Local businesses face stiff completion from bigger businesses both in the real world and online. Yet there is an edge that smaller local businesses can avail of in terms of location-based marketing. Here we show you how to undercut bigger businesses from poaching sales that local businesses can make.
Most, but not all, bigger businesses (BB) are based in city-center locations or within shopping centers whereas smaller local businesses (LB) are often situated in towns and main streets in and around residential areas. Using their websites, LB can appeal to potential customers by saving them the physical trip to BB locations by fulfilling their needs locally. In tandem with this in an online shopping format, LB can also relay the advantage of faster shipping and delivery times as there are based nearer to their customers.
Compare Stock Levels to BB Competitors
A clever way that LB can undercut their BB competitors is by highlighting what each business has in stock. If both businesses sell the same stock but the BB is out of a particular item that the LB does have in stock, highlighting this online can save people a physical trip to the BB location. But BB is hardly going to advertise that their LB competitor has the item in stock, so LB has to do this themselves. For the LB, researching BB stock levels and transcribing these on your website shows your visitors to stick with LB in this instance. If you can at least match (ideally beat) the BB in price, you make a very attractive argument for local people to shop in your business. Ethically this should be done as fair as possible a manner. Instead of outright gloating or name-checking BB names, a price and stock comparison guide and text along the lines of “save yourself the trip . . .” can suffice.
Have Faster Shipping and Delivery Times than BB
The above point is completely scuppered by online shopping (as BB stock may differ in-store and online) and so LB needs to highlight their location here too. By being based closer to local shoppers, LB should be able to offer expedited and cheaper delivery times and costs as the posted goods do not have to travel far. Highlight this on your website as yet another positive attribute of local shopping, even when online shopping. The promise of the item(s) that someone is looking to buy arriving at them quicker and possibly cheaper than if bought from a BB is an enticing one that can help to sway shoppers in your favor.
