My columns are focused on providing advice and tricks for small businesses. While the audience of the Manchester InkLink is, quite obviously, Manchester, you will never see me refer to any of the businesses I am talking to or about as local. I do not believe there are any local businesses anymore.
Now of course there are businesses that are located locally and whose primary customer base is people within that community. These businesses, especially restaurants, entertainment venues and cafes, should prioritize offering a one-of-a-kind experience for those paying customers who walk through their doors.
However, if, as a business, you only think of yourself as servicing your local audience then you are missing a huge opportunity. The Internet has made the world flat and given people access to products and services anywhere at anytime.
Manchester-based Dyn (a company with customers all around the world) put out a survey last year that found more than two-thirds (67 percent) of global consumers use online retailers to shop internationally. Think about that. People aren’t worried about geo-political borders. They want to buy the best goods and services wherever they come from.
That means that you could be ignoring an entire customer base out there that is just waiting for you. Of course, this is much more obvious when you’re selling a tangible product, like a sneaker or a mobile app. A funny example of this is Baywatch star David Hasselhoff. Besides being an actor, Hasselhoff fancied himself a musician. So he made an album. It didn’t sell well in the United States. But it was popular in Germany. He probably didn’t plan this. He probably didn’t understand it. But things resonate differently in different places so be open to the opportunity.
Now you may think that your particular type of business IS local. If you’re a restaurant, for example, why would someone a state away care about you? It is a good question but there is a good answer too. In this era of competition, you have to be the best at something. Even if you’re a restaurant on Elm Street there is probably something better you do than anyone else. It is what separates you from the pack and entices a hungry diner to walk through your doors. If you’re able to entice the people of Manchester, why couldn’t you do the same to people elsewhere?
Companies are already doing this very successfully. If you found yourself at the Kennebunk Farmers Market in Maine this past summer you may have come across Casco Bay Butter. When you saw Alicia and Jennell sitting at their booth, you might have thought, “this is a nice local operation.” But you would have been thinking too small. Luckily for them, Alicia and Jennell were not. In addition to those Farmers Markets, they use their website to sell their butter online. When you go to a fancy restaurant here in Manchester, you are most likely using Casco Bay Butter. That local business has growing into a booming regional enterprise.
So the point of all of this is very simple. Consumers are savvier than ever and they’re looking for the best products out there. You are already in the business of making the best for your local customers. Now you should make that available to people outside your community.
You can do that by building an attractive and simple website with an ecommerce store so that people can easily purchase those products. This does not have to be complicated. You do not need to build anything from scratch. There are vendors out there that can seamlessly spin all of this up for a very reasonable price. But it is worth it. Opening your business to markets is the surest way to continue growing. And trust me, at this moment, you’re not a local business, you’re a small business with the potential to become much larger.
