Overview
Create a personalized letter from the store manager to area merchants located within walking distance of your location.
This provides you with a simple way to introduce or reintroduce your business to the neighborhood.
This is an especially great tip if you have a new manager coming to your location.
Details
Create a personalized letter from the store manager to area merchants located within walking distance of your location. The letter can be handwritten, contain a personal anecdote about your neighborhood, or just be friendly and to the point (“Hi! Come see us!”). However, the letter should never sound corporate or like a “form” letter. You want your neighbors to know that you are another business owner or manager, just like them, and that your door is always open!
Let your neighbors know about your business, hours of operation, and any special offer you wish to extend. Be sure to make the offer enticing and worth their time.
Hand deliver the invitation to make the note even more personal, and to allow your neighbors to put a face (your face!) with your business’ name. However, if time doesn’t permit hand delivering all of the invitations, snail mail works just fine too!
While it may seem strange to target other business owners, building strong positive relationships with other local business owners is a great way to ensure that your “place” in the community. Think about it in terms of being a neighbor in your neighborhood at home. If a new neighbor moves in, makes their presence known, and says hello to everyone, aren’t you more likely to consider that neighbor for plans in the future?
Creating a positive reputation among your peers is a great way to drum up referral business, too! If you’re friendly with your neighbor that runs a coffee shop, and you run a wine shop, don’t you think your coffee shop neighbor would refer their customers to you when they need wine? We think so too!
