"Most businesses don't have a
global product or service but they can still use the Internet to bring in new business.
The information on
this page applies to all small businesses and it shows how anyone, with a little bit of work, can make money and bring in new business with a web site targeted at a local audience"
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Think Global Sell Local.
Most people don't realise it.. on the
Internet your Local and Regional Market
will become the most important of all.
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Your competition is online and so are your
customers. Anywhere your customers are you should be there too!
Please remember as your read this..
60% to 70% of people are now online and have an email address. With
smart TV sets, broadband and all the other new technology then this
figure will only get higher.
In fact an email address and access
to the Internet will become as common as having a telephone. Email and
web site marketing is highly targeted and is the cheapest
form of advertising around.
Just about every service seller and merchant on the planet thinks
nothing about forking over £50-£400 (or more) per year to maintain
some sort of Yellow Pages listing.
Not to mention the amount of
newspaper advertising he might do! Yet many of these same business
people either fail to recognize the potential of the Net,
or balk at the idea of paying a few hundred pounds a year to maintain
an online presence.
-----SIDEBAR-----
Think about this investment in
contrast...The Featured DIY Site Builder (that I recommended on
the last page )
only costs $299
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Video Tour:
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A local landscaper could show some of
the beautiful jobs he's done, list all his services, keep a email
mailing list to stay in touch with his clients all year along
(reminding them when it's time for spring cleaning and aerating and
fertilizing, too, of course!). He could build his business, take
clients from his competition, and build loyalty among his existing
clients.
Can a Yellow Pages or a newspaper ad do all that?
-----SIDEBAR-----
Suppose, you have a local business --
a petrol station, a grocery store, a garage, or a restaurant, for
example. Can the Net expand your business in a "100%
purely local" situation like this?
Ahhh... good question. The answer?
Absolutely!
This will be a significant, growing trend over the next few years.
As people stop getting excited about the Net, and just figure out how
it fits into their marketing mix, local businesses will start to
realise the true power of a Web site and email mailing list.
First, a Web site will encourage and develop the relationship
you already maintain with current customers.
Second, it can, through both local promotions and listings, and
through the Search Engines, bring new business.
Third, emailing lists cement lifetime loyalty.
Fourth, people have an inherent interest in the local community,
and in what's going on directly around them. They will visit a local
Web site, *if* you make sure they know about it. And once they
are there, it's your service business they see, not your
competitor's.
But there is one caveat...
Repeat visitors depend entirely upon YOU and your actions!
Throw up one of those ho-hum
brochure sites with content like this...
"Welcome to the Bear's Den Inn Online.
The Bear's Den was opened in 1979 by chef Joe Smith. Featuring
the best in regional cuisine, its main room seats 100, with a banquet
room with space for an additional 100, blah, blah, blah..."
.... and you'll never see them again!
On the other hand, create beneficial content for your visitors
like this...
"This
weekend only! Print off our online discount coupon for the
on-the-house entree when you order a full meal from our extensive,
mouth-watering menu."
Or one of these...
"With your online discount coupon valid
this weekend only, your first drink is on me!"
You'll be building an addition onto your restaurant in no time
flat! Not only will your customers be visiting your Web site on
a regular basis (to check what other "freebies" you are
offering), but word will spread like wildfire. Yip,
they'll tell their friends, who will tell their friends, and so on,
and so forth.
Keep the momentum growing with a
weekly (or bi-monthly) email mailing list. In it, you can
feature specials, and announce new promotions that are only available
on your site, and so on! This is a great way to encourage return
visits.
And how will you spread the word about your new Web site?
Simple... in your restaurant!
Train your staff to upsell the "Special of the Week" you've
made available online ONLY (it's really crucial that this special be
available NOWHERE else. Otherwise, you're defeating the purpose
of building your Web site). Have some special business cards
printed (with an appropriate Web site UPsell) and inserted into the
menus -- encourage guests to take them home and post in a prominent
place.
Update your site, and your
offers, and your business will snowball. People love getting
free stuff (no matter how inconsequential), and they love feeling like
they are being treated differently from your other customers.
Best of all, they also like telling their friends, so word of mouth
will play a huge role here!
-----SIDEBAR-----
It's critical that local retailers,
restaurant owners and so on update their Web sites with new offers
weekly, or at least, bi-monthly. Otherwise, there is no reason
for any client to ever re-visit their sites.
Remember...
People aren't visiting your restaurant's Web site for research
purposes. And they already know WHO you are, and WHERE you
are. No, they will visit and revisit your Web site for one
reason only...
