In fact, it was so good, people stopped to take pictures of the booth displays. (When was the last time someone took a picture of your booth display?)

What made this booth stand out? Hand drawn visuals.

The entire booth was made up of several boards on easels, each with a different graphic in the style of visual note taking. It’s also called sketch-noting.

This trend may peak soon if lots of people start using it, but for now, it’s worth investigating for your next trade show booth display.

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Shop Indie Local summary:

• Shop Indie Local campaign website

This campaign’s advantage: 

• Usable year round, adaptable to local events and needs, not just a single day
• “Indie” message is resonating well right now, better than plain “local” campaigns

Share the right message:

• People already think they want to shop local, just need a timely reminder
• Tell stories of merchants, focus on independent businesses

By Becky McCray

We’ve long been advocates of shop local campaigns. Our communities prosper when we do more business with each other. But tired old “you should shop local!” messages are worn out. We need new fresh messages that recognize where we are today.

The best fresh message I’ve heard is Shop Indie Local, put together by a coalition of local-focused organizations including American Independent Business Alliance and sixty partners throughout North America.

“Shop local” is tired

After years of working to convince people that local businesses matter, we won that battle. Survey after survey shows that people want to shop local, intend to shop local, and feel good when they shop local. That doesn’t mean they do it consistently. They do at least aspire to it.

Old messages that admonish shoppers are worn out.

In fact, we’ve gotten to the point of backlash. People are tired of being admonished especially when local businesses fail them. I think this is especially true in small towns, where there are more than a few small business owners who act just a little too entitled.

What not to say

That means you can banish any of the following tired messages from your shop local campaigns:

• Shop Local! Buy Local! Think Local First! Stay Local! Eat Local!
• You owe local businesses!
• If you don’t shop local, you’ll hurt the community
• Local businesses return more money to the community
• We need your sales tax dollars!
• Shop local or local businesses will fail
• 10 reasons to buy local (no matter what the reasons are) 

Remember, we don’t have to convince people. They’re as convinced as they’ll ever be.

What works now: prompts

We won the battle on convincing people that they like local. What we need are prompts, or reasons to act right now. You could also call this a “call to action.”

I took the term “prompts” from the Fogg Behavior Model.  To get any Behavior, a person needs enough Motivation to act, enough Ability to act and they need a Prompt to get them to act. People are Motivated to shop local, at least they tell us they are in surveys. People are Able to shop local, or if they aren’t, we can’t change that with this campaign. What we can do is Prompt them to act on their beliefs right now.

Fresh ‘shop local’ messages to try

Some of these ideas have been around awhile, but they still feel fresh because they act as a Prompt, reminding people that they want to shop local and that they can shop local and that now is a great time to do that.

• Did you know you can buy this (specific thing) at (specific store)?

This is a targeted prompt. If you want to buy this thing, you can buy it here.

I bet you didn’t know you could buy hardware at the grocery store! This kind of message prompts people act on their aspiration to shop in local stores.

Especially in small towns, we don’t realize all the things all the stores carry or all the services we can get locally. I didn’t realize how much my own local stores have diversified, and probably your local customers don’t realize it either.

Waynoka, Oklahoma, did a “Where is it” Wednesday series showing off surprising offerings in local stores. You can do this all year round.

• Profiles and stories of local independents

Local businesses have compelling stories, ones that can help prompt people to shop there.

This is a more general prompt. It tells people, “You like this person, and now is a great time to shop with them.”

Luling, Texas, did this with a series of Homegrown business profiles. This is another project that you can do any time of year.

• Pick one product: toilet paper

If people buy their toilet paper locally, it’s a prompt to buy more locally while they’re in the store.

This is another specific prompt, using a single product to prompt people to act on their desire to shop at local stores. You’re helping them act on their values when you say, “You need to buy this regularly, you can buy it locally, and you’re going to end up buying more things at the same time.”

Toilet paper is a great choice because everyone needs it, lots of different places carry it, and the jokes just keep on rolling… (sorry) Honestly, a sense of humor doesn’t hurt.

Deb Brown shares how Greater Franklin County, Iowa, did this in this podcast episode. (Toilet paper starts around 10 minutes in.) Again, you can do a project like this any time of year.

Tap national campaigns: Shop Indie Local

It makes sense to take advantage of effective themes created by big campaigns, rather than have to create your own from scratch. My favorite national campaign is Shop Indie Local.

