How Small Businesses Can Reach New Customers Without Relocating

While sometimes it’s nice to relocate or downsize, this can be a lot of work. It’s not just that, but these options can be pretty expensive, too. Besides, what if you like your current location? What if this is the area where you have a family, a home, and a strong support system with a solid customer base? For a lot of business owners, there’s the decision to stay stagnant or relocate in hopes of a better business. 

Now, sometimes it’s justified, but what if you were, like, you are currently but still want to target customers in other areas? Well, thankfully, nowadays, this is definitely possible. So, with that said, here’s what you need to know to reach new customers in other locations without having to relocate!

It’s All About Being Reachable Locally

Do you remember old-fashioned phone books? Google is basically a modern-day phonebook, but being local still counts. Just as an old-fashioned phone book only focuses on local businesses and services, it’s the same with Google and other search engines. So having local phone numbers, local SEO, local webpages, and basically anything and everything catered to that area (city, town, region, etc.) where you want to expand your clientele is going to massively help.

 Actually, that’s going to be the only way to attract customers, you have to do local SEO that’s tailored to that area, and of course be reachable. Above all things in this blog post, this is going to be the most important piece of advice so make sure you do this! 

Leverage Online Presence

So this goes back to what was being said right above, but it deserves a bit more clarity. So, just keep in mind that the internet is your best friend when it comes to reaching customers far and wide. Make sure your website is optimised for search engines. So, it was somewhat mentioned above, but you have to focus on this, and it’s more than just one webpage or an additional phone number. You’ll want to use keywords that reflect not just your products or services but also the regions you want to target.

Here’s an example: if you’re a bakery in London looking to attract customers in Edinburgh, incorporate phrases like “shipping cakes to Edinburgh” or “best online bakery for Edinburgh.” This is just merely an example, but you’re better off hiring a local SEO agency or some Local-based marketing agency to help you with something like this. But on top of that, setting up an e-commerce platform allows you to sell your products anywhere. 

Platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce can help you set up an online store that caters to customers no matter where they are. But again, some people want to support local businesses, so even if you’re an e-commerce business, you’ll still need to be local based on the fact that you need to ensure customers from the said area that you are.

But is that really all there is? Well, no, actually, there’s a whole bunch of things when it comes to local marketing and local SEO. You’ll want to tailor your website content to different regions. This could mean creating blog posts, product descriptions, or landing pages that speak directly to the interests and needs of customers in those areas. For instance, if you’re targeting another country like Belgium, then you might highlight products that resonate with local culture or trends.

You Can’t Go Wrong with PPC

Have you needed a plumber and just typed in “plumber” or even just “plumber ( your location)”? There are always those targeted sponsored links at the top of Google, right? Well, that’s what you want to aim for! So, did you know that PPC campaigns on Google Ads can be targeted to specific geographic locations? 

This means you can create ads that are only shown to users in the regions you want to target, maximising the efficiency of your ad spend. There are technically other ways to go about this; even certain ad campaigns, including social media, could work, too. But overall, this is an easy way. 

Consider Local Influencers 

So this one could be challenging, but it doesn’t hurt knowing that this is at least an option that could exist. Generally speaking, partnering with businesses or influencers in your target regions can help you build a local presence without relocating. 

It’s really going to depend on your business because it may or may not help. Plus, are you an e-commerce? Do people need to go to your business in person? It’s all really going to depend. But if there are local influencers who have dedicated followings in the location you’re targeting, it can massively help.

But on top of that, it can help out in building up some credibility and reach a broader audience. Again, it’s really going to depend. If you’re a bakery, such as selling homemade Korean cookies, and people can buy from your website and you ship it to them, then this could help, as it is easier for an influencer to make content and “influence” the decision of buying from you that way.

But what about local businesses? Well, again, it’s going to really depend on your business, the model, and so on. But usually, if a business decides to form partnerships with local businesses that complement yours, then it could help massively. 

For example, if you sell artisanal chocolates, partnering with a local coffee shop could be mutually beneficial. They could sell your chocolates, and you could promote their coffee. This is an example, but again, it just depends on your business and how far away you are from the location you’re targeting. 

Sponsor Local Community Events

It’s also all about feeding in trust, why should someone support your business if your competitor is living and supporting this community, right? So that’s why it’s important to look into this, because you need to provide value and your business itself isn’t going to be enough. So, just be sure to sponsor events or community activities in your target regions. This not only boosts your visibility but also shows your support for the local community.