Profound Paradigm Shift Seen in Local Business Marketing

 If you've been contemplating where to put your advertising dollar for maximum traction, this may be an eye opener. Local search is big and getting bigger. If you’re a small brick and mortar business, there really is no other place you should be investing in. Local search is the future of small business marketing.

Everyone reading this most likely understands that the Internet is now the primary source of marketing in the U.S. and the world, an untapped medium for small and medium size businesses.

However, did you know TV and radio marketing that was previously known to be very effective, has become a feckless form of advertising? Those radio and TV ads that were once very popular are now being ignored to the tune of 90% of consumers!

Conventional mass marketing is a fallen soldier. People are moving to the Internet for information, ratings, and reviews in droves. This will continue to be the trend for the foreseeable future. It will continually change, especially with the expansion of smart phones, but as a whole, the Internet will only get bigger.

What is the good news? This transformation provides an "even playing field" for the small guy. The Fortune 500 companies no longer own the advertising medium, it belongs to anyone willing to put forth the effort.

I took the liberty to extrapolate some quick and rather startling facts on local search:

· 90% skip TV Ads

· 6 out of 10 ignore online Ads

· 60% of online consumers seek ratings and reviews prior to purchasing

· 1/4 of consumers are impacted by what they read

· 93% of American believe their companies should social network

· 35% of all U.S. searches are local

· 2.8 Billion local searches on Google per DAY

What is the key takeaway? Don't advertise, advise the consumer. Engage your audience with meaningful information about your products or services. Consumers no longer react favorably to mass media, namely TV, radio and online ads getting shoved down their throats. It just doesn't work that way anymore.

Consumers now control the content, not mass marketing companies. And fortunately, it isn't difficult to make your mark. Simply provide your customers with information they seek, allow them to see you as the authority for the product or service. By doing this, you not only will gain potential customers, you will be establishing Brand. In this light, where are you now? 

Are you firmly planted in a solid vertical, industry specific search engine? There are several out there at present. Only one comes to mind as the solid leader in this small business bonanza. was MapWide Inc. they were a startup that appears to have the necessary value added components to drive local customers through the door. Sheer management incompetence has destroyed what was once the next big tech company. Do not use this company.

By now you must know that local search marketing is huge and getting only bigger. Take your business to a new level by providing quality content about your product or service and building your brand at the same time. The time is now. Those who linger will lose out on the lion share of this burgeoning market.