Many retailers find it challenging to figure out how to connect with their customers. Local marketing doesn’t have to be difficult, and you don’t necessarily need to find a perfect formula to market to your community.

Good news: Today’s shoppers still prefer to shop locally whenever possible. A recent survey by Red Egg Marketing found that 82.76% of shoppers would prefer to support local businesses over a large corporation. In fact, 8 out of 10 shoppers would spend more money buying from a local business.

These five simple yet powerful marketing strategies can help retailers capitalize on local support regardless of their business size.

Support a Local Charity

People love to feel that their efforts are making a difference. Find ways to make it easy for people to support your favorite cause. For example, if you own a pet shop, you can host an adoption event or offer discounts to anyone who donates to your local shelter. Are you a clothing retailer? You can donate a portion of your proceeds to a worthy charity, non-profit organization, or fundraiser in your area.

There are many great local causes to choose from within your community. Your choice of the reason will reflect your products and services and your locality and customer base. It would be best if you supported a cause that is local, well-loved, and worthwhile.

Direct Mailings

Research has shown that direct mail is more effective than email for specific age groups. For some consumers, printed advertisements help people retain brands better, and 70% of customers in a recent study think direct mail is far more personal than online interactions.

Direct mail campaigns are cost-effective and provide excellent ROI. Print can reach local communities with flyers, coupons, and discounts. To ensure that your business is included in local print packets, you can run your direct mailing campaign using a service.

As a bonus, many direct mail companies will feature your coupon on the company’s website. Both digital and print campaigns will be available at a remarkably low price.

Email Marketing

Email campaigns are still a powerful form of marketing, even though the ROI is lower than direct mail. There are many advantages to email marketing campaigns. Low cost, customers can be reached at any time, you can see who opens and interacts with your promotions, and you can adjust or A/B test the ad to make sure it works effectively.

Email campaigns should be direct and to the point. Be smart and understand your audience. According to a study by HubSpot, nearly 1 in 5 email campaigns are not optimized for mobile devices.

Please pay attention to the wording of your newsletter and make it easy to get the discount. Customers should be able to access deals or other services easily. Remember that you might be marketing locally, but the customer doesn’t have to visit the store. Offer digital discounts if your online store is busy!

Social Media Advertising

Social media can be used to tell your story creatively, interact with customers, and advertise to potential clients. You can target social media ads to a particular radius or set of ZIP codes. You can also get more in-depth with your data and narrow it down to other demographics such as age and gender.

Social media is all about showing and not telling. You can also post a video showing off your new store design online. You can show off your weekly sales by posting photos and videos of the sale racks and offering flash sales or discounts online.

Cross Promote with another Local Business

You can increase your revenue and customer base by partnering with a local business that offers complementary products or services. Cross-promotion can be as simple as including each other’s products in your stores or by partnering.

Pop-up sales can be held right outside your storefront. You can invest in some retail display fixtures and clothing racks and place them along the sidewalk, parking lot, or near the front entrance to your store. Local customers will be compelled to shop at your store if you display your specials.

These are just some effective methods retailers can leverage when marketing to local consumers. Get in touch with us here at the Shelving Depot today to find out how we can help you market your store to local customers.