'The shop local experts'

If you are operating your own 'business', and you a struggling to gain traction in your local market, part of the solution may be right in front of your eyes. The word 'business' can give you a few clues, and in particular, in the first two letters....B-U. That is, "BE YOU"! Local consumers want to shop with people they know and trust. This could be shopping with a well known brand, or a brand that is endorsed by a celebrity, or with a local business that they personally k

Supporting local businesses can take many forms, and there is no one solution that is going to solve every problem in the shop local realm. But before businesses look to the general public of consumers there is one simple step that they can do that will help keep more money local. That is, as a local business you can choose to support other local businesses. It may be stating the obvious for some businesses and there are many communities across Australia that have a very stro

If you turn shopping into a straight out transaction then you are going to lose customer stickiness very quickly. Unless you are providing a very specialised service that requires a high level of skill, or if you have a product that simply can’t be bought anywhere else in the world, then there are always going to be other providers out there that can also sell to your customers. By moving away from ‘just a transaction’ and into a ‘shopping experience’ you are able to offer so

All too often, we as consumers are faced with bad customer service. Be it from staff that aren’t interested in the success of their place of employment, from business owners that have given up on trying to make an effort, or from telephone call centres that are not interested in the needs and wants of the consumer. It’s infuriating! I would like to think that I am usually a pretty calm sort of guy, who doesn’t let emotion take over too much (dealing with my 4 kids aged 8, 7,

Working in the shop local space, I am constantly talking to small businesses, and many times I hear the same scenario play out. Businesses tell me that sales are down, it is becoming harder to compete, and costs are forever increasing. You then only have to look around these businesses and you see many empty shops, which is a sign that many have tried and failed in this space previously. I can appreciate the struggles that many of these small businesses have…and I would possi

Having a strong sense of community spirit and a genuine interest in the success of those around you, is strongly correlated to the willingness to shop locally. Communities who have suggested that they have a loyal group of local shoppers, also seem to have other aspects of local pride attached to them. ​​ But how do you create community pride? Can it be manufactured? In short, I think yes, you can….however, it needs to be genuine. i.e. you can’t fake it! To start with you nee

Talking about tourism and shopping locally in the same breath can seem like a bit of an oxymoron. However, there are several similarities on how businesses should treat each of these which makes it relevant to discuss this when talking about shopping locally. Here are just a few examples of certain strategies that might normally be implemented for either locals or visitors, but can also have a positive impact on the opposite group of customers. And if one strategy can work ac

There are many reasons why people choose to not shop locally. But by far the biggest reason is price. Unless you are one of the very few people in this world who have the luxury of not having to pay attention to the cost of things you buy, then you are going to be at least partially driven by price. ​Price is such an interesting topic when it comes to shopping locally. Along with managing costs, it ultimately determines if a business can operate profitably, and is one of the

I have now been working in the shop local space for over 10 years. Over 1000 businesses have utilised Why Leave Town’s shop local products (mainly our community gift cards), and I have sat in meetings with easily 50+ chambers of commerce or local councils. To add to this, in 2017 I conducted almost 100 interviews with relevant people all across Australia, talking all things to do with promoting shopping locally. This led to the releasing of my first book ‘WHY LEAVE TOWN – Pra

For most products and services, people want an extensive range to choose from. Range gives choice, and more choice leads to a higher likelihood that the consumer is going to walk out happy with what they have purchased. Range can mean a lot of different things though, and here are just a few examples: ​Type range: e.g. being able to choose the colour you prefer Size range: particularly important when talking about clothing Price range: to suit both your budget and also the ne

Trying to change human behaviour is not a simple task, and you will be a very optimistic person to think that every idea you implement is going to reap the rewards you desire. I am one of those optimistic people who think that most ideas are going to change the world, and have failed to see many of these ideas even get off the ground. Being optimistic I think can be both a blessing and a curse! ​What I have learned from personal experience though, is that if you want to make

When thinking about getting people to shop locally, we can simplify the process into a basic conversion funnel. The funnel works in the way that you can’t achieve a certain level in the funnel without first having those things above it. i.e. someone won’t purchase a product unless they are first aware of it, and would consider buying it. ​There are circumstances where this may not be the case, for example, you could have ‘emotional loyalty’ to BMW cars, but have never actuall

In encouraging more people to shop locally, it helps if a clear point of difference compared to shopping online or in other towns can be offered. Having a niche offering means that more energy can be poured into one particular area and hence provide a distinct reason for people to shop local. ​ If the niche is a product or service, then there is a clear advantage in encouraging locals to shop locally, as they are being offered something that may be hard to find elsewhere. H