|
|
 |
The Natural Sales Strength
Of the Local Community Newspaper:
Revive that tired cliché, “Location, location, location...”
Proximity is easily one of the strongest elements a local newspaper has to sell, but one that often gets lost in the shuffle of other market conditions.
For a local business proximity/location is almost everything. People pass the store, see cars parked and people entering and leaving. Signs or storyboards attract attention, sending further signals and information that activity can help validate a bussiness.
Proximity also offers credibility. The store or business is part of the community, the reader is part of the community. That’s a bond. The store isn’t going anywhere, it’s been there for a long time. The store is stable and reliable. Constant advertising sends that message.
Proximity helps lower the decision-making bar. It’s not hard work to do business locally. Consumers don’t have to invest a lot of time, make a long drive or fight traffic. The store is convenient, easy to do business with. It wins a good part of the battle for the consumer’s mind just by being easy.
Business should concentrate on telling their story to this local audience, but many neglect it. Some will opt for a larger audience farther away, some will wrongly assume everyone knows, “I’m here.”
Sales reps need to emphasize the value of local advertising and the importance of proximity. People might drive across town to save two dollars on a pizza, but they’re not likely to drive 20 miles unless it’s an exceptional pizza. Advise accounts to concentrate on doing business with the people who find it easiest to do business with them, the people who live or work nearby. That should start at the front door, not 25 miles away. They should understand that 5,000 local copies could be a whole lot more valuable than 100,000 spread all over the county.
It’s a hungry farmer who spreads his seeds to the wind but a wise one who works his land and concentrates on a quality harvest. Just like advertising.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
