Marketing Your Small, Locally Owned and Operated Business

Marketing Your Small, Locally Owned and OperatedBusinessAre you a small business owner, but one who ownsa business that has a physical address, insteadof an online one? If you are, you can actually beconsidered the owner of a locally owned andoperated business. One of the many benefits tobeing a small business owner who runs a locallyowned and operated business is that you are oftenwell liked by the locals, as your business helpstheir economy. Unfortunately, being well likedby some locals isn 抰 enough to keep your business

afloat and profitable. That is why you also needto rely on marketing.When many of us think of marketing, we oftenassociate marketing with online businesses.What you need to remember is that even storefrontbusinesses need to be marketed, especially ifthey are selling something, like a product or aservice. If you are running your own storefrontbusiness, no matter what you are selling, it isimportant that your customers first know that youexist. This cannot be done without marketing,which is also commonly referred to as advertising.Just a few of the many ways that you can go aboutadvertising or marketing your locally owned andoperated small business are outlined below.Perhaps, one of the best ways to go aboutmarketing your locally owned and operated smallbusiness is by using the television. It is nosecret that many individuals enjoy watchingtelevision. If you have a few local channels,

you may be able to get your advertisements airedon those stations. Of course, you need to knowthat television advertising can be fairlyexpensive, but most business owners find that itdoes work. If you are looking for a similarmarketing approach, but one that is a little bitmore affordable, you may want to think abouttrying radio advertisements.One marketing approach that many do not alwaysassociate with marketing, but should involves thephone book. If you run a locally owned andoperated small business, you should have yourbusiness listed in the phone book. First, youwill want to make sure that your business islisted in the yellow pages or the businessdirectory section, as well as the white pages.You may also want to think about taking out anadvertisement in the yellow pages. Thisadvertisement doesn 抰 have to be a full page ador even a half a page one. Many times, phone bookusers examine all of advertisements, especially

the colored ones or the ones with pictures beforeflipping through the actual business listings.Although you may not necessarily think about itat the time, you should use the internet to helpmarket your small, locally owned and operatedbusiness. There are many business owners who tendto think that this approach is ironic, due to thefact that they don 抰 run an online business, butit could actually help to bring you a lot ofbusiness. When it comes to turning to the internet,you don 抰 necessarily have to open up an onlinestore, if you are selling something, like aproduct or service, but you may want to create aninformational website about you and your smallbusiness. For instance, if you operate a taxpreparation service, you could online yourtraining and your experience, the rates that youcharge, and where your business is located. Itmay even be a good idea to get customertestimonials from past clients; clients who werepleased with your work.

The above mentioned marketing approaches are justa few of the many ways that you can go aboutmarketing your small locally owned and operatedbusiness. Despite what you and many othersbelieve, there are actually just as many, if notmore, ways to market a storefront business thanthere are to market an online business. Foradditional marketing approaches that you may wantto try using, you may want to think about takinga small business marketing course or investing ina number of small business marketing resourceguides, like books.PPPPPWord Count 672