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Seasonal businesses: post signs year-round

By Becky McCray

Two people are pointing to features on a brick building in a small town downtown

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 […]

April 22, 2024 Filed Under: economic development, entrepreneurship, marketing, mistakes, rural Tagged With: effective marketing, entrepreneurship, retail, seasonal business, service businesses, signage, small business marketing

Trade show booth design trend: hand drawn visuals

By Becky McCray

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. […]

March 21, 2022 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, rural Tagged With: booth marketing, expos, small business marketing, trade shows

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

By Becky McCray

Logo with "Shop Indie Local"

  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 […]

November 11, 2019 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, marketing, rural, shop local Tagged With: buy local, effective marketing, marketing, retail, rural, shop indie local, shop local, shop small, shop small saturday, small business marketing, small town

Balance Your Marketing Presence

By Glenn Muske

Balance

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. […]

February 28, 2018 Filed Under: marketing, rural, Small Biz 100, success Tagged With: effective marketing, makreting, marketing success, small business, small business marketing

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