These days, there’s an increasingly noticeable focus on local: supporting locally owned businesses, eating locally raised meat and produce, and buying products manufactured in the USA. Currently, 23 million small businesses in America account for 54 percent of all U.S. sales, and their influence is only expected to grow in 2013. So how should brands get involved in this shift in buying trends? We’ve gathered the 3 most important tips to incorporate into your marketing plan for 2013, so that you can reach your consumers at a local level.
One of the oldest marketing adages is “Fish where the fish are.” There’s no doubt that customers are “swimming” online, even locally. In fact, 85% of consumers search for local businesses online and 82% of local searchers follow up their inquiry with an in-store visit or phone call. Therefore, brands not only need to make sure their online channels are professional and updated frequently with engaging content, but that those of their independent retailers are too.
How we can help: How are brands supposed to streamline the online presence of hundreds, thousands or even millions of retailers? Promoboxx allows retailers to opt in to the national campaigns of their choice, co-brand content from the brand and distribute it on their online channels, free of cost. Promoboxx even notifies them when new content is available and sends reminders when it’s time to share again. With Promoboxx, brands can extend their reach at to local level and unify their online marketing efforts, while simulataneously driving traffic to the individual retailers’ online channels like Facebook and Twitter.
Concentrate on what works; engaging customers online through rich content. Customers are going online to interact with their favorite brands everyday. Don’t just share content but produce content that asks your customers to express their opinion, give feedback, and take advantage of online offers that drive in-store traffic.
How we can help: Promoboxx understands that creating content to share on online channels can be time consuming and expensive, so we take care of the hard part. By opting into a brand’s national campaign, retailers gain access to all of the marketing content for that campaign, without the price tag or leg work involved in producing it. All the retailers have to do is accept the invitation to participate in the campaign, add their retail information and click “Share.” The best part? Brands don’t have to worry about rogue marketing, because they choose what is customizable.
It’s not enough to simply acquire a customer; a brand needs to earn their loyalty and keep them coming back for more. Attention has shifted from acquisition to retention, which isn’t so easy with the “daily deal” trends of today.
How we can help: By having independent retailers share professional, new, and exciting content via Promoboxx the brand is able to keep their customers up-to-date with relevant news and promotions that relate to the company at a local level. Ultimately, creating a significantly more meaningful relationship with the customer. The brand will be first in the customer’s mind when it comes to finding the best deals and news about their industry.
