Skip to content
  • Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • SaveYour.Town
Small Biz Survival

Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource

Small town main street
  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS
Small Biz Survival

The small town and rural business resource
  • Two people are pointing to features on a brick building in a small town downtown
    economic development | entrepreneurship | marketing | mistakes | rural

    Seasonal businesses: post signs year-round

    ByBecky McCray April 22, 2024

    Marketing tip: keep signs up year-round even if you’re a seasonal business. When I toured several small towns in Washington and Idaho with the Inland Northwest Partners, I noticed many part-time and seasonal businesses did not have signs up during their off season. In the town of Deary, Idaho, (population 500) there is a wine…

    Read More Seasonal businesses: post signs year-roundContinue

  • Trade show booth design trend: hand drawn visuals
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural

    Trade show booth design trend: hand drawn visuals

    ByBecky McCray March 21, 2022March 25, 2022

    At the recent National Rural Electric Cooperative Association PowerXchange Expo, I noticed one booth that really stood out. In fact, it was so good, people stopped to take pictures of the booth displays. (When was the last time someone took a picture of your booth display?) What made this booth stand out? Hand drawn visuals….

    Read More Trade show booth design trend: hand drawn visualsContinue

  • Logo with "Shop Indie Local"
    entrepreneurship | marketing | rural | shop local

    Shop Indie Local adds a new twist to tired Buy Local campaigns

    ByBecky McCray November 11, 2019

      Shop Indie Local summary: Shop Indie Local campaign website This campaign’s advantage:  Usable year round, adaptable to local events and needs, not just a single day “Indie” message is resonating well right now, better than plain “local” campaigns Share the right message: People already think they want to shop local, just need a timely…

    Read More Shop Indie Local adds a new twist to tired Buy Local campaignsContinue

  • marketing | rural | Small Biz 100 | success

    Balance Your Marketing Presence

    ByGlenn Muske February 28, 2018February 26, 2018

    To many business owners, marketing feels like a numbers game. Too little and no one knows you exist. Too much and your potential customer feels bombarded. So business owners are forced to look for balance in their marketing. Yet balance is not something that can be readily achieved. It begins with knowing your customer base….

    Read More Balance Your Marketing PresenceContinue

  • marketing | rural | Small Biz 100 | success

    Effective Marketing

    ByGlenn Muske August 16, 2017August 7, 2017

    I am not a regular television watcher but happened to catch a “60 Minutes” episode recently (http://tinyurl.com/60Minutes-socialmedia). The episode focused on how influencers are marketing using social media. Although I follow and use several social media platforms to help reach small-business owners, most of this information was new to me. But it was not surprising….

    Read More Effective MarketingContinue

  • Small Biz 100 | success

    Customer Service and Marketing

    ByGlenn Muske August 2, 2017July 26, 2017

    A Business Truth –There is no need to market if your small business does not offer great customer service? And by customer service, I am not just talking about a good return policy. Customer service starts in the pre-purchase decision making effort through purchase and then right on to use, today, tomorrow and for the…

    Read More Customer Service and MarketingContinue

  • marketing | rural | Small Biz 100

    Small Business Marketing: Start Your Own Holiday

    ByGlenn Muske July 26, 2017July 19, 2017

    If you have followed this blog, my colleague, Becky McCray, has provided lots of ideas for building communities and the small businesses in those areas. Her blogs have suggested things such as Pop-ups – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2014/03/what-is-a-pop-up-business.html Shared spaces – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2017/04/small-town-retail-trend-shared-spaces.html Tiny businesses – https://smallbizsurvival.com/2017/03/tiny-businesses-in-storage-sheds-a-rural-economic-development-tool.html I am adding another thought to this list by suggesting that a business or…

    Read More Small Business Marketing: Start Your Own HolidayContinue

Howdy!

Glad you dropped in to the rural and small town business blog, established in 2006.

We want you to feel at home, so please take our guided tour.

Meet our authors on the About page.

Have something to say? You can give us a holler on the contact form.

Want to search our past articles? Catch up with the latest stories? Browse through the categories? All the good stuff is on the Front Page.

The Best of Small Biz Survival

TREND 2025: Retail’s Big Split: what small town retailers can do now

99% of the best things you can do for your town don’t require anyone’s permission

Get started as an outdoor outfitter without breaking the bank

How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores

Read more of the Best of Small Biz Survival

Partners

We partner with campaigns and organizations that we think best benefit rural small businesses.

Logo with "Shop Indie Local"
Graphic of US currency with the text Move Your Money, bank local, invest local
Multicolor logo with text that says "Global Entrepreneurship Week"
Save Your Town logotype

Copyright © 2006–2026 Becky McCray • Site by Webdancers

  • Front Page
  • Latest stories
  • About
  • Guided Tour
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • RSS
  • Survey of Rural Challenges
  • Small Town Speaker Becky McCray
  • SaveYour.Town