As with all things in our tech-oriented world, the ways of Marketing and Advertising to your potential clients has changed dramatically over the years. While the core rules of marketing do still apply, with the increase of technology and the internet in our society has brought many changes to the way your company can get the attention of your target demographic audience.
What is Local Marketing?
Local Marketing, while not entirely complex to understand, has many facets. The former era of mass marketing is irrelevant in comparison for a number of reasons. For instance: in the past, a company might consider their target audience to be, Women aged 35-45. This generalized window leaves quite a bit of room for missing your mark. By comparison, local marketing is exceptionally more direct. As opposed to the previous demographic mentioned, now businesses can target their audience more straightforwardly:
Married pregnant women aged 35-45 employed in the real estate, legal and financial industries, within a 25-mile radius of the store location.
Undoubtedly, this clearly targeted market niche will make it easier to deliver tailored messages and offers to those potential clients who will be more likely to take an interest in what your company is offering.
How To Define Your Target Customer Demographics
If you own a small, locally owned business in Philadelphia specializing in the sale of high-end dog treats and accessories, you probably won’t want to be advertising to a cat lover living in Vail, Colorado. Your best bet at new leads and helping new consumers find out about your products would be to set your clearly defined audience. Naturally, there are exceptions to these rules from time to time, but overall your best bet is to go with an exact approach. Businesses that are also eCommerce stores as well fit into this ‘exception’ category, which we’ll cover in a later post.
The best way to define your market audience for successful local marketing campaigns includes being specific, and creating a customer profile. Who would benefit from using your product? Who is more likely to be searching for your product or service? A single 18-24 year old woman with no children is unlikely to be interested in your children’s toy company’s latest learning tool toys within the metro area of your city.
A few character features to consider when creating your customer profile include:
- Occupation or Industry Field
- Gender
- Age
- Income level
- Marital and Family Status
- Hobbies, Interests, and Activities
These are just a few consumer traits that will help you identify who will be the most likely to respond with your product and/or service, resulting in effective local marketing.
The boom of social networking played a major role in emphasizing the importance of local marketing, targeted audiences, and knowing who your consumers are. Social networking companies like Facebook or YouTube don’t need to conduct overly intruding surveys to find out what your interests are anymore- they have mass amounts of data to tell them that now, including everything from your list of “Likes” concerning musical groups to your latest viewed videos. In the marketing world, this speaks volumes about success rates and reaching those who would benefit from your message the most. Social networking also adds an interactive element to the various marketing stances you can take. Love the little Italian Restaurant down the street? You can “check-in” when you visit, or review the restaurant directly on their Google + Local page. Todays consumers aren’t stupid, in fact, they’re quite the opposite. The trade-off of interactivity adds a fun element to marketing and sharing the things we like and do in our day-to-day lives with our friends and family. This notion is also strengthened by the idea that customers appreciate your company taking an interest in their specific opinions and insight regarding your product or service. This also helps build a more solid business-to-client relationship overall.
Tips to Remember
All things mentioned above considered, we have a few tips to keep in mind while marketing locally to your target demographic.
Concerning the social networking appeal mentioned above, it’s crucial to have a strong, engaging branding online presence for your company. This will make it easier for your customers and clients to familiarize themselves with your company, your offers, services, and products. First impressions are pivotal, and more times than not, your potential customers first impression of you may be your company website, facebook places page, or the list of recent Google Reviews featured on your Google + Local page.
Be accessible to all your customers and potential clients. As with traditional marketing, your message or offer needs to be relevant to get the attention you desire. But also, how you deliver that message is essential. Your potential customers are all over the place. If they’re viewing an offer placed on your website via your company Facebook page on their phone but can’t see it due to a website which isn’t mobile-optimized, then you’re losing out. Consumers today are busy, and barraged with advertisements – an average American is exposed to at least 3,000 advertisements per day- so making an impression is more than important. It could be the difference between a new customer or an annoyed one.
Looking to grow your customer reach with Local Marketing?