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Targeting local clients instead of the world will increase your sales



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Targeting local clients instead of the world will increase your sales

Have you ever gone to a website and noticed they were local?  I don't know about you, but I've done this many times and I felt that I could trust the company a little more.  I trust them a little more because if they do screw up something, or try to scam me out of my money, I can go right to their business and voice my concerns lol.  Local businesses tend to get better conversions from local clients because of this very same reason.  Trust is a big thing when it comes to building your business, if you can't build trust with your clients, you're not going to be in business for a long time.

Targeting global clients, ones that are across the ocean, will usually result in sales but not as often as local targeting.  Broad geo-targeting usually works well, but not as well as local targeting since there isn't that "Hey, they live near me!" emotion emanating from the potential client.

Over the years, I've targeted both local and global clients and there is one thing that always makes me want to target local... The cost of my ad spending for local clients vs. global clients is drastically different.  Since I can convert local clients at a much higher rate than global clients, my ROI is much better.  Now, I'm not saying that I can't close a client in the UK or Australia, I'm just saying it doesn't happen as often due to me being in the United States and them being across the world lol.


Why Targeting Local Is Awesome
I love targeting clients within 15 miles of my house so I can go out and have a meeting with them at a coffee house or restaurant.  Sitting down with a potential client lets then see who you are and how you act.  If they like who you are and what you portray, they will likely sign up with you and become a new client of yours Targeting local clients instead of the world will increase your sales

The sit-down meeting, even if it's only for 10 to 15 minutes, isn't about going over what you can do for the client.  It's all about you being an actual person in the area that they can talk to or meet up with when they need to and not someone with a local accent in a different country trying to get them to sign up for something they might not need.  If you build trust with the potential client by sitting down with them and going over some things you can do for them, they will likely sign up with you Targeting local clients instead of the world will increase your sales


I also like targeting local clients because I can talk about things we both can relate to whether it's sports, festivities coming to the area or even the weather.  We both will know what is going on with the weather and maybe the sports teams in the area, but we might have some random information to joke about when talking, which increases trust between both parties Targeting local clients instead of the world will increase your sales


I give local clients discounts and make more money
I almost always offer local clients the "Local Discount" so they feel that I'm treating them better than my global clients.  I will say something along the lines of "You also qualify for the local discount, which people outside of 20 miles don't get with us.  We do this to keep more money in your pocket in order to build up the community we both live in." 

Businesses will usually gloss over the part where you talk about why you're offering them a discount and they will focus on how much they are saving.  If you give them like 25% off, they will be grateful and compare your pricing to other companies in the area, but likely sign up with you since you're willing to sit down with them whenever they want to meet up.




In Conclusion
Targeting local clients instead of global clients will usually save you some money on ad spend since you can get super targeted.  You will have a better ROI since you can set up meetings and go sit down with potential clients if they want to, and I would suggest you do this so they can see you're an actual person.  Giving out discounts for my services doesn't really lose me any money since I can price my services however high or low I want, so I'll say they get a 25% discount on a $1,000 a month service, meaning they will be paying $750 but I really only need to spend my time in order to make them profitable Targeting local clients instead of the world will increase your sales



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Thanks!

Razzy

Comments

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JoeMilford
Good idea regarding giving them discounts--that's really smart. I think that the face-to-face meeting is definitely the best way to go when we have access to doing business in that way. I also can't stand dealing with time delays and customs and all while doing business overseas. If I could do EVERYTHING locally, I surely would! I guess I am old fashioned, but the in-person professional meeting is a great way to establish a rapport with your clients. I think that people generally trust doing business with individuals they have met in this way--it's a natural, organic, human thing. Some things need to stay analog; however, I know that there are many creative ways to "meet', via Skype and similar methods.



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Corzhens
Isn’t it interesting to meet someone in person that you have been encountering often online? Some years back, I was able to meet 4 friends from Facebook when I went to Hongkong. It was a great meeting because it was like we already know each other very well and we had a grand time chatting over dinner. If they were my customers then I guess they will never forget me for meeting them in person.



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DarthHazard
Targetting local clients can be great because it allows you to create a loyal customer base that may become repetitive customers. Once you have targetted these local clients and they are happy, you can start to think about expanding and targetting customers that are not local. Plus like you said, you can save a lot of money because you can spend less on advertising.



