Businesses are becoming more interested in how they can reach local customers. This is something that can be done online and isn’t as difficult as you think. Many potential customers are beginning to use the internet to do local specific searches before actually doing business with anyone. People want to have a general idea of what is offered by a business before they actually decide whether or not they really want to learn more.

One great way to spread the word about your business to local customers is to have a contest for people in your local area. There are many different ways this can be done, but ultimately there needs to be a prize – a good one would be products from your business. There are also other prizes you can consider such as gift cards or cash prizes. Another popular prize seems to be gift baskets of some sort. People love variety and a gift basket is usually great because it has several different items included.

Contests are an effective way to spread the word about your business and an even better way to let potential customers know that you exist and what products you offer. Keep in mind that you would need to make some sort of formal announcement about the contest. A press release is one good way of letting people know about the contest. If you decide to use that method, just make sure your press release is well written.

Another great way to recognize your local customers and help your business grow is to get contact information. This can begin by simple marketing campaigns where people express an interest in your business and all you have to do is follow up with them. Always make sure you get contact information on anyone who inquires about your products or services so you can continue to market to them.

An addtional way for you to recognize customers and to gain attention from the local people is to sponsor a non-profit organization. This is a great example of you can help others while helping yourself. It is also a way to get advertisement free of charge.

Host a customer appreciation day and again, make sure you publish some sort of public announcement. This will draw local prospects to your business and let current customer participate as well. If your business is only an online business, you can do this by having some type of special event on the internet. You can host a webinar, for example, and have a door prize drawing at the end of the event. The webinar would of course be related to your business and products.

Give current customers a reason to come back to you and new customers a reason to try your products and/or services. One good way to do this is reward them. Reward them with items such as coupons, sales events specific to them or other incentives. Incentives are a great way to encourage both current customers and potential customers to do business with you.