Main street businesses form much of the foundation of small towns. They’re your smaller and independently owned coffee shops, bakeries, general stores, diners, and bookstores, generally run by local residents and located on main downtown strips.
“If downtowns are a city’s heart, it’s our main streets that provide the essential connective tissue – the spines – connecting commercial districts with independent retail and the local neighbourhood.”
– From “Why Main Streets Matter,” by Mary W. Rowe, President & CEO Canadian Urban Institute
These businesses tend to reside within a community’s older and historic buildings, allowing for the preservation of important landmarks and stories.
Main street businesses are wholesome and unique. They encourage tourism as well as a sense of familiarity for those who frequent them. They build a sense of community and belonging. And together they showcase a vibrant collection of culture, diversity, creativity, expertise, entrepreneurship, and opportunity.
Unfortunately, our continuously shifting landscape has posed many challenges to main street businesses and their owners.
As consumers, let this blog serve as a reminder of the importance of frequenting main street strips and supporting small businesses whenever possible!
As business owners, I want to emphasize that there are a number of strategies, tools, and tactics you can implement into your marketing and business plans in order to remain relevant within your community.
Understanding the Shifting Landscape
Before we dive into some of the solutions and strategies available to you, let’s take some time to understand the shifting landscape.
Here are some of the top challenges facing small business owners, and particularly brick and mortar business owners, today.
Economic Shifts
Since COVID, there has been a never-ending slew of economic changes on both a local and global scale. From high inflation rates to supply chain disruptions, both business owners and consumers have been impacted.
As the cost of goods, transportation, and production increase, and as materials are challenging to find or delayed in delivery, small business owners may struggle to maintain profitability or to deliver the same quality of product or service to their customers.
On the consumer side, inflation can also influence purchase decisions. Shifts in disposable income availability and purchasing power, or increased stress related to saving and planning for the future can all play a role in consumers A) buying less or B) opting for cheaper alternatives (which are generally chain stores rather than small businesses).
While we are currently in a period of revival and optimism in terms of these issues, the economy is always changing and these ups and downs are inevitable. To build a sustainable, long-term business, you need to be prepared to adapt and shift with the economy.
Staying informed about local and global economic indicators can help you to prepare for their impact preemptively.
Construction Challenges
Construction can pose significant hurdles for small business owners in the vicinity of the work being done.
Local construction projects can reduce visibility and accessibility, leading to decreased customer visits and reduced foot traffic.
With the industry expected to continue to grow within Canada in coming years, navigating construction challenges as a main street business is likely inevitable.
However, by staying informed and connected with upcoming construction projects, and communicating their potential impact with your customers, it is possible to continue to see success through these periods.
Seasonal Changes
Consumer shopping behaviour also inevitably shifts with the changing seasons.
From changes in the weather and the traditional four seasons we experience here in Canada, to a broader outlook encompassing holiday or back-to-school seasons, purchasing habits are constantly changing.
While it might be unrealistic to expect steady income year-round, there are inventory and staffing adjustments that can be made to shift your business with seasonal demand.
Adaptability is Crucial
Regardless of the current struggles your business is or isn’t facing, the key message here is the importance of staying informed and embracing adaptability.
In an ever-changing environment, businesses must be agile and responsive to external factors to remain competitive.
Strategies for Overcoming Physical Barriers
If there’s one recurring theme in this post it’s the importance of communication with your customers.
During periods of construction or other disruptions to your physical storefront, it becomes increasingly crucial to optimize and enhance your online presence to keep your audience informed of any changes.
Here’s a checklist you can use to audit your current efforts and pinpoint opportunities for improvement.
- Update your website. Have you updated your website to include the latest information about access routes, business hours, and parking alternatives? If there are going to be periods of closure, are they clearly communicated and visible?
- Prioritize local SEO optimization. Have you updated your Google Business Profile to improve online visibility? Are your hours correct? Your address? Use local keywords to encourage relevant traffic.
- Social media efforts and engagement. Are you remaining active on social media? Have you posted regarding the construction (or other disruptions your business is facing)? Are you keeping your audience informed on the progress with regular updates? Do they know that you’re still open for business? Or, if you have revised hours, are those clear and consistent across all online platforms? Use live videos, polls and Q&A sessions to further engage your audience and answer their questions or concerns.
- Utilize email marketing. Consider sending out weekly newsletters with exclusive offers and updates. Ensure subscribers can respond to your emails with questions or concerns to keep open communication channels. To take this a step further, use customer data to send targeted emails that address specific needs or interests. Check your email regularly so you don’t leave any inquiries unanswered!
Beyond digital outreach, there are also community and promotion-based strategies that you can use to incentivize customers during slow periods.
- Special promotions, discounts, or limited-time offers can support you and your customers. Offer discounts or promotions to customers who visit your physical store during the construction period. Create urgency with time-sensitive deals!
- Loyalty programs can help encourage repeat customers and are completely customizable to you and your business. Referral bonuses encourage existing customers to bring in their friends and family by offering them a discount when someone mentions their name. Alternatively, a point system rewards customers with points for each purchase they make, which can be redeemed later for discounts or physical products.
- Community involvement can help encourage goodwill from locals and support organic marketing. Consider partnering with other local businesses to host events that draw crowds despite the construction. Or, offer specials to construction workers to increase word-of-mouth referrals.
As a small business it’s important to recognize the time, energy, and financial resources you have to commit to these initiatives. Which marketing tactics are you already implementing that could be further optimized? Which of the promotion or community-outreach based strategies are realistic and appeal to you?
Does it make sense to hire support to help guide you through this time period?
