In 2024, it’s both harder and easier than ever to start your own business. While the market is populated by big multinationals that can make it hard to break into certain industries, the internet has also leveled the playing field somewhat. Moreover, if you’re a community-based company, it’ll be easier for you to compete within your own domain.
As a local company, one of your advantages is your connection with your community. Harness this by participating in local events, celebrating community holidays and creating content that’s tailored to your community. The options you have as a local startup are truly endless.
Want even more tips? Then read on as we share all of our top tips for startup enterprises looking to make meaningful contributions to their local community.
Master the Art of Selling Locally
Many people confuse selling with marketing, but the two are actually vastly different disciplines. One way of thinking of sales is as the thing marketing sets you up to do. Marketing involves things like building a brand, tailoring your product to your market, setting a price, etc., while sales is the final act of getting your customer to buy your stuff. The latter can involve creating business cards to hand out to potential clients, doing door-to-door selling, and making pitches for prospective customers and perhaps even investors or partners.
Selling means more than listing the attributes of your product or service. The key to being a good salesperson is listening: in order to convince someone they need what you’re offering, you need to understand the pain points they face, what they’re looking for and what the best way of meeting their needs is.
If you want your business to be around for a long time, it’s crucial that you know how to sell to your local customers – and this starts with listening to them. Without this, your company won’t get anywhere, because you won’t be making any money.
Connect With Your Community At Community Events
As a small business, your superpower is your connection with your local community. Your advantage over bigger companies with branches where you live is that you understand the community on a deeper level.
You can connect with your community by celebrating at and perhaps even participating in local events. For instance, you could set up a stall at your local community fair or perhaps even at weekly farmer’s markets, if you work in the hospitality sector and may have wares that were perfect for showcasing in these types of community spaces.
And what if you don’t offer products but offer services? Then you always have the option of sponsoring local sports teams or even volunteering your time or experience in community spaces like libraries or on panels for local business or commercial conferences.
Build a Strong & Recognisable Brand
Branding is an aspect of business that many don’t utilise enough. Your brand is your identity, and a good brand adds value to your products and services outside of the tangible benefits people get from them.
Your brand needs to stand out from your competitors. Customers need to associate elements like your logo or any taglines that you might be using with your company. A good brand will also ensure that these associations are positive.
Above all, your brand needs to be consistent. All your employees, especially your customer-facing ones, have to understand your company’s identity and be able to transmit it to your customers. You’ll also need to be consistent with things like your logo, your brand colours and your voice.
Invest in Relationships
As a small, community-based business, relationships are crucial to long-term success. You’ll need to foster relationships with your business partners. This allows for smooth working processes and potential discounts.
You’ll also need to build strong ties with individual customers. As a new business, this will be easier, as you’ll naturally have a smaller customer base. Get to know the people who walk through your doors, especially those you see on a regular basis. People are much more likely to be loyal customers if they like the people in charge of a business.
Don’t forget to form relationships with your employees, too. Being a smaller business, you’ll have fewer people working with you. Get to know them as people first and workers second, understand their goals and create an environment where they can express themselves.
Whether you’re an online business or a brick-and-mortar store, relationships are key to scaling your company. So, iinvest in building strong bonds with business partners, clients and industry experts to grow your local startup.
Don’t Forget About your Digital Engagement
Alongside attending local events and organising sponsorships so you can make sure your brand and business is visible and accessible, you’ll also want to ensure that you’re maintaining engagement with your local community on social media. Even if you want to primarily sell within a specific geographical area, internet marketing is still crucial to your success. This is because most of your audience will be on the internet, and you want to meet them where they are.
For example, you need to have a presence on social media, which allows for two-way communication between you and your customers. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram also allow you to build your brand which, as we’ve discussed, is vital. These platforms can also be great for organising marketing campaigns that boost your customer foot traffic. Events like in-store exclusive sales with an online discount code is a great example here.
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If you’re a small company, one of your first goals should be to be a regular fixture in the community where you operate. This gives you a solid source of revenue and a platform from which you can expand further. It also allows you to contribute to the place in which you live.
In this article, we’ve gone through five ways to solidify your presence in your community. While every company, community and situation is different, there are a few business principles that don’t change. If you follow these tips, you’ll be boosting your chances of long-term success.
