Local markets have specific marketing needs that are unique to them alone. This can be exhilarating for a marketer, there are many challenges to overcome,
such as:
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Understanding customer behavior in a given local market.
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Determining KPIs and measuring ROI for various locations.
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Building brand awareness at the local level.
But if you’re overseeing dozens—or hundreds!—of local markets, the task of customizing your marketing for each one can be extremely daunting. So, what can you do to increase your chances of successfully implementing a multi-location marketing strategy?
This topic is discussed at length in episode 2 of The Multi-Location Marketing Show, but here are two critical steps you can take to start.
A useful exercise for marketing professionals is to imagine themselves working at various locations around the country. We call this a local marketing mindset. This type of “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes” approach will help you see the various location-specific marketing needs of your representatives in a multi-location business. Think If you think to yourself, “I’m in Denver.” Or, “I’m in San Antonio.” Or, “I’m in Indianapolis.” Then you’ll be in the proper headspace to figure out the ideal local marketing program for each of those specific locations.
If you start seeing your locations not only from your perspective but from the perspectives of those who actually live and work there, local marketing becomes more effective.
At some point it’s important to connect with your colleagues doing the hard work in the locations themselves. You’ll want to start by reaching out to the main decision-makers in each location.
This does not mean sending a one-time email that BCC’s 100 of your location managers. You won’t get quality responses that way.
You need to get personal. You need to seek advice on what is relevant to that location. The best results will come from reaching out to each of them individually to understand what their local marketing challenges are. You’ll need to gather information by asking specific questions such as:
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What is it about your location that is different from others in our company?
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Are there other local names for your city, location, region, or market area?
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What region-specific offers, coupons, contests, and promotions do you and your team do?
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How can I help you with your local website?
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What local search terms are important for you (but not necessarily other locations)?
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What local profiles and local reviews (on Yelp, Google Maps, Yellow Pages, etc.) are helping or harming your business?
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What’s the appropriate radius location targeting we should be doing in Google Ads?
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What local Facebook ads are your local competitors running?
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Are there any local hashtags that are relevant to your location?
Effective local marketing strategies don’t just happen. In fact, many marketing professionals reach out to me and my team because their companies have failed. Having even the best of intentions isn’t always enough to capture the local marketing perspective necessary for success. That’s why they come to us.
If you’re interested in learning more about multi-location marketing, check out MarketSnare’s new podcast. In it, along with my co-host Elliot Olson, we talk about how to empower marketers to efficiently scale local marketing programs across many locations through unique centralized tools and services designed for multi-location businesses.