This article is a reprint of Wise Bread's contribution to OPEN Forum from American Express -- where small business owners can get advice from experts and share tips with each other.
The local flavor of your business is a selling point but you would like to grow your customer base without abandoning area ties or compromising your heritage. Just as offline activities can enrich your digital presence, distinctly local roots can complement your global aura.
Appearing both local and global allows your business to:
I have discovered that there are common themes among local businesses with websites that successfully combine worldly sophistication with down-to-earth accessibility. Here are the best of their approaches that serve local and global audiences equally well:
Go Deeper Locally
Emphasize your localness to enhance your global appeal. That is, explain how your geography, historical roots, area customs, and local customer base have shaped your business. Giving context to your business model demonstrates its global orientation.
So, although it may seem counterintuitive, showcasing your localness in order to promote a global perspective can make your business appealing to those outside of your immediate area. Use these techniques for illuminating your world-class personality:
Embed Global Happenings Into Your Local Offerings
Showing your awareness of world events expands your business’s reach and appeal. Specifically, taking action to address a global issue emphasizes that you understand how your day-to-day decisions affect people everywhere. But you don’t have to focus solely on weighty issues such as hunger, disease, and strife; observe national and world happenings such as new product releases, country celebrations, and national day/week/month events.
Consider these ways to give a local face to global happenings:
Offer Resources that are Useful and Entertaining to a Global Audience.
Improve the quality of your customers’ lives in some way through online resources that entertain and educate. At the same time, these resources should broaden your audience, providing more opportunities to generate sales.
Add content in one or all of these formats to help customers and showcase your expertise:
Having a local plus a global mindset is useful in articulating what differentiates your business from local competitors and companies worldwide, elevating your worth in the eyes of customers. Plus, your unique understanding of global practices and local traditions is valuable in helping nearly anyone in the world to do business with your company, quickly, easily, effectively, and profitably.
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