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augusta
Targeting local clients is the way to go,it helps one in making more profit can at least one is sure of clients at all times.Meeting clients face to face give them the confidence to do business than any transaction done in the internet and because of this single act they can even act as a refferal bringing more people.

It a good way to hold down clients and more money will be made.



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iamawriter
I would rather target globally as there could be products that would attract foreigners than locals. I am a fine example of that. I go online searching for products that are not made here or available here. i succeeded in getting the Jumbo Medjoul dates which are not available here but in the Middle East. I somehow wanted to taste them and i got them.



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DarthHazard
That definitely works for certain niche products and services. But for other items, it may be wise to target local consumers as well because most likely you will manage to get some good sales as well. It's also easier to target local consumers because you have to do less work and you are much more likely to successfully target those local consumers.



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DenisP
There are definitely going to be certain upsides and benefits to dealing with local clients.

A key factor which I've noticed in a lot of your lists is treating the person you're dealing with like an actual person rather than someone you simply want to do business with. Being able to sit down with them over a coffee or lunch is definitely a great way of including some humanity into a business transaction.

I think this is why a lot of big shots in "the business" always talk about "doing lunch" and such. It's a cheesy trope used in a lot movies and shows but I think it rings true in real life as well.



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overcast
I think any company that starts from local services always stays in demand. As you can see the companies which directly approach the international clients can earn more. But the local clients if handled properly can generate some good enough money as well. I have seen that people are likely to get recurring business if they can handle the local clients properly. But it's not going to be an easy thing though. We learn from our set of mistakes and for that we have to work harder too.



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Barida
This is true and they get better at what they do as long as they stick with producing quality products for the teeming masses that wants to buy from them. I would rather buy local products to buying imported goods.



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overcast
Yes local presence requires local people joining and that's something also is important for making the sales too. So on that premise I think it'd be reasonable to make use of the local people and then get their business. I think lead generation in a local way definitely takes some time. And people should be really working on that part to get things done. I have managed to get few local leads but it takes time to retain them.



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Pixie06
I have a side business and I sell both locally and online. I have to agree that it is easier to deal with my local customers. It is easier for me to communicate with them and understand their needs. If we have some disagreements we can more easily sort them out. Moreover the local customers trust me more and they have referred many people to my business. It is also easier for me to adopt strategies such as ''buy one get one free''. This is a bit difficult to execute online due to the shipping and delivery fee.



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potentialwriter
Practically, targeting local clients will increase sales more than targeting the world. When you want to advertise online, you are always given the chance to choose your preferred location. It used to be either the world or a particular country. Choosing the world as your targeted location is not as effective as choosing a specific location where your ads will be running. You can give your local clients gifts, discounts or any such emolument to enhance patronage.



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mildredtabitha
I think it depends with the type of business or products being advertised. Targeting locally can enable you to increase sales since you are well known there and you can also come face to face with your customers. This will show them that you care for their needs and that you have their best interest at heart.

Targeting globally is also good if you are dealing in services that you can easily provide to that client in another continent. e.g. freelancing services



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TimothyAlex
I agree with the thoughts of the original post. Many people prefer supporting local businesses. Plus, it can add an extra layer of trust. When targeting global, potential customers have a lot of uncertainty with regard to reliability. You could be just a guy with a website or worse, a scam artist.



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vinaya
I have an online store. My store is basically targeted to international users. I have to use payment option that is available locally. I have used payment option that is available only for international users, paypal for instance (paypal is not available locally, if I want to attract local customers, I will have to use local electronic payment system). However, when I check the IP address of my traffic sources, above 60 percent traffic is coming locally. It looks like more locals are checking my websites than the people elsewhere. based on this discovery, I am planning to tweak my site.



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Judas2018
I think targeting local clients is a good strategy for people who live in big, urban areas. But for one living in a rural or isolated environment, that might not spark a big enough cash flow for a freelancer to survive on.



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Corzhens
I have a high school friend who has a boutique business. Aside from clothes, she also has perfume, makeup and other personal accessory items, all imported so they are expensive. Her target is the local clients because that saves her from the expensive delivery. Sometimes she does the delivery herself since the proximity of the client is with her area of jurisdiction. And I’d say she is doing great business with her local clients. And meeting with those local clients is definitely a plus for the business.



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