Today’s landscape looks very different than a decade ago.
For so many entrepreneurs and small business owners, your biggest competition is no longer the other businesses who are similar to you.
It’s the Internet and it’s unstoppable.
Did you know that 88% of people who Google a local business will show up or interact with them in the next 24 hours?
Magic happens when you’re local to someone — it compels them to take action so much faster.
That means today not only do you need to stand out in a loud, crowded online space, but you also need to be known locally — because those buyers, when you connect with them, move so much faster, which will scale your business quick.
Today I want to get you all jazzed about what local marketing can do for your business.
And let me be very clear.
Local marketing is for *almost* every single business owner.
Especially the ones who listen to this podcast and that I work with. I personally have not met someone who wouldn’t win with local marketing, but I do know there are some business exceptions out there.
This is for if you live in a town and you only sell in that area — like a local business or brick and mortar.
Or if you are an online business and have never made it work or even tried local marketing.
1. Nearly 46% of all Google searches are seeking local information.
This means that nearly half the world is looking for someone near them! This is amazing news for people who can be found locally. That’s you, by the way. 🙂
2. “Near me” or “close by” type searches grew by more than 900% over two years.
YES. This is me. I let Google add this all the time to my searches. Why? Because we often feel we can trust something near us. Especially if we want to know if it exists or not.
Plus, we’re lazy. And we don’t want to go too far from our home or place of work.
3. 72% of consumers that did a local search visited a store within five miles.
This proves my point above. Your people are right around you in a very small radius. That means part of your local marketing strategy in 2020 should be getting to know your neighbors and community, well.
4. 50% of small businesses don’t have a website.
This one KILLS me. Absolutely. I spent many years, and actually do still build websites here and there for clients some, building sites and making over ugly ones.
That was over a decade ago.
And there are STILL people without websites.
I don’t care who you are or what you do.
Websites are crazy cheap to create your own. If nothing else put up a landing page with info and link to contact you and download a coupon code.
Of course, I would recommend working with a designer and marketer who can help you make a killer site that actually converts, but that’s level 2.
5. 61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site.
This is a big ouch I see right now with most businesses. We KNOW we need to be mobile-friendly. We just don’t know how. Even big names and brands get this wrong still.
I *almost* would say to design for mobile before desktop — just because of how our world is searching, but that really depends on what your Google Analytics is telling you about where your website traffic is coming from.
And if you didn’t know it could do that, we need to chat. Actually, let’s make that an episode here soon.
6. Search result information will send 70% of consumers to a physical store
This is amazing news for local brick and mortar businesses. And I use this term a lot. If you aren’t sure what I mean, I mean small businesses with a physical location.
You’ve already heard me tell you how many people are looking locally. The good news is that they’ll also travel to you and come to your store.
7. 92% of searchers will pick businesses on the first page of local search results.
This is where SEO comes into play. Yes, it’s that tricky backend side of marketing and tech wizardry that has us all scratching our heads and sometimes crying in a corner. This should be another episode to do soon.
We DO like to pick from the first page. I know that first hand. The good news is there are ways to help you get there (or you can do AdWords too!)
8. Almost 71% of small businesses do all of their own marketing in-house.
But, according to Forbes, the small businesses that are happiest with their marketing performance hired outside agencies to handle it for them.
I just wanted to include this stat because it made me happy. I’m just surprised that 71% isn’t higher on how many businesses try to do all their marketing alone! Bottom line is, get some help, hint hint.
To help you really figure out what works and what doesn’t so you’re not wasting dollars and scaring yourself about how to grow.
9. 80% of small businesses don’t utilize content marketing.
I’ve seen this one be true because especially when I’m auditing local businesses even in my own downtown, I ask what are you putting out into the world about what you do and they give me blank looks.
It’s never even crossed their mind to feature a product each week, or go live in front of their store, or talk about what they do in their community and share it on their Facebook page.
We’ve got to change this — because we are consumers — especially of content, and definitely of video.
10. Less than 30% of small businesses use website analytics, call tracking or coupon codes. And without knowing what’s working, it’s hard to craft a smart marketing plan.
The geek in me is crying. But I also think this is why so many people think marketing doesn’t work for them. It’s because they have no idea what’ working or even what to watch to know. There are lots of episodes about marketing metrics in here. And if nothing else, shoot me an email because I promise I can tell you the exact metrics to start watching to know when to stop doing something or whether to invest more into it.
11. 63.6 percent of consumers say they’re likely to check Google reviews before visiting a business.
Ah, the power of reviews. They really, really, really do work. And for good reason. So please make sure you’re capturing them if you are LOCAL! (and always, but especially local) because they help how you show up in searches, they affect Google My Business and people will click on you over others if you have ratings.
12. The 4.2 -4.5 range even beats out a perfect 5 stars.
DO you believe this one? I do. I think there’s a psychology behind it, although I don’t know for sure.
But I imagine the reason people go for less than perfect stars is that it feels more believable and they imagine there will be someone unhappy, but that it should be very, very small.
If you can’t tell by my energy level, this is exciting news. These are facts about who we are as a culture and how we find, relate and search out businesses around you, and I hope it lights a fire under you to make sure you figure out a local marketing plan in 2020.
If you want a guide that walks you through how to do just that, go to askmallory.com right this second and download my guide on
How to Build a Local Client Base & Show Up As the Local Go-To Expert, (Even if You Have an Online Business, No Idea Where to Start or A Lot of Local Competition)
About Marketing Magic:
The Marketing Magic podcast is where women entrepreneurs trying to do all the things come to get inspiration, business strategy, and on-air coaching on how to get their business noticed and growing. If you have a business that people need to know about in order for it to grow, you’re in the right place. This is the place to uncomplicate your marketing. Be sure to listen, subscribe, and leave a review! Join the conversation of other unapologetically successful women in her Facebook community, The #girlboss Club.
