THE GEAR BOX:

How to Build a Strong Marketing Strategy for Your Septic Business

Unless you are running a massive regional or national septic business, your septic service company is a locallevel business. It's important to understand that the marketing needs of a local business are different from those of a larger business. Further, the fact that septic service is one that requires you to travel to the site of the job has further restrictions on the type of marketing you need to do.

So, we're going to take a quick but comprehensive look at what a small to medium-sized septic business needs to bridge the gap between its message and its customers.

WHAT IS A LOCAL LEVEL BUSINESS?

A local-level business is one with one or a small number of brick-and-mortar locations in a given geographic area. Good examples include your local dentist, a mom-and-pop grocery outlet, a local restaurant, a regional construction contractor, a real estate agent whose face you might see on a billboard, and so on. You get the idea.

Businesses like this need an online marketing presence because every business does. But they also need a local marketing footprint. So we're going to talk about that local marketing footprint first.

BUILDING A LOCAL-LEVEL MARKETING PRESENCE

Local-level marketing is about being a visible, known, and respected part of the community.

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It takes brick-and-mortar branding, traditional advertising, and community involvement. As a septic service company, you are exactly the type of business that needs a local marketing presence.

Brick-and-Mortar Branding

This part of local-level branding is all about the way your office and trucks look. It includes the way your team members present themselves and the uniforms they wear. The colors, patterns, and designs you use should be consistent across business cards, office fronts, uniforms, and so on. You should use the same text fonts consistently. Further, the way you interact with customers should also be consistent with your underlying brand message.

Your company should have a color/design scheme that is easily recognizable. Customers should be able to spot it at a glance.

Local Awareness

You should have local-level advertisements appearing in publications people see. You should have plaques in spots where companies make continued on page 26 charitable donations and are recognized. You should be featured in local parades, charity events, softball tournaments, charity 5K runs, and the like. You want to be seen as active and positive in and for your community.

Events and Promotions

Having local advertising partners is important. You want to be a part of events when and wherever possible. Charitable events are a great opportunity to get the local exposure you want. Donating to children's sports organizations is important. The idea is to have a similar presence to your local fire dept. After all, the best septic service companies have something of a heroic reputation in the communities they serve. That's what you're shooting for.

ESTABLISHING A LOCAL-LEVEL ONLINE MARKETING PRESENCE

Even local-level businesses need an online presence. Your local-level online marketing should mesh well with your local-level brick-and-mortar marketing.

Social Media

Local Facebook and Instagram pages are important, Facebook especially. You want people to be able to continued on page 28 easily interact with your brand and offer reviews. You need to be able to respond to public feedback on these sites, address and diffuse criticism, and readily respond to their thoughts, questions, and concerns.

Journalist Partners

Many areas have local independent journalists who do culture, product, and service reviews. Offering one of these complimentary or discounted services is a good way to get an unbiased review written up on your business. People know the difference between a good review journalist and a biased one. So choose wisely and bargain effectively for a quality partnership.

E-commerce Activity

If you sell any products online, (something worth considering), this is a wealth of marketing information that you can use to your benefit. When someone makes a purchase online, they become an instant lead for your email marketing campaign. At the end of the day, local-level marketing is easy to understand and do, because it's all about you and the physical side of your business. It isn't ephemeral like pure online marketing can be. What matters most is to make sure the people in your community can see it and to be consistent in branding and customer service. Do that, and you'll be ahead of the game.

Sources https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/local-marketing

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