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By David Waxman
Here is Devynns’ marketing plan without Internet tools:
• Yellow Pages
• Few print ads in local newspaper
Here is what Devynns could do with tools available through the Internet:
• Local television advertising
• Daily/Weekly Email newsletter advertisement (i.e. Daily Candy, Splendora)
• Internet yellow pages (IYP)
The biggest challenge for Devynns’ was branding the two stores that were under a different name into one recognizable face in the local community. Nothing does that like television. The Yellow Pages or the daily newspaper usually aren’t the first places most people go to find a flower shop. Consumers head to the local store they drive by every day or go with a brand they recall seeing. Television advertising helps create this impression. In fact, the company did $80,000 worth of business in September of 2005 and $95,000 in September of 2006 with nothing else to attribute to the rise in business, other than the Spot Runner television advertisement.
Devynns’ can also place affordable ads in email newsletters like Daily Candy or Splendora to hit the younger portion of their primary demographic. Because Devynns is a seasonal business, the tools in the latter scenario allow Devynns the ability to be nimble in its advertising approach and create timely ad campaigns.
Lastly, instead of advertising in the traditional Yellow Pages, it’s best that Devynns look to online listings like Yahoo! Local and Citysearch where business owners can update information, photos and weekly offers with a few clicks of the mouse, in addition to more interaction with new and existing customers from the immediate feedback received through reviews and comments.
As consumers now have access to more sophisticated tools to get their information, local businesses can use the same tools to capture their audience’s attention in 2007. While accessing e-mail may have been the length to which many business owners utilized the Internet in the past, local businesses will need to take advantage of new online resources in the near future in order to stay competitive. How do businesses get started? Most of these tools are available on the Internet so a simple search will do the trick. You can also visit some of the links listed above. The process is easier than you think.
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