Service-based businesses are critically important in small towns. But downtown retail businesses get a lot more attention in rural revitalization discussions. Since my background includes a lot of work in rural service businesses, I’ve written about service businesses here at Small Biz Survival. Add that to contributions by our many guest authors, and we’ve built…
Jerry Miles, BookFeller.com, wrote in with a great question about making the most of the customers who visit his retail store. I want to be able to sell online products in my bricks-and-mortar store, whether physical or affiliate. In other words, I’d like to sell items listed on Amazon, eBay, etsy, etc., in my store…
Have a local business that wants to sell online? Focus first on the existing customers. That’s one of the lessons with Rural OmniLocal. This article is adapted from an interview I did with Bob Dunn. Hear the whole interview or read the transcript at BobWP.com Every independent business has customers right now who visit them…
Rural OmniLocal. It’s the new buzzword. I know because I made it up. It means small town retailers using multiple channels to reach their customers. This article is an excerpt from an interview with Bob Dunn. Hear the whole interview or read the transcript at BobWP.com In the world of big retail companies, “omni…
In a recent conference call by the Orton Family Foundation, one of the listeners asked a great practical question: What are 3 actions most effective at starting a local company? —Jay B., KS My answer was: Try 3 small scale tests. That’s how you’ll build knowledge of what works, build an initial following…
One of your fellow readers wrote in to ask what franchises and chain restaurants know how to survive in small towns. His town with a population under 2,000 had a franchise pizza restaurant. The franchisee lived not only out of town, but actually out of state, really making ties to the community thin. Blaming the poor economy,…
There is overwhelming evidence that the key to getting consumers’ attention today is to change the world and let them know about it. The Lempert Report says, “More and more, individuals are seeing themselves as playing a critical role in driving positive change, consumers truly believe they can change the world, every day, with the…
Small town store owners, does any of this sound familiar? “I feel bad when customers tell me they can’t come during my hours. We have had a couple successful events in the evenings that brought customers in, but most attempts have been a bust. A shop I follow on Facebook recently tried for a…
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