Marketing to locals

[marketingva]

Hi All~

For the life of me I keep freaking out when it comes to marketing to local business owners...anyone else go through this? If so, what did you chose to do: did you work through your fear and go for it or did you stop trying?

Do you have any suggestions or encouragement for me?

Thanks All!

[Your Virtual Wizard]

Hi,

I don't know your name so I can't address you properly.

I rarely, if ever, market locally simply because they expect me to meet them in person and in some cases expect me to come to their location to work. I bill for everything so it is not a problem financially to do so but it really has eaten into my time. I much prefer to market nationally and not concentrate on local markets.

With that said, I met today with a local real estate developer only because 1) I needed to see the site I would be promoting and 2) to meet a handful of people I would be doing social media for...which could be beneficial for referral business.

So I made an exception and it was well-worth my time.

I found this client through a Careerbuilder ad that I had set up an alert for in my local area eons ago but never bothered to cancel when I opened my VA biz. The local job looked interesting and I managed to turn the job from an employee position into a VA position.

But I didn't actually set out to market locally. The ad came into my Inbox and I grabbed it and wrote a custom cover letter instead of a resume, which only employees need to send, as you know.

So that's my local marketing story. I have had people call me who were local and they were a waste of time not because being local was the problem but because they were not my ideal client.

So if you are going to market local, just make sure you have a plan how you are going to handle those who will want to 'see' you. But more importantly, make sure they are your targeted audience because then it doesn't matter if they are local or not.

I will add that marketing locally means you will speak to local folks...a given...and the upside to that IMO is that the ICE gets broken earlier in the conversation simply because there are more familiar things to talk about. So that is nice and there is an immediate connection during the calls.

Janine

[bridiej]

I've tried some direct marketing to my local market but otherwise nothing.... yet.

I do intend to join our local Chamber of Commerce later this year, not only to grow my business but also to get out and meet people as I work from home alone.

You could try joining some local LinkedIn groups as a starting point and see where that takes you.

[eXPERT Business Support]

Most of the projects I have worked on have been for local clients, which I have obtained through networking, volunteering, and through referrals.

But here's an idea: When I opened my business bank account, the bank offered me the opportunity to create a display (for an entire month!) for their front lobby to promote my business. My turn isn't until August, but I have been working on ideas for my display -- and I really think this could generate a lot of business.

Since you have a little shy side when it comes to marketing yourself in person, something like this could speak volumes for you. I'm planning on making the most of my display month. Check with your local branch; they might like the idea of helping small business owners in this way too.

[The Perfect Word]

I've been a transcription business for 15 years with almost all local clients. I have never had to physically go to a company to meet with them. How do you advertise?

Way back then my first several clients were obtained through my business cards on a grocery store bulletin board (free). Other clients through yellow page advertising. Now I get local clients through my YP advertising (#1 way), referrals, and I'm starting to get some through Google searches.

I've never gone to a company to market my business. Some of my company contacts I've met with AFTER they've hired me over the phone; some I've met by chance when I go to their office to pick up tapes; some I've never met (especially now that most transcription is handled electronically). And except for a couple of recently new clients, all are local. And many are companies I've worked with weekly for eight years or more.

I've been very blessed that I've never had market by seeking out companies, but that referrals and advertising have brought in all the work I need, a more passive approach I much prefer! So in answer to your question, I have chosen to just advertise only, not network, etc. If I was just starting out now rather than being established, I'm not sure, but I'd probably handle it the same way. Networking and meeting with companies to sell myself--which is essentially what we're doing--is something that terrifies me, so I'll only do it as a last resort!
.

[alcbiz]

I have given working with local companies a lot of thought, but I'm not sure I'm interested. But, I'm still trying to decide who my ideal client is.

I use to do projects for college students (my town has three universities), and then I just stopped. I made a nice amount of money. I have thought of attempting to get back into that line of work. Because so many people are now able to do their own typing or word processing projects, it might not be as profitable as it was at one time.

We have just a handful of secretarial services, even fewer typing services, that I wonder if having local clients here would be profitable or worth the effort.

[marketingva]

Thank you so much for all of the ideas and encouragement! It seems that there isn't one simple way of marketing our VA businesses, but it really just depends on each VA as a person and what our specialties are.

I'm working on a professional 'Intro' letter and will be very targeted to who I send them to, starting with the local BNI members that I met last week. It was my first live networking event and I would seriously consider joining ...but that will take some extra $$ because its pretty pricey!

I hope you each find success on your journey as a VA!

To Your Success!
Stephanie Fish, Buckeye V.A.

[NicoleA]

I saw someone last year advertising in a local coupon envelope "Val Pak" kind of thing. Wonder if it worked? I know it was probably VERY expensive though!

[eSupport Business Solutions]

One of my niches is selling promotional videos for online advertising (like LinkedIn, Facebook, on websites, etc.) so I did one for my business. Not only is the VA video selling people on my VA business, but also on my promo video services as well. Here's the video I did for my business: http://youtu.be/Se41GyKSAlA

[The Perfect Word]

Wow, eSupport, that is a fantastic video!!