10 hyper local marketing tips

Life as a small business owner

According to the European Commission, SMEs are the backbone of European economy, representing 99% of all businesses.

At CCV many of our customers are Small or Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs), we are committed to supporting entrepreneurs and guiding them to success. In this guide, we will take you through a short and efficient way to get more visibility for your physical shop and online business via 10 simple hyper local marketing tactics.

Why Becoming a ‘NEAR BY’ (Local) retailer is important for SMEs?

Here are a few statistics that might help you understand:

  • 74% of internet users perform local searches (Kelsey Group)
  • 59% of consumers use Google every month to find a reputable, local business (Search Engine Watch)
  • 61% of local searches result in a purchase (Search Engine Watch)
  • 82% of local searchers follow up offline via an in-store visit, phone call or purchase (TMP/comScore)

Evidently, having a physical store is no longer enough on its own! You need to become a real “NEAR BY” i.e. local retailer and increase your visibility online to attract local shoppers and improve your business sustainability. But how?

Well, there are a few key things you have to do both offline and online…

The  10-step plan below provides you with a practical guide on how to grow your business by leveraging a hyper-local marketing strategic approach. You will find useful tips and tricks that you can use to capture the attention of your local audience.

Your 10-step plan to a simple and efficient hyper-local marketing (business) strategy :

  1. Build an online presence (website + webshop)
    If you still haven’t established an online presence for your business, now is the right time to start! The first step is to create a website, which covers the basics including a striking landing page, a description of who you are and the products/services you sell, plus key business information such as opening hours & location. The website will become your online shop/business window but we also recommend that you integrate it with a reliable Webshop solution for best results. Modern customers want to shop anytime, anywhere – at a click of a button. By plugging a Webshop to your site, you make it easier for them to find you and buy your products. Don’t expect to have 50% of your turnover from selling online in the short term, but it will have a substantial effect on your business long term.
  2. Add or claim your business listing on Google.
    Make sure that your «Google My Business» company profile is complete and that your business listing is verified. This allows you to manage your business information in Search, Maps, and other Google sites and improves your search ranking too. For instructions on how to verify your business click here
  3. Ensure that your «NAP»(Name, Address and Phone number) is correct on your «Google My Business» account listing. It is important to have a consistent NAP on all business listing to boost your ranking
  4. Your «Google My Business» page should be as informative and attractive as possible. Build your content by adding opening and closing hours, website link, images and any other relevant information that will be useful to customers.
  5. Create a company profile on Social media
    We recommend that you start on Facebook & Instagram, particularly if you are a B2C business because they are the most popular with customers. Start posting and invite friends and clients to follow and share your page.
  6. Boost your Social Media posts  Post interesting and relevant content on social media and boost it in-order to reach out to a larger audience. Test, play and learn on what content seems to be the most popular. Also, create a content calendar based on people’s interests.
  7. Social Media advertising can help you reach customers quickly and effectively. Assign a budget for Facebook and Instagram promotions. Also, use targeting to narrow your audience on areas such as location, interest, relationship etc. – this helps you reach the right people
  8. Facebook events
    Create enjoyable events and invite people from the local community to attend. For higher impact, boost your Facebook event by allocating a small budget to it – this will create a buzz in the local community and help you drive footfall to your store!
  9. Customer reviews
    Can ultimately make or break your business today. Increasingly, customers make the decision to purchase a product or service based on the reviews published online. Therefore, make sure you ask your loyal customers to write a few nice words about you on both Google and Facebook.
  10. Leverage the key dates in the commercial calendar over the year with fun and engaging promotions to create more interest in your brand.

On a final note…

We hope that we inspired you to take the first steps towards building your hyper local marketing strategy and growing your business

Our long-established business is almost 60 years old. We have built lasting relationships with our customers over the years, and have used our expertise in multiple industries to help small businesses succeed. We speak your language, the simple, easy, not over-complicated language of ‘let’s succeed together.’ CCV can help you