One of the biggest challenges you’re going to face as a start-up business, is building up a reputation.
You have no customers and at the moment, nobody really knows you exist.
You’ve also likely already spent the majority of your budget on setting up the business, leaving little left over for marketing purposes.
So, how can you build up a reputation without any existing customers or clients and very little funds?
Below you’ll discover some of the best methods for getting your start up known locally.
1. Set Up a Website
Even though you’re focusing on generating locally based customers, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a website. In fact, consumers today expect businesses to have a company website.
It isn’t just businesses which operate online that need to have a web presence.
Consumers like to be able to look up information about local businesses online, before deciding whether or not to visit them. Your site will be the first point of contact between you and the customer and provides an awesome opportunity to help you start building up your reputation.
So, if you don’t have a website yet, that should be your first task.
2. Take Advantage of Local SEO
SEO is a vital element of online marketing and it plays an important role in helping you to reach local customers. These days, the majority of consumers turn to their mobile devices to discover local businesses. By optimizing your website and your content, you can attract potentially thousands of new customers to your business.
Now, SEO isn’t easy and the cost of hiring a professional can be really high. So, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with a few basic local SEO tips. Learning how to incorporate certain keywords and phrases into your website which search engines will pick up, will prove extremely valuable.
Local SEO practices can prove extremely effective at helping you to build up an initial reputation so it definitely shouldn’t be ignored.
3. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Offline Marketing
While online marketing is definitely the most effective marketing technique in today’s digital age, it’s not the only thing you should be focusing on. Some offline marketing channels are also proving to be effective, such as door drop media services.
By choosing specific catchment areas, you can use door drop media marketing to narrowly target potential customers within your area. A simple leaflet announcing the launch of your business for example, can prove highly effective if it’s delivered to the right areas.
Successful businesses make use of both online and offline marketing techniques. So, don’t make the mistake of focusing solely on one particular avenue.
Design companies like MyCreativeShop make creating print material for your offline marketing more efficient by eliminating from-scratch designs with their customizable templates.
Overall, whichever method you choose, it’s important to realize that building up a reputation takes time. You’re not going to magically acquire thousands of new customers overnight. It’s going to take a lot of time, effort and additional funds to build up a positive reputation. While the above advice will really help, it’s important to do as much research as you can into both the numerous marketing techniques on offer and your target market.