How to Generate Leads for Local Business
What is Local Lead Generation
Local lead generation or ‘lead gen’ is the process of attracting and converting potential customers who are located within a specific geographic area.
This is important for businesses that rely on serving customers in a localised region, such as local service providers, home improvement companies or other small businesses that operate within the boundary of a town or city.
The goal here? Target marketing and advertising efforts towards the local population to create interest in the businesses services.
How to Generate Leads for a Local Business
The local lead generation model often gets overcomplicated. If you break the process down into bite sized chunks, you can create a lead gen system that can be repeated month in month out.
Overview of the Local Lead Generation Process
In short, the lead generation process is a systematic approach to generate new business enquiries like clockwork.
It starts with identifying your target audience, attracting their attention through various marketing channels, and engaging them with content and offers.
Finally, you convert them into leads by capturing their information through a form, call, in person visit or a combination of the three.
Identify Your Target Audience
First, you have to start with identifying your ideal customer. Yes, I can hear you now ‘of course I know my ideal customer’. BUT by creating a simple customer profile you are able to give your marketing efforts focus.
By mapping out where your customers hang out online, age, gender, typical income levels, desires, and their pain points, you’re able to more effectively craft content and offers that resonate.
You wouldn’t paint a wall without doing the essential preparation to set yourself up for a successful finish. You have to take the same approach to local lead generation.
The Best Ways to Generate Leads for Local Business
Create a Wesbite
In 2024, this might be an obvious statement. But creating a website is a non-negotiable for local lead generation.
A website acts as a 24/7 storefront for a local business. It allows customers to find and learn about your product or service at their convenience. Think of it as having an additional salesperson that never has a day off.
Once visitors land on your website, you can capture their information through contact forms, newsletter sign-ups and re-engage with them on a regular basis.
Plus, it’s something YOU own. If you’re using social media to generate leads and have amassed a great following, brilliant.
But if social media sites like Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn decide to change the rules, your business could be gone overnight.
Where do you start? Website builders like Squarespace, Shopify, and Wix have made it insanely easy to build a well designed, efficient site you can create yourself.
There’s no need to drop thousands on a website when you first start out.
2. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
For local businesses, search engine optimisation A.K.A SEO is a great way to generate leads for “free”.
SEO is a pretty simple concept. It’s the practice of increasing the number of people visiting your website through a search engine I.E Google.
It involves setting up your website and creating content that makes your website more attractive to a search engine.
But how can local Businesses leverage SEO to generate leads? Well this is easier than you may think.
Here are some quick wins:
Claim your Google My Business listing
This is crucial for local SEO as it allows your business to appear in local search results and on Google Maps.
You enter your business information, location, contact details and business hours and you’re good to go.
Get listed in local directories
Remember the days of scouring the yellow pages to find a local business? These have now moved online.
Directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages and chamber of commerce improve your businesses online visibility.
Plus, they link to your website helping your SEO and lead generation efforts.
Using location-based keywords
Use keywords that reflect your local area in your website's content.
For example, if you’re a plumber in Warrington, you might use keywords like “Warrington Plumbing Services” or “best plumber in Warrington”.
You can use free keyword research tools like Keywordtool.io and Google Keyword Planner to help you.
Creating Blogs
From one local business to another, this isn’t always easy. But it pays dividends over time serving as a potent lead generation tactic.
By addressing customer pain points with relevant content and sprinkling in local keywords, blogs aid your businesses visibility on Google.
This approach highlights your expertise and boosts your local search rankings, drawing quality leads to your doorstep.
Engage with the Community
Building a strong local presence isn't just about online activities. Engaging with your local community can also contribute to your SEO efforts indirectly.
Sponsoring local events, sports teams or charitable actions can lead to mentions and links online from other local businesses, and even local press.
This positively impacts your SEO efforts. Plus, your lead generation efforts will grow from strength to strength.
SEO is great. But there is a caveat. SEO doesn’t happen overnight. You have to have a long-term mindset.
You pay for SEO with your own time. On average, you’ll start to see results from your SEO efforts over a 3 - 6 month period.
3. Using Lead Magnets
A lead magnet is a lead generation tool local businesses use to hook people in.
Usually, this is offering something of value for free - be it an ebook, discount code or video tutorial. Our A-Z marketing glossary is a prime example.
But here’s the catch, to access the lead magnet potential customers have to provide their information - a benefit for any business.
This helps local businesses build a database of ‘leads’ and allows for re-engagement over and over again until they buy.
4. Implementing Social Media Advertising
Arguably one of the best ways to generate leads FAST is social media advertising.
This means investing in platforms like Facebook and Instagram to access their vast and diverse audience.
The true power of these platforms lies in their sophisticated targeting ability, allowing businesses to position their ads directly in front of their ideal customers.
This precision targeting is ideal for local businesses, enabling them to focus their advertising efforts on a local scale.
Plus, it offers the flexibility to expand reach nationally or internationally too.
5. Capitalise on Email Marketing
Email marketing is crucial to aid local lead generation. But its application differs for product and service-based businesses.
For local product-based businesses, it's a key marketing tool to educate and entice potential buyers with product information and special offers, aiming to convert subscribers into customers.
For local service-based businesses, email should be used for follow-up in the sales process.
Capturing a leads' details allows for automated nurturing sequences that provide valuable information, share success stories, and offer incentives.
This guides potential customers towards booking a consultation or the service itself.
So What Should You Do To Generate Leads for Your Local Business?
To sum up, you can generate local leads in several different ways.
While there’s some non-negotiables like having a website, you need to select a lead generation model that works for the stage your local business is at.
If you can afford to wait for leads, invest in an SEO, blogging and community engagement strategy.
However, for those looking to accelerate lead generation, social media advertising is the best way to generate leads.
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer unparalleled targeting capabilities, allowing local businesses to place their offerings directly in front of their ideal audience swiftly.
This combined with value-driven lead magnets and email marketing gives you a repeatable, scalable lead generation process that attracts and nurtures potential customers into buyers.
