I was going to start by going back 50 years to a simpler time to make my point, but in my research, found out The Pennysaver was started in 1962. So let’s go back 60 years. Most towns had one, maybe two choices of similar businesses in a geographic area. But mostly, there was one supermarket, butcher, hair salon, mechanic, etc. As towns grew, so did the number of businesses and local ads in The Pennysaver would be the best way to promote yourself to your local buyers.
Last week, my mailbox had Newsday Hometown Shopper, Direct Advantage Magazine, North Shore Today, Select Magazine, Clipper Magazine, Valpak, Community Coupon Booklet, and the local papers The Gold Coast Gazette, Glen Cove Record Pilot and the Glen Cove Herald. How do you determine which publication will reach your potential buyers? How do you know if anyone reads through all of that paper or tosses it in the recycle bin? That’s only one set of choices.
You could put flyers on car windshields or supermarket bulletin boards, stick roadside signs on medians or leave business cards at your dry cleaner.
Moving to the digital arena, you could create a business website, Etsy page, Facebook Page, Facebook ads, Google ads, email marketing, sell products on Amazon, make a video, start a YouTube channel or create a Shopify or Squarespace online store.
To make more human connections, you could join your local Chamber of Commerce, go to networking events, sponsor local sports teams, sponsor local events, or give free services or products as raffle prizes at these events.
The challenge is the choices!
Resources are limited for most businesses. So being presented with endless ways to get in front of your buyers can easily paralyze you into doing nothing at all and just hope somehow word of mouth will be enough. The truth is, it isn’t. The speaker at a Constant Contact email marketing webinar I attended showed the statistics reinforced his statement that “Social Media is the new word of mouth.”
What will work for you? That is the very question I will explore in upcoming blogs. If you have any insights you’d like to share on what you’ve tried and the results, please email me at steve@vastexpanse.net. Your experiences can help a fellow business owner either not waste their time and resources or move into action.