When deciding on the tactics you plan on implementing, it can also be helpful to think of your own habits and preferences as a consumer.
Consider that you’re going out to do your holiday shopping. You know there are 2 main options in your town for gifts. You remember, however, that there is some construction happening in the downtown core and aren’t sure if you’ll be able to access either shop.
You do a quick Google search and immediately find the Google Business listing and Instagram account for company A. Their hours are clearly listed, and they have a pinned post on Instagram saying that while their business is impacted by recent construction, they remain open. They have parking and detour instructions and are offering a 10% discount for purchases over $100 through the construction dates.
Next, you scope out company B. Unfortunately, though, a Google search only reveals a Facebook page, and the last post was in 2022. There’s no contact number or email address, and their website link appears to be broken.
Even if company B was your preferred store, would you take the chance to drive out to it? Probably not!
Your customer’s time is valuable. Don’t waste it by being vague or elusive or neglecting your online presence.
Seasonal Marketing Tactics
In a similar way, marketing tactics and collaboration efforts can be utilized to encourage engagement and sales in off-season periods.
Consider,
- Hosting a themed event tied to a holiday or seasonal theme (for example, summer sales or winter workshops).
- Getting involved in your local community by organizing charity events or community drives to increase engagement and goodwill.
- Offering exclusive off-season deals to loyalty program members during slower periods.
- Implementing VIP experiences for loyal customers. Offer exclusive previews of products, early access to programs, or special events reserved for this group.
- Utilizing targeted advertising to connect on a more authentic level with your clients and customers. For example, segmented campaigns use customer data to create targeted ads that appeal to specific demographics. Or, retargeting ads can be used to re-engage visitors who have shown interest but haven’t yet made a purchase.
- Assessing (and working on improving) your digital marketing efforts. This includes your email marketing, social media, SEO, and website marketing strategies to encourage engagement and keep customers informed year-round.
- Implementing interactive storefronts. Use window displays and in-store experiences to attract passersby and increase foot traffic.
- Auditing and optimizing your customer experience. Enhance the in-store experience with exceptional customer service and unique offerings to keep people coming back.
Planning for slower seasons through reduced buying, changes in store hours, and/or reduced staffing can also help ensure a more manageable business operation, while increases to stock levels, store hours, and/or staff can help satisfy customer demand and maintain quality through busier seasons.
Leveraging Local Events and Partnerships
Year-round, your business can benefit from collaboration:
- Consider sponsoring a local sports team, festival, or school event to increase brand visibility.
- Create promotions or products that tie into local events. For example, if your town has an annual festival, fair, or parade, how can you link your business offerings or products to this theme or event? Showing your community pride can go a long way in receiving buy-in and support from locals who love where they live.
- Partner with complementary businesses in your area in aligned ways. How can you cross promote your respective offers or businesses? If you own a bookstore and you’re located beside a cafe, what about offering a discount for those who pick up both a book and a cup of coffee? Collaborations like this are exciting and beneficial for all parties involved!
- Put together a joint event with a complementary business to share audiences and costs. For example, a yoga studio and smoothie shop could put together a beautiful early morning yoga flow focused on maintaining well-being inside and out.
- Run a giveaway in-person and/or on social media where the winner receives products from multiple aligned businesses within the community. Not only does this allow for audience sharing and an increase in brand visibility, getting your product into the hands of a potentially new customer is a great way to keep them coming back.
If you’re going this route, it’s important to have strong branding! Do you have a logo and company colours? What marketing materials can you have created to showcase who you are and what you offer? Consistency and cohesion are key for brand recognition.
It’s important to think long-term too. If people attend one of your events or win your joint giveaway, will they know how to find you afterwards if they want to learn more?
Ensure that you continue to focus on your online marketing efforts so that those interested in supporting you further can easily find more information about you and your business by searching you on Google or social media.
Utilize Data and Consumer Feedback
With any and all of the above suggestions, there is going to be a learning period. Give yourself time to play with these new ideas and to implement them in your business to see what resonates with your audience and what doesn’t.
To help you make informed decisions, it can be helpful to review the data, feedback, and analytics you have available to you.
- Utilize tools like Google Analytics to track customer behavior and campaign effectiveness. What pages are your website visitors going to most frequently? How long are they spending on each page? What is your bounce rate?
- Have you considered running Google Ads to promote your business further? How effective have they been for you? How could you optimize them further?
- What has your engagement on email campaigns and/or social media posts been like? What’s performing well? What type of posts seem to garner the most interest?
- What feedback have you received from your customers or clients? If you don’t have much data here, encourage customers to provide feedback through surveys and reviews so you can understand their needs better. You’ll find much more success if you actually ask your audience what they’re looking for, rather than assuming that you know.
Use this information to adapt and refine your strategies. Continue to collect as much additional feedback and data as you can, as you continue to grow!
Adaptability is Key for Business Longevity
Main street businesses may be the heartbeat of a town, but even a strong heartbeat must adapt to the changing pulse of the world around it.
To remain relevant and profitable, it’s your responsibility to evolve with external forces like shifting trends, unexpected physical barriers, and changing seasons.
Maintain open lines of communication with your customers online. Offer promotions and discounts through slow seasons or during physical disruptions like construction. Ask for feedback from your customers regularly, and use that feedback to shift your marketing or offerings. Collaborate with other organizations or businesses in your community. Keep your brand front of mind through sponsorships or events.
And, recognize when it’s time to get support from a mentor or consultant who can help you thrive through uncertain times. It’s okay to ask for help!
I’d love to connect with you through a consultation call to see how I can help your business grow.
