Where do you begin?

Many keys to successful local store marketing are necessary to achieve your overall sales goals, but planning is the first step. To plan your Local Store Marketing efforts, you need a firm understanding of the types of current as well as potential customers within your trade area.

Don't confuse your trade area with your delivery area (if you have one). Your delivery area is the physical area that you service delivery customers. Your trade area consists of the entire area that you service all customers. Therefore, your trade area probably exceeds your delivery if you think about it.

Just as you take inventory of your food, take inventory of your customers. We sometimes fall into the mindset that there are X amount of customers in our trade area, and that's it. But if you really think about your trade area, your customer base changes daily. Customers move in to your area, customers move out. What about that group of potential customers that only work in your trade area? Or what about that group of potential customers that visit your area during sporting events or during shopping activities? Fathom the number of potential customers that are working or visiting your trade area daily! That number is staggering.

Again, targeting potential clients with advertising may achieve short-term results, but to build your customer base and sales, you need to look at the long-term trade area potential. With local store marketing, you can create and establish long-term business relationships with your customers.

In Part II, we'll show you how to identify all potential customers, and determine how to re-analyze your trade area for greater sales results.