Marketing Strategies to Help Your Local Business
February 28th, 2020 by Fix Auto USA
Marketing is the lifeblood of any business. This is especially true for local businesses like auto body repair shops that depend on a steady stream of new customers that live within the area to keep the business healthy and growing.
Thanks to the internet and other technologies, there are more marketing strategies for local businesses than ever. This blog will highlight three broad areas of marketing strategies that yield cost-effective results in today’s highly competitive markets: networking, digital marketing, and customer engagement.
Marketing Strategies for Local Businesses: Networking
Getting to know people and other companies in your area is one of the best marketing strategies for local businesses. It helps build brand awareness for your business. It provides a good source of referrals. It also shows that you take an active role in supporting the business community as a whole.
Effective networking strategies include:
Network with other businesses
Developing relationships with other local businesses is an effective way to become well-known in your area. The key is figuring out which networking opportunities are best suited for your business. For example, the local Chamber of Commerce can help you connect with like-minded businesses, as well as local government and other civic agencies. Industry associations and local trade shows involving companies that serve the auto body industry are also beneficial sources of contacts as well.
But don’t restrict your networking to just those within your industry. Consider holding occasional social events where business owners of all types can socialize and get to know each other better. Be sure to carry business cards with you at every event. Even in today’s social media world, business cards remain to be a handy networking tool.
Support community causes or events
Every city has organizations that can benefit from involvement by local businesses. Nonprofits, youth sports, programs for disadvantaged families, high-school marching bands, or fundraisers are just a few examples of how you can make a difference in your community. If there is a cause you care deeply about, organizing and sponsoring your own fundraising event can create even more of an impact.
Volunteer for public speaking
Here’s another good way to build brand awareness while positioning yourself as an industry expert. For example, give a talk at local high schools about the career opportunities available as a skilled auto body technician. An important note is that your presentation should not be a sales pitch for your company. Let people know who you are and what your business does, but focus mainly on the subject the audience wants to learn about.
Marketing Strategies for Local Businesses: Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is a local business’ best friend. It includes a variety of platforms for reaching out to local prospects and customers. It offers simple, effective ways to track marketing results. And, it’s cost effective.
Optimize your web site
Learn how to use search engine optimization (SEO) so your business can rank high on search engine results (Google and Bing). If you don’t have the time or knowledge to do it yourself, consider hiring an SEO firm that specializes in improving search engine rankings for local businesses.
Publish a blog
Posting a blog on your web site provides a powerful tool for improving your search engine ranking. Research shows that small businesses that publish a blog get 55% more web site visits, 102% more Twitter followers, and 126% more client leads. The most successful blogs provide information of real value to readers while avoiding aggressive selling.
Use Google AdWords
Placing targeted display ads about your business on Google search pages is one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies for local businesses. It doesn’t cost anything to sign up for Google AdWords. You pay only when someone clicks your ad to visit your website or calls you. This is one of the best tools for building local brand awareness and connecting with customers in your area.
Have a presence on review web sites
Create a company profile on Yelp!, Google My Business, and local review sites. Then make it easy for customers to leave reviews by putting direct links to your review profiles on your web site and Facebook page. Use Google Alerts to monitor what customers are saying about your business online. If someone leaves a negative review, respond with an offer to try to make it right for the customer, but don’t promise something you can’t deliver.
Get involved with social media
Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become some of the most effective digital marketing strategies for local businesses. They help create brand awareness, increase traffic to your web site, and build customer loyalty. They also provide a way for prospects and customers to interact with your business. Learn more about how to market your business with social media by visiting these sites:
Use targeted Facebook ads
This requires conducting in-depth research on auto body consumers in your local area. Once you understand what they look for in a body shop and how they make their buying decisions, targeted Facebook ads offer one of the most effective techniques for attracting new customers.
Marketing Strategies for Local Businesses: Engage with Your Customers
Unquestionably, one of the most effective marketing strategies for local businesses is having satisfied customers talking about and engaging with your business. Be sure to include your customers as a primary resource when putting together a comprehensive marketing plan.
Set up a customer referral program
Referrals from satisfied customers are one of the most important marketing tools for a local auto body shop business. It is essential to make it easy and rewarding for your customers to give you these referrals. For example, post on your social media platforms about the importance of referrals to your business and how much you appreciate them. Or have a simple referral form on your web site that customers can quickly fill out, followed by a “thank you” note.
Provide great customer service
When customers talk to their friends and colleagues about their experience with an auto body shop, they often talk about the customer service in addition to the actual repairs. When you treat them as friends or family, answer all their questions in a timely manner, and communicate with them throughout the entire repair process, they take notice and will tell others about it.
Test these different marketing strategies for local businesses and identify the ones that work best for you. Practice them regularly and never stop looking for new customers. Do these things well, and you will have a successful, growing business that is naturally popular in your local area.
This blog post was contributed by Fix Auto Sunnyvale, a leading industry expert and collision repair shop servicing the Santa Clara county.
