Some 55% of adults say they get news and information about local restaurants, bars, and clubs. When they seek such information, here are the sources they say they rely on most:

51% turn to the internet, including:

• search engines – 38% rely on them
• specialty websites – 17% rely on them
• social media – 3% rely on social networking sites or Twitter1

If you own a small business, particularly an eating establishment, you need to be utilizing local online marketing to make sure search engines find your business. We can help! Call us at (909)689-4043 Ext.525

Pritzer Media is proud to partner with Joel Greene and the Inland Empire Explorer Team. We are now primed to bring residents great TV programming and local business owners top quality Inland Empire Marketing.

Why TV? Because it makes sense and because we are true believers in video marketing. By combining television programming with local online video marketing, new marketing opportunities open up for our clients. Our goal is to provide business owners with the highest possible ROI and now, we know we have a platform that no other company in the country can offer to small businesses.

To learn more go to the Inland Empire Explorer Page

It is staggering how many small business owners refuse to adopt this “new” medium. I only put new in quotes because this is the mentality of the majority of the businesses I speak every day. Are you one of these thinkers? Does local online marketing see\m like one of those things where you simply do not know where to begin? Not to worry, there is hope for you yet.

Think of local online marketing as the digital yellow pages. Back aabout a decade ago (maybe more) if someone was looking for a dentist in their city, they would simply pull out the huge book and open it up to the dentist section and typically call the first few dentists on the page. Search engines work the same way (minues the bulky book), they search for the listings closest to you. the difference is that the free listings are called “organic results and the paid listings are called…paid listings. I will get into details on the difference between each in a different post.

That is what local online marketing is. The ability for your business to be found when someone is looking for your services in your local market. If you have the time to learn the ins and outs about search engine algorithms or you can hire a marketing comapny like Pritzer to help you achieve local online marekting results.

When talking to potential new customers, I find that the majority of them are happy doing business the good old fashioned way. Mainly, because the online process seems too complex. It is my job as an online marketing expert to simplify the process and make it easy to understand and even easier to implement an effective online marketing campaign.

If you own a small business, conduct a search for your business keyword. An example would be business type in city or business type, city. If you are an auto mechanic in the city of Rancho Cucamonga for instance, you would search like this: auto mechanic in Rancho Cucamonga or auto mechanic, Rancho Cucamonga. This is how most people search for a local business online. The search term may vary slightly but the main keywords being used will more than likely be the business type and the location they want product or service.

If you are showing up under various combinations of keywords, congratulations. The odds are that your business is probably not there and that is a bad thing. The good news is that it can be fixed. You can roll up your sleeves and learn the ins and outs of online marketing and dive right in. Or, you can hire a marketing company like Pritzer to manage everything for you.

Local search is very important but for most, very easy to ignore. Stop ignoring local search and be proactive in making sure that you reach local customers when they are looking for your products or services.

Ending a campaign too soon
Too many small business owners pull the plug on a campaign before it has a chance to perform.

Not having a plan of action
I didn’t list these in any particular order but if I had to pick one reason, not having a plan would be number one.

Not enough research and then picking the wrong medium
This goes hand in hand with not having a plan. Research will save you a lot of money, headaches and sleepless nights.

Not knowing your target customers
Who is your client? Is it a man or a woman? Are your clients young, old or a mix? Where does your client live? Is it a family or a single person? Not knowing your client will make it difficult to determine what type of marketing will work for you. Define your client and then go after him , her or them.

Unrealistic expectations
Expecting that direct mail piece or commercial to make or break your year? Be ready to be let down. Set the right expectations for each marketing campaign and monitor your returns closely.

Thinking that it’s going to be easy
“Here’s what we’ll do, we’ll set up a landing page and throw some money at Adwords”. It doesn’t quite work that way. Any successful marketing campaign takes work. From concept and delivery to managing the response, it requires time and effort.

Not using media (or technology) to the fullest
I base this mainly on the Internet, not utilizing the Internet to the fullest but it really lends itself to any medium.

Putting all eggs in one basket (no media mix)
Many business owners make the mistake of putting their entire budget into a specific media. Like most things in life, that is a big mistake. Spreading your marketing and advertising will help you keep your ROI balanced.

Boring and uninteresting advertising
Seek to stand out without distracting from your main message – be interesting

Learn from the mistakes of others and go out and market yourself successfully.

Read Here

Think of how you would search for a local mechanic. What search terms would you use? You would probably use a combination of the search terms mechanic, city or zip. This is what the search engines look for.Having a website with content that is only relevant to what you do and not where you do it  is a missed opportunity.

Let me give you an example, Pritzer is a firm based in southern California. We cater to clients looking for online marketing in the Inland Empire but we have clients throughout the country who hire us as their marketing experts. Making sure that I mention these facts on this post are very important to potential search results so I added them. You should do the same thing when blogging or simply when updating your website. Make sure to not only mention what you do but also where you do what you do.

As a young and competitive sales rep, I wanted to ignore the comment and go back to my office and boast about my 4 sales on that day. I was at the door to leave with check in briefcase when I turned around and walked up to his counter. I asked him to explain his reasoning and to tell me how this had helped him up to this time. He went on to tell me that in his 6 months in business this was a strategy he had implemented and one he knew would pay off in the long run.

In the best way I knew how at the time, I explained the importance of being consistent when marketing. We didn’t see eye to eye on the matter. I returned his check and cancelled the agreement on the spot. A few months passed and I was prospecting in the same area so I decided to make a stop by his store. He was out of business.

I don’t know all of the reasons why his business failed but I do know that his “marketing” plan was horrible. I am certain if he ran his business the way he ran his marketing, the shop was doomed from the day the doors opened.

Regardless of what we are selling, beepers or mortgages, a “One Time” mentality is not good in marketing. It is better to save your money than to try something once and hope it pas off. Consistency is a crucial part of establishing a winning marketing strategy.