What do you do when you’re looking for an electrician, birthday cake, grocery store, library or any other service? You look for it locally. Your customers are not any different. Hence, building a local presence should be an integral part of your franchisee’s overall marketing strategy.
Every franchise is given a territory that they have to serve. Once your accounting and tax franchise is up and running, the next step would be to drive business to your store. This local marketing plan will help you attract new clients while connecting with the community you will be serving.
What is Local Marketing?
Local Marketing generally refers to the set of promotion techniques that aim to position a brand or business in a specific geographic area. In other words, it is the work done for a company to stand out in the city where it is located and to attract a perfectly segmented customer base. Unlike virtual business models that can target customers anywhere in the world, this strategy is a must for practices that provide services only within a specific territory or in-person only.
At TaxAssist Accountants, we provide a local marketing plan to all our franchisees. After a lot of research and brainstorming, we have put together this detailed comprehensive plan which can be tailored and personalized according to your territory.
46% of all inquiries on Google are specifically searching local information. To target this audience, each storefront gets its own local website as well which helps in boosting their digital local presence. We want to ensure that our franchisees are visible online when people search for ‘accountants near me’ or ‘Tax preparers near me’ or any other similar related ‘near me’ term online.
While our team personally takes care of generating qualified leads for the franchisees digitally, we know how important it is for our franchisees to go out there and connect with their local community.
Benefits of Local Marketing
- Higher customer satisfaction and loyalty
Each territory is unique. Localized marketing can help you focus on the needs of your community only. You start interacting with them, networking with the right stakeholders, sponsoring events etc all while identifying the problems they are facing. Thanks to that, you will be able to develop tailored content according to the different tastes, trends, and events aligned to your locality so the information you provide will be more useful and interesting for your customers. This will help you build a base of returning customers who will start trusting you. These people will then go on to be your most credible marketing tool when they spread positive word of mouth. - Faster market penetration
One of the most exciting things about localized marketing is that you can come in direct contact with your potential customers. You will know where they hang out offline and online, the main source of information for them. This will help you be at the right place and time which otherwise will not be possible with just national marketing efforts. - Gaining referrals through other local businesses
Networking with other local businesses can increase your exposure and attract customers using their established circle. Ask local businesses to post your company’s fliers on doors or in highly trafficked areas. You can even offer a free business health check-up or any other service for free or at a discounted price every time they get you a customer. This will enable you to gain referrals and develop your local reputation. - Improves your online rankings
97% of people learn about a local business online than any other medium. Hence, it is important to geo-locate your practice on the map and let your potential clients find you easily online. This is an essential component of any local online strategy.
TaxAssist Accountants puts in continuous efforts to make sure that our franchisees are well established online within their territory. We set up their business profiles on Google, list them in online directories and also ensure that we include local search terms on the website.
Local marketing is about building strong, lasting relationships with people and groups. By establishing yourself as an accounting and tax expert while supporting the community’s needs, franchisees can create a win-win situation for everyone. If you’re looking to grow your business and reach more people in your community so that more locals know about the services you provide, local marketing is a great place to start!
If the TaxAssist Accountants opportunity appeals to you, take the next step and book a free 45-minute Discovery session with us. Contact us here for further information. We recognize that investing in a franchise is a big decision not just for you but also your family. You are welcome to invite your spouse/partner or other family members so they also become familiar with our model.