Shops are closing. Empty shop windows visible for months. They are really ugly and a sign of bad times ahead. We all hate them and they give us an unpleasant shopping experience. But this also bring new opportunities. Very rarley one for small local business owner or startups. The businesses benefit from this are the big high street brands. They seem to pop up a new shop in the country every day and replace a shop where we had an independent small business trading before. One another step towards becoming one of many clone towns.
Clone towns are towns where you have the same selection of high street brands instead a healthy mix between big brands and small retailers; wherever you go you see the same shop. So it wouldn’t matter where you go.
How can this be changed? Sascha Cutura, Director of townvoucher.com, a discount voucher scheme for small, local businesses in Essex, suggests: “Small businesses need to make use of new ways of marketing. Social media and networking doesn’t break the bank and can make a big difference”.
Social media and modern marketing tools like websites are good way to promote your business. One good and effective way to spread the word about your business is networking with other businesses. To find out more about networking in your local area contact the Federation of small businesses Essex. The FSB has a list of all the networking groups in the county. Once this is is done regularly the ball starts rolling.
So how about getting more customers through your door? Nowadays people are using the Internet for finding the best offers. So the answer is: Your business needs to be in the web, too. Without doing this you will never be found when potential customers who are looking around for offers and discounts.
Get a website. Sign up to Facebook with your business, get a twitter account, create a Linkedin account and start sharing the news and chatter about your business. All for free.
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