Even as consumers have the ability to purchase items from around the globe, much of their money is still spent locally. In fact, figures show that upwards of 50 percent of all search queries have local intent. While this proves how important location-specific marketing is, the following local marketing mistakes could seriously hurt a company.
Failing to Stake Out the Competition
A business owner might think their local marketing strategy should focus solely on their company. In reality, they should also be focused on their competition. If they’re not paying attention to what is and isn’t working for their competitors, they’re putting themselves at a disadvantage. In all likelihood, their competition is keeping an eye on them in turn.
Dropping the Ball with on the Basics
Business owners have a lot on their plates, but that’s no excuse to drop the ball on the most basic local marketing issues. Some companies, for instance, still don’t have websites. In a world that’s increasingly digital, this lack of effort can destroy a business.
Budding entrepreneurs also sometimes fail to claim their company on local business listing pages. This includes everything from the big guns, like Yelp and Google, to locally-focused websites. Failing to correct inaccurate information on these pages can cause significant damage.
Failing to Do Marketing Research
Many businesses hire marketing managers to handle their local marketing, and this is a great idea. It doesn’t mean, though, that they shouldn’t do a little research of their own. Having a bit of knowledge in the area will let business owners choose the right company and let them know the realities of promoting a company.
This way, they won’t fire and hire three new marketing consultants after not seeing results in a week.
In the marketing world, everything is local, but when it comes to small and medium-sized businesses, local is everything. The aforementioned local marketing mistakes are just the tip of the iceberg. With a bit of research and the right help, however, it’s possible to avoid these costly errors.
