Small Towns, Small Businesses
I live in a small town in Vermont. There are a few restaurants, a pharmacy, a handful of gas stations, a great bookstore and the usual assortment of small businesses you might expect in a place boasting a population of about 5,000. I like the pace of life here and I like supporting the small, independently owned brick and mortar businesses that my community depends on – whether for books, a good cup of coffee or for that just-right gift from the corner boutique. I want my neighbors businesses to succeed and I want my community to thrive.
I am currently teaching a course on website marketing at the local tech center and I have a handful of students. One of those students has a well-established Vermont country store and restaurant in a nearby town (even smaller than mine). She just recently started her website and is looking to connect with and grow her base of customers beyond the locals who know and love her establishment. Her situation has gotten me thinking a lot about what kind of online strategy makes sense for these small, local businesses.
A Three Part Strategy For Small Business
- A Simple Business Card Website
- A Presence on Twitter
- A Facebook Fan Page
A Simple Business Card Website
My local boutique shop is not likely to sell their funky jewelry, unique clothing or scented candles online. They sell directly to their customers in an old-fashioned face-to-face and very human capacity. They don’t have a website. This in itself isn’t the end of the world, but if it’s getting to be near 5PM and I realize I need to pick up a gift I have to make a determined effort to find their phone number and call them to see if they are open late enough for me to drop in. As I write this post it is too late for me to actually check their hours by phone. Since they have no website I can’t actually find out the answer to this question until sometime tomorrow. If I were actually in need of knowing this information I might move onto a plan B, giving my business to someone else.
A very simple business card microsite with basic information such as hours of operation and contact information would suffice in situations like these. Coupling these business card sites with a local search placement service makes sense.
A Presence on Twitter
I admit that Twitter isn’t for everybody. It’s an odd platform to get used to, and many folks have a hard time conceiving of how they could use it to further their small business. Twitter is really more about personalities than marketing messages. The million people who follow David Pogue are following him - they are not following the New York Times (although I imagine many follow both). The point here is that as a small business owner who works in a community where you recognize the faces coming through your door and you know the names of many of them (if not all of them), Twitter provides a very simple mechanism to let them get to know you better. Twitter is about allowing your customers a glimpse into who you are as a person – to allow them a chance to broaden the sense of connection beyond a register receipt.
Some of the people I deal with remark that they have no clue what they would Tweet about. I think it just takes some practice. The folks who choose to follow you may hope to find simple messages about your business (announcing sales, etc.), but just remarking on simple things (”wow – this new CD by so-and-so we’re playing in the store is fabulous!”) is enough.
A Facebook Fan Page
The third part of the web strategy for small business involves Facebook. Fan pages on Facebook have evolved over the last couple years to become a really valuable way of connecting with your community. Fan pages are simple to set up and provide a place to post stories, links, announcements, videos and everything else you can think of relating to your business.
The real value, however, comes from that word “relating”. Because people can add themselves as Fans of your business, this becomes known to members of their social network, encouraging others to check you out. Facebook Fan pages give your business a unique opportunity to develop a voice, encourage feedback and build two-way relationships with your customers.
Small Businesses, Big Impacts
I like my small town. I like the small businesses that line the downtown and I like that I recognize so many of the faces I see – it has a big impact on my sense of well-being and my sense of belonging to a community. If you happen to run one of these small establishments know that there are many, many folks out there who would welcome having you join the social web. You might just discover that this simple three-step strategy can have a real impact on your business.
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