Why isn’t Shop Small Saturday my favorite? 

It’s only one day, and it’s a day when a lot of people leave to shop in the big city.

I do like all the attention that this brings in national media, and everyone loves free stuff like tote bags and doormats.

It also comes with restrictions on the kinds of businesses that are supposed to be allowed participate. As a local organizer, this could put you in an awkward position if your local vape shop, liquor store, custom knife maker or sporting goods store wants to join. I’d rather leave the decision of who can participate up to you, not lawyers who’ve never been to your community.

American Express charges a higher fee to local merchants on customer transactions than some other card issuers. The difference isn’t huge, but some people focus on it.

Given all the pros and cons, you may consider joining in on Saturday but not making it the only campaign in your community.

Why is Shop Indie Local my favorite? 

I informally asked some friends who are regular everyday people, like your customers, what they thought of Shop Indie Local. They loved it. They felt like the addition of “indie” made it fresher and more relevant to them.

You can use the Shop Indie Local message year round, not just one single day. You can adapt it to your local needs and use it at any local events. You’re not expected to comply with restrictions on what kind of businesses can participate or what kind of message is approved. This is much more flexible for you.

How do you use Shop Indie Local? 

Stick with the fresh messages we just talked about like “did you know” and indie profiles, but add Shop Indie Local to them.

Add the hashtag #ShopIndieLocal to your social media posts anytime. Like, comment and share other posts with the #ShopIndieLocal tag, even those outside your community.

Use the Shop Indie Local logo in your local campaigns.

Take advantage of ready-to-use graphics like this rather than start from scratch.

How will you refresh your shop local message this year?

Feel free to share in the comments, tag us on social media, or send us an email. We love to hear and share your great ideas.

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Photo (CC) by Alex Holyoake, on Flickr

To many business owners, marketing feels like a numbers game. Too little and no one knows you exist. Too much and your potential customer feels bombarded.

So business owners are forced to look for balance in their marketing.

Yet balance is not something that can be readily achieved. It begins with knowing your customer base. Questions on where they might see your message come into play. Also, every individual will have a different levels of tolerance for how often they want to see your business message. But even that item is not static as if I, the customer, am in the market for something, I am willing and even anxious to gather more information than if your message is just one more ad I see in the daily jumble.

Tolerance also depends on what you are sending as a message. Is it just about selling or do you include other types of messages in your marketing mix? Might it add some humor to my day or touch some emotion. Yet other people just want the facts.

Also, trying to attract new customers requires more messages than when you are retaining existing customers. And the messages may differ with focused, directed messages for existing customers and more broadly distributed messages when trying to attract new customers.

Thus balance becomes necessary.  Having sheer numbers or certain ad types or placement in the right media will not guaranteed business success.

And remember that what works for marketing today may not be the answer tomorrow.

Don’t focus on just one goal or assume that one customer represents all of your market. Focus on your marketing goals. Identify your general customer and some of major sub-categories of customers. Do more than just a sales pitch in your effort.

Marketing brings success if you can find the balance.

Photo (CC) by Peter Sejba, on Flickr

I am not a regular television watcher but happened to catch a “60 Minutes” episode recently (http://tinyurl.com/60Minutes-socialmedia). The episode focused on how influencers are marketing using social media.

Although I follow and use several social media platforms to help reach small-business owners, most of this information was new to me. But it was not surprising. Social media has great capacity to reach certain audiences. And it can do it quickly while ignoring conventional marketing practices.

So what does this mean for your marketing effort? Perhaps a lot or maybe something, or it could mean nothing at all.

The intent of this article is to help you get the greatest return from your marketing.

When looking for return, the first thing you must do is to define what that means to you. Is it simply the number of people who see your marketing or is it an increase in revenue?

Once you know what you are looking for, your next step is to know your audience or audiences.

• Who are they?
• What is their most pressing problem, desire or issue?
• Where are they getting their information, who are they following, and when and how are they accessing the information?
• What motivates them to take action?
• Whom do they trust?

This information can help you determine what marketing channels might be your most effective tool. Is it traditional channels, including print, radio, television, customer service and public relations, or something online, from a website to email use to videos?

But don’t assume this information is constant. We know that the boomers are rapidly moving online, so what worked today might fail tomorrow.

