally.
Before launching any marketing campaign, it is crucial to thoroughly understand the local market. This involves knowing the specifics of the company's customer profile ( buyer persona ), the volume of customers that fit this profile, purchasing behaviors, direct and indirect competition, and other factors specific to the area.
How can an SME conduct local market research?
In this context, we have to forget about the more professional ways of doing market research. We have a limited budget that we cannot dedicate to more traditional research.
Now we will see a series of platforms or channels that will help us and that fit our budget. But the reality is that to get to know a town, there is nothing better than learning on the ground. This is something that is beyond the reach of large companies, but there must be some advantage to being small, right?
So:
Sales team : For me, it is essential to start with people with experience in the town where we have the store. People who not only know how to sell our product, but who also know the market, the city and have an eye on local promotion opportunities (beyond the standard options of local radio, press, websites, etc.).
Digital survey panels : These are an effective and cost-effective tool for conducting market research. There are several options available to SMEs that allow them to recruit users for surveys, interviews or product testing. Below are some options:
WeAreTesters : allows companies to conduct market research with access to user panels who can test products or services, answer surveys and give their opinions.
NetQuest : specializes in consumer panels in Spain and Latin America. It offers access to a panel of qualified users for conducting market studies and surveys, ensuring high data quality.
Other options are Dynata or Opinaia ,
Local digital communities like Nextdoor : This is a local social network that we can leverage for market research or as a marketing channel.
In-Store Surveys : A good way to learn about the market is to ask customers directly. You can offer a small (non-monetary) incentive to customers or potential customers.
Social Listening on Social Media : This is a bit of a long shot for an SME, but it doesn't hurt to try to locate conversations on Twitter (X) and Facebook. Look for local hashtags or mentions related to your type of business or the area you operate in to identify local trends and preferences.
Google Trends and Local Searches : It is always very useful to try these two paths. You end up finding interesting things.
2. Optimizing Online Presence for Local Marketing
In every project, whether it is an SME, a small business owner or an entrepreneur, I always say that marketing should be worked on from the inside out and from less to more.
2 weeks ago I started working with a great startup that is launching an app-based ecommerce in Costa Rica (as the first country in the region) and this is one of the first pieces of advice I have given them:
“The first step is to lay the digital foundations of the brand: website, app, SEO and analytics. Then comes the strategic part, optimizing campaigns, etc.”
In the case of an SME that also needs to have a local or hyper-local presence, we can take these digital pillars into account.
Google Business Profile (GBP) (formerly Google My Business (GMB)).
I'm not going to give you a technical guide on how to optimize a company profile on Google. If only because we use Google on a daily basis, you already know the importance of appearing in these cards in the search results (SERP):
Complete all the most relevant business data.
Using keywords (including the name, although Google tends to remove anything that is not unique to that store).
Reviews: Very important to improve visibility and build trust.
Extra info, articles and relevant photos.
Local SEO
Local SEO is about more than just keywords; it's about making sure your business is relevant and visible to searches in your area. Here are some specific tactics:
Local Links: Collaborate with local blogs, online newspapers in the area, or business directories to obtain links pointing to your website. These links will improve your ranking in local searches.
Hyperlocal Content: Create content that speaks directly to the community. For example, articles related to your business and local events. This type of content is not only valuable for SEO, but it also strengthens your connection to the community.
3. Local Digital Advertising Strategies
Social Media Advertising with Geographic Segmentation
Social media allows for very precise geographic segmentation, which is perfect for attracting local customers. This is almost a default option in all digital strategies, but the correct segmentation is not always applied (we can go down to the postal code level).