Tomah Chamber & Visitors Center Newsletter October 2019 Newsletter

CHAMBER
Chatter
Monthly Newsletter Oct 2019
Advantages that small business
has over the “big boxes”...
Some days it feels hard to compete with the loss leaders big
box stores employ, the operating hours they’re able to keep, the
programs, their ad budget, their marketing…the list goes on. But
small businesses do have an advantage box stores don’t and it’s
one that’s rarely used.
Small businesses have a community connection. Shopping local
is very vogue right now. If a small business employs digital media
to increase that local following, they can compete with businesses
whose total ad budgets alone dwarf the small business’ annual
revenue. Small businesses can easily build a tribe on digital media
and all it takes is time. Here’s why many big businesses can’t
compete with smaller ones on social media.
Big Marketing Has Many Levels
Yes, big businesses can employ 15 social media gurus in one
geographic area, while small businesses are often stuck posting
between customers, but with big operations come big sign-offs.
There are often rules, protocols, and procedures that need to be
adhered to in a large organization. Marketing initiatives come
from headquarters and issues are handled by them as well, often
causing some delay in response. They don’t have the local flair of
a small business.
Corporate Marketing Happens Elsewhere
Often social media opps are run out of locations away from
your town’s branch store. This means the team which is posting
amazing content will miss out on the finer points of what it’s like
to live in your area. If you’re a small business using social media,
you’ll want to capitalize on this point. Use your time on social
media capturing the uniqueness of your town and its residents.
It’s a great way to shine and big business simply can’t compete.
Their Content Marketers are not Experts in Local
Information
Many big businesses have adopted content marketing. They have
the money and resources to do it very effectively but just like their
inventory selection has to be based on nationwide timelines so
does their social media. Box stores are going to provide a lot of
content that will be effective for most of their customers. If they
targeted content geographically, they’d run the risk of spreading
themselves too thin and watering down their ROI.
Small businesses have multiple advantages over big business when
it comes to social media. They can build very tight relationships
with their neighbors through publishing much more targeted,
effective content and allowing their personalities to show through
on social media. The only thing left, is to find the time to do so.
Source: Christina Green, Marketing-Content-Storytelling
From left: The Break Room, locally owned by Chad Madson;
Write Like That, locally owned by Marci Cox ; Don’s Plumbing
and Appliance Showroom, family and locally owned by Kieth
Schedler; Stars Boutique, locally owned by Tracy Lambert.