Your information also will give you an idea of who is “trusted” by each audience. For example, while the silent generation and baby boomers might trust certain key figures, the millennials look toward people like themselves.

Chances are, you will need to use several channels. I say this because you probably are looking to attract a diversity of people. Also, even within one group, you cannot assume they all are alike. I, for example, am much more into social media than is my spouse.

What is important, as you are deciding on marketing channels, is the three basic building blocks of marketing. These are yourself and your networking, your reputation/brand and your ambassadors, or those who are telling your story for you.

So as you plan your marketing, remember:

• Your audience should guide what you do.
• Keep measuring.
• Be ready to change.

By doing these three things, you will increase your chances of having effective marketing.

Photo (CC) by Ron Mader, on Flickr

A Business Truth –There is no need to market if your small business does not offer great customer service?

And by customer service, I am not just talking about a good return policy. Customer service starts in the pre-purchase decision making effort through purchase and then right on to use, today, tomorrow and for the life of the product or service.

If your business isn’t offering top-notch customer service, you may as well save your marketing dollars. Why market if you are focused on a one-time customer transaction? Or certainly, change your marketing strategy to one of getting the customer in the door and making a quick sale.

This sound harsh and callous, but think about it. Marketing, in its broadest meaning, includes building awareness, trust and a relationship. It’s branding of your business so that the customer knows who you are and what you stand for. Part of that effort is your customer service effort. So if you ignore customer service, it just doesn’t pay to market. Your effort can be simply advertising and nothing more.

But realize when doing this that your customer pool is finite. And your reputation spreads. Even if you could maintain the cheapest prices over the long term, it won’t be enough to sustain your business.

Good customer service is more than a sign on the wall or a dedicated department. I would suggest taking the sign down and eliminating the department. It is not a job done by only a few employees. It starts with you and must be practiced by each and every employee every day. It’s shown through your words and action.

Good customer service means consistency and something more than one-size-fits-al. It’s offering the customer your full attention. It’s listening and it’s checking back after dealing with an upset customer.

Good customer service is realizing that not all customers are telling you their problems with your products and services. Search them out. Today’s social media is a great way to stay aware of some of these unspoken issues. Make contact and try to resolve the issue.

Customer service and marketing go together. Building a long-term business means offering both.

Photo (CC) by LeeHansen.com, on Flickr

If you have followed this blog, my colleague, Becky McCray, has provided lots of ideas for building communities and the small businesses in those areas. Her blogs have suggested things such as

• Pop-ups – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2014/03/what-is-a-pop-up-business.html
• Shared spaces – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2017/04/small-town-retail-trend-shared-spaces.html
• Tiny businesses – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2017/03/tiny-businesses-in-storage-sheds-a-rural-economic-development-tool.html

I am adding another thought to this list by suggesting that a business or a community can start your own holiday.

Businesses and communities already celebrate events such as anniversaries, grand openings, founder’s day, etc. But maybe you have a quirky idea like bacon day or ball point pen day you would like to celebrate. Go ahead. Just look at Ground Hogs Day as a developed event. Several towns have made it a major event.

And just as certain events have already spread into other communities, there may be no reason you can’t bring an existing idea to your business and community as well (you may want to check on any intellectual property rights).

From Day 1, as you start making plans, think about the possibility of making it a yearly event. Where will you start this year and how might you expand in the future.

If you can’t think of an event, perhaps you just want to grab one of the special days, weeks or months already acknowledged. Some examples include:

• National Ice Cream Day (third Sunday in July).
• National Cheer Up the Lonely Day (July 11^th).
• National Sneak Some Zucchini Into Your Neighbor’s Porch Day (August 8^th). Think of the contests and fun you could have with that.

And if nothing else excites you – National No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day (September 1^st). (Check out National Day Calendar (http://nationaldaycalendar.com/) for more ideas.)

Companies such as Amazon and Alibaba did this with their Amazon Prime Day (July 10^th) and National Singles Day. They didn’t even have an event but simply highlight a single day devoted to spending money in their system for some great deals. (http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-day-vs-alibaba-singles-day-2017-7). You may say you don’t have the resources for such an event but start small. You aren’t looking to do an international event the first year.

So as you plan your marketing, don’t be limited to what exists. Feel free to create new opportunities.