This one is a simple idea that came up when I was visiting Cathlamet, Washington, population 553: Post your local hashtag where visitors will see it. The Cathlamet Chamber of Commerce does an awesome local photo contest. Most of the photo submissions come from locals. They use these on their annual events calendar and other…
The Celebrity CEO by Ramon Ray Summary: Community building in a way small town entrepreneurs can identify with. Good section on tools, and lots of timeless techniques. The title sounds a bit grandiose to small town ears, but the way Ramon Ray talks about building community will sound very familiar. You are the face of…
You probably know better than to follow up with someone like this: “Just following up!” You realize that doesn’t really help either of you. But you still might be making this mistake: “Did you do that thing you said you were going to do?” That feels like it’s helping, but from the customer perspective, it’s…
Every small town has some empty windows downtown. Some are empty buildings, some are buildings being used for storage, and some are service businesses that just don’t have a lot to put in their windows. Here are three ideas I saw on my trip through Cowlitz County, Washington. Make a mini-museum. Work with the local…
A few weeks ago, we talked about knowing your customers in order to help them answer questions they get asked. This week, get to know your customers better by thinking through what they want to be good at. What do your customers want to be good at? You help customers all the time. The…
About sunrise on Thursday, November 16, 2017, there was report of strong smell of petroleum and a potential oil leak along the TransCanada pipeline that runs through Marshall County, South Dakota. The leak was identified by a farmer 10 miles west and north of Langford (where I live) and approximately 10 miles from Britton. By…
You do some events that are open to the public, right? Here’s the tip to get more locals to attend. When you hold an event that is open to the public, put up a sign that says, “Open to everyone! Come on in!” Of course you know it’s open to the public, and of…
You know I’m a big fan of answering customer questions. That’s been part of my marketing advice for 10 years now. Should I blog for my small business? Yes, answer customer questions Talk less about you, more about them Top small business blogging questions answered But there’s a deeper layer to serving your customers….
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