COMMUNITY & LOCAL INFORMATION

Community information is like a magnet -- it draws locals online. People care about their communities and want to know what's going on around them. They're also looking for weather forecasts, local headlines, entertainment listings, and sporting events info. Savvy business owners recognize this and revamp their websites to include local information and real-time content, available from companies like www.moreover.com and www.yellowbrix.com. Content is #1 reason users return to websites.

INTERNET AUCTIONS

An estimated 22 million people in over 100 countries are flocking to auction sites such as Yahoo, BidBay, uBid.com and granddaddy of them all, eBay. The listing fees are a small price to pay for kind of exposure businesses can get. About 1.4 million items are up for sale every day on eBay, in every imaginable category, including services, cars, and houses. Consumers can also search by region and category at http://pages.ebay.com/regional/hub.html - "eBay Local Trading", where major cities are setup as regions. If you're selling anything at all, especially consumer products, you should definitely check out eBay.

These are some of ways consumers are using Net. For local business owners, message is clear: your customers are online...and so is your competition. How much longer can YOU afford to wait?

ONLINE NETWORKING

You’ve heard that "It’s not what you know but who you know." Nowhere is this more true than on Net. Whatever your business or interests, there are others out there just like you, networking and exchanging information. You might even be able to find a local message board where you can meet other business owners and prospects. Join in and share, and you’ll find yourself getting customers and referrals without really trying.

ASK FOR REFERRALS

Here is an easy, but often overlooked source of new business -- ask existing customers to tell their family and friends about your excellent products and services. If they’re happy with you, they’ll be glad to make referrals. But don’t expect them to think of it - remind them. And make it easy for them - put a tell-a-friend script on your website, so they can do it while they’re thinking about it. You may even want to offer some sort of reward - one local business offers $25 worth of free dry cleaning when customers refer 3 people who open an account.

E-MAIL

This is a real no-brainer. Almost everyone has an email address, and once you get it, cost of staying in touch with them is minimal. There are so many ways you can use email marketing that a slew of books, software and businesses have been developed to help you. But it all boils down to persuading your customers and prospects to give you their email address, then building trust through repeated contact.

FREE PUBLICITY

What could be better than free publicity for your business? If you can find a public interest or news angle to tie into your business, you should write a press release, including website and email address so people can get more information. Or your business can sponsor a local event or volunteer resources to charity, giving your business (and your website) valuable exposure while you give back to community. There are lots of free resources for creating press releases, and entire websites devoted to helping you get free publicity.

These are only a few of many ways you can promote your business locally. You never know how someone is going to search for a business like yours, so you should use a variety of methods to get your name out there where they can see it!

Remember, consumer is just a mouse click away from your store - but only if you’re online. And with today’s technology, targeting capabilities and options are unlimited....even if your bank balance isn’t.