For free stuff, or a discount or special deal of some sort.
As long as you make it worth their while, customers will return to
your site religiously. Turn your
site into another one of those "About Us" brochure sites,
and there will be deadwood blowing through your site before you know
it!
And naturally, collect e-mail addresses, both
from the site, and at your place of business. That email
mailing list will build and build and build your business.
--SIDEBAR--
Depending on your unique situation, (the
amount of competition you have, the size of your local region and so
on), you may not have to do much more than the basics outlined
here to attain significant results!
If you're on a tight budget, invite the journalist from the local
newspaper over for lunch "on the house". UPsell the
Web site, and the special offers therein. Believe it or not,
this is done so infrequently you'll have little difficulty
gathering the interest of your community newspaper.
The word will spread...
Like wildfire!
OK, let's switch gears for a minute.
Suppose you own a petrol station,
or a garage. How will the Internet help you further build your
business, while strengthening current relationships?
If you own a petrol station, chances are you have plenty of
competition. How will you differentiate yourself from your
competitors? Yes! You guessed it...
Your Internet presence.
Much like our restaurant example, you'll offer a small freebie of
some sort (again, it must ONLY be available online), and train all
your staff to UPsell the Web site. Have business cards printed off,
and staple or paper clip one to every receipt you print off, every
credit card slip you return.
Make sure your URL and offer is prominent...
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Get free stuff when you buy petrol! There's a
new offer available each and every week ONLY
at our Web site...
http://www.the-name-of-your-petrol-station.com/
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
It's important to emphasize that the
freebie need not be anything expensive -- a free newspaper with a
fill up, a free coffee, a free two-litre bottle of coke. If you
happen to sell convenience items as well as petrol -- drinks, crisps,
milk, cigarettes -- it's even more worthwhile to get people to choose
you over your competitors. Remember, people tend to be creatures
of habit. They will return to your business week in and week
out, provided you treat them well!
-----SIDEBAR----
Will people visit such a Web site and
print off a coupon for free coffee? Sure, you just have to be
creative and make it fun!
For example, use a special bonus phrase/word of the day/week.
Upload a new one to the Web site everyday. Only the clients who
login and can identify the bonus phrase of the day get the freebie or
discount!
-----SIDEBAR----
OK, time to switch gears again.
Suppose you own a garage, not a petrol station. Your clients
won't be visiting you on a weekly basis -- only for routine
maintenance, unexpected mechanical disasters, and seasonal tune-ups.
In this case, you'll want to be sure your Web site gets updated
with each season -- spring, summer, autumn, and winter. And
you'll want to include coupons for routine maintenance work, like oil
changes, tyre check, and so on. And, of course, your email
mailing list is critical here. So...
Your main focus will be to obtain your visitor's e-mail address.
Since you don't see your customers often (the petrol station owner
will see them weekly), you'll need to be proactive in order to stay in
touch with them -- remind them about your business, and about yearly
maintenance that should be performed to extend the life of their
vehicle. Your monthly email mailing list will accomplish that
"nudge" wonderfully!
You'll never need to worry
about that dreaded scenario "out of sight (or site) is out of
mind!" again.
Here is another way to ask people for
that email address.
If you have walk in customers
to your place of business. Why not simply place a box on your counter.
It could be something like a "ballot box" type of thing. On
the box or on a sign above it have a something that says.
"Give us your
email address and we will send you special offers. Only available
through email or on our web site"
You could even take it a step further
and offer a sweepstakes or prize draw only available on your web site.
I've really only skimmed the surface
of the opportunities offered to local
businesses by the Net. I hope that you're
beginning to realise that no matter what you happen to be doing, the
Net is a cost-efficient (heck, downright cheap) way to build your
business.
I am a big believer in the importance of the Net to local businesses.
Remember... whatever your situation, you CAN go GLOBAL,
and still sell LOCAL!
-SIDEBAR-
There is a piece of
software called an auto responder that you can get for free. (There is
a paid version and a free version)
What this software
does is follow up for you automatically. You just plug it into your
website. Upload your messages and away it goes.
There is a full
description of how these things work if you click the link below.
Click here to
Sign up now for FREE!
Remember you have nothing to lose. There is a
Free Version and a Paid Version.
-SIDEBAR-
Remember the money is in the list and
the follow up. Just figure out ways to capture your local customer's
email address and you could be laughing all the way to the bank
Lets look at a
real life example to see this working..
