If you’ve got a product or service that can be delivered anywhere in the country, it only makes sense to market to that national audience. It’s simple math: the more prospects you reach, the more orders you receive. But as you’re putting together your marketing plan, you might consider allocating some extra budget to reaching out to prospects in your home state and even your city.
- Increase Referenceability
While they may spend no more than any other customer, local clients provide some additional benefits you should keep in mind. For one thing, taking the time to visit a client regularly (much easier when they’re nearby) is the best way to keep them referenceable. And references are some of the most powerful weapons in your marketing arsenal. Your happiest customers may even take the next step and become outspoken advocates for your products, actually seeking out opportunities to share the experiences they’ve had with your organization. - Keep Your Enemies Closer
Along the same lines, local customers are typically your best source of competitive intel. They tend to be more than happy to grab a cup of coffee with you and tell you about the tactics your competitor used in trying to win their business. They are also the first to know about changes in their industry that might affect your products or services.
- Testing Is Easy
Want to know how your new product features will do out in the real world? Set up some local customers as beta testers and visit them daily to get the scoop on what’s working, what’s not and why. And when you’ve worked out all the kinks and provided them with the polished, ready-for-rollout version, their testimonials can be the leading edge of your product launch. - Face-to-Face Advice
Similarly, local clients are also the perfect members for a customer advisory board. These groups don’t just work with pre-release versions of your products, they continually provide guidance on product development, service improvement… pretty much all facets of your business. Advisory board members can be anywhere, of course, and simply participate via conference call, but nothing beats face-to-face interaction. - Mark Your Territory
Finally, there’s strength in numbers. The last thing you want is for one or more of your competitors to have a significant presence in the city where you have your headquarters. It just looks (and feels) bad, and portrays you as vulnerable to your prospects. You want your city, and state if possible, to be a stronghold for your products and services.
 |
 |
So, as you gaze far afield at all the opportunities out there, don’t forget to spend some time nurturing the opportunities in your own backyard. The extra time and effort involved in courting local prospects will pay off many times over down the road.
Do you have story about how proximity to your client was positive or negative? Leave us a comment below.