Local communication refers to all the advertising and marketing activities undertaken by a retailer.
Local communication refers to all the advertising and marketing actions undertaken by a retailer. The target of these actions is usually, but not always, within the catchment area of your outlet. Moreover, it's not uncommon for chains with a network of outlets to combine national and local communications.
To help you manage your in-store advertising campaigns, there are a number of advertising platforms that enable you to communicate quickly and efficiently across all existing advertising levers.
Local communication offers a multitude of advantages for your outlets. In particular, it generates traffic to your outlets and boosts their visibility. In effect, you're broadcasting your message directly into the catchment area of your stores, where your potential customers live.
In addition to this, communicating locally also serves to build customer loyalty. To develop your bond with future customers and prospects, it's important to be able to reach them by talking directly to them and cultivating your image of proximity.
To raise your profile locally and increase your visibility with prospects around your point of sale, there are a multitude of solutions and tools for communicating. These media can be online or offline.
First of all, when it comes to offline, or "traditional", communication, you can resort to print, with classic local signage around your point of sale and flyer distribution. Not only do you gain in visibility, but you also generate direct traffic in your stores. Although more costly, you can also use print and radio media. These offer the opportunity to reach a maximum number of customers locally in a given geographical area.
Secondly, it is possible to use online communication, in particular local referencing. With the creation of Google Profile Business business listings for your outlets, they will appear in users' local search queries.
You can also improve your website's SEO by using keywords, inbound and outbound links, and updating it regularly. Being active on social networks also enables you to target quality prospects more precisely. Signing up to directories also helps to geolocate your sales outlets locally.
There are many other types and media not listed here that you can use to communicate.
As we have seen above, there are many ways to communicate locally in the geographical area surrounding your outlet. Once the various means and media have been defined, it's time to put in place a relevant communications plan tailored to your strategy.
To do this, you first need to clearly identify the need that your local communication plan addresses. Having a defined objective enables you to measure the impact of your advertising campaign. This could be the opening of a new outlet, a sales event of some kind (e.g. a sale), or raising the profile of one of your stores.
Now that you've determined your goal, it's time to define the geographic area and target audience you wish to communicate with. Indeed, it's important to establish a perimeter within which you'll focus your message in order to optimize the chances of achieving your objective. This geographical area can correspond to your outlet's catchment area, although this is not obligatory.
Next, you need to work on the message you want to get across. It has to be adapted to your target audience. It needs to be clear enough to be understood by all your customers and prospects, but also original enough to stand out from all the other advertising out there. During your communication campaign, it will be possible to modify your message to adapt it to all situations and contexts.
Before you can launch your campaign, you'll need to work out your budget - how much you want to invest in your local campaign.
Once all these parameters have been defined, all that's left to do is choose which of the various existing communication media you're going to use to get your message across. As not all tools have the same value and reach, you need to choose the most appropriate ones between digital and paper media.
The Ramp is the #1 solution for managing local digital advertising for network retailers and FMCG brands.
By simplifying access to all digital inventory, The Ramp enables the network headquarter, or each individual outlet, to launch local campaigns in line with the brand's catchment areas, creative assets and audiences.