Dear Fellow Marketer:
When the bulk of your business is derived locally, you have unique marketing
challenges . . . and opportunities. Buyers looking for local product and service providers
are, in most cases, seeking information from a variety of sources to help them make
a purchase decision. This gives you plenty of options to make your case and is best
achieved using a holistic marketing approach.
Gone are the days when you could put your entire marketing budget into one channel.
For some, it’s quite possible that in the not-too-distant past, the majority of your dollars
were earmarked for your Yellow Pages ad.
Times have changed. According to comScore Networks, 54% have substituted Internet
search for the phone book. And, Kelsey Group reports that 70% of online searchers
will use local search to find offline businesses.
The good news is it’s inexpensive to be included in online directories. In fact, most local
listings are free – you just need to claim them. Let us know if you want help because
there are “rules” to do this properly and give search engines what they want and in
turn, get what you want: visibility. Check out
pages 6-9
to read more about online and
offline activities that will help you build a strategic, multi-channel local marketing plan.
So, once you’ve determined where to be for those looking for you (inbound) plus how
you’re going to reach out and connect with the rest (outbound), having messages
that resonate is the next order of business. On
page 2
, learn why it’s so important to
“think like a customer” when crafting your marketing communications and developing
content. Hint: more about them, less about you.
Like you, we’re proud to be part of the local business community, and we look for ways
to make a positive contribution to the neighborhoods where we live and work. On
pages 10-11
, we offer tips for “giving back” and on
page 12
, a short list of the many
benefits to keeping it local. These, fellow marketer, are the ties that bind!
Until next time,
Carson Taylor
Sales Representative
Allegra Marketing • Print • Mail
P.S. For more ideas, ask us about our free guide,
No Silver Bullets: The Realist’s
Guide to Successful Local Marketing
.
