Building trust with local business owners

[MBE2017]

My high street is increasingly empty.

Just the way retail has gone, many people, myself included prefer online for sheer convenience, choice and price.

Unfortunately my town is now populated by drunks, gangs, litter etc, expensive parking and very poor choice.

 

[MOIC]

we are disagreeing on what the high street has become.

Yes, in the vast majority of high streets, this has become a site for sore eyes, same old shops, nothing new, shops closing every month and the rest just hanging on.

For a high street to thrive it needs independents with different products to what you can buy from the multiple groups. The UK has very very few independent and innovative B&M shops which are successful and the majority of these are relying on their online sales and probably tied to long leases with inflated rents which they can't get out of.

If a typical high street has vape shops, tattoo parlors, pound shops and charity shops, I suspect the vast majority of the catchment area would give it a wide berth.

As I said, the decline is very sad, but inevitable.

 

[WaveJumper]

I think maybe before we go way of topic on this thread, as Paul quite rightly focused on above unless you can come to local business's with a firm idea of how any particular scheme is going to make that real difference they are looking for I am afraid it's going to be a hard up hill slog and met will a lot of skepticism.

 

[MOIC]

Back on topic!

I have a product that was built specifically to help local businesses and breath life back in to our highstreets

It ain't gonna happen!

Has anyone else experienced this and may be able to offer some advice?

Look and listen to all the retail reports of the last 5-10 years, then ask yourself if you're generally focusing on the right type of outlets.


Maybe concentrate on one category of retailer (which is new, required and solvent) and do free advertising for a year to show/prove your idea/app works. Then if it's successful, try to monetise it.


It's a tough and probably impossible task.


Good luck.

 

[WebshopMechanic]

It appears to be harder and harder to build a relationship with local business owners these days. I have a product that was built specifically to help local businesess and breath life back in to our highstreets. The problem i am having is that these business owners appear to have been mislead by so many companies in recent years it is hard to build the trust required.

Has anyone else experienced this and may be able to offer some advice?

OK, in my opinion, you should try to build an email list of local consumers. That way you can promote offers from the local store. They can give you a regular discount that you can send out on their behalf to drive people into the stores.

The value is in the data you hold (adhering to sodding GDPR, of course). Without that, you are simply replying on advertising and SEO which is tough.

Look at Top Cashback, Quidco, HotUKDeals, etc. They have built huge businesses because of the data they hold.

It won't be easy and might not even be possible BUT it gives you a bargaining chip. If it goes well then you could eventually charge for slots on the newsletter.

You might need to pound the streets in some areas to get sign-ups.

If you're about to go down the TV route then I'm assuming you have some cash to spend or you have investment. TV might be hit-n-miss and it's not highly targeted.

Maybe try more local advertising like local radio as it's slightly better or local partnerships like gyms, pubs, independent fast food outlets, phone shops, etc. The independents are the ones to go for because it's an everyday struggle for them.

Good luck.

 

[Charles Rice]

If your product is reliable enough, I don't think you would face any issues while serving them a free trial. Go for it, tell them to experience your product, and inbuilt trust among them.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

Having spent a large percentage of my life selling advertising, signage, promotional goods and point of sale - electronic and static - i'll hold my hands up and say I had to look it up to find out what a virtual a-board is! This led me to a video posted in 2015 that has just 37 views, uses lingo that I understand but which tells me nothing. I was still none the wiser but think i've worked it out?

I quite like the idea of shops being able to post their daily offers on a page that is tightly restricted to a certain area but can only see the benefits for certain types of business.
I think you should be selling the immediacy and opportunity for businesses to change their trading day. A virtual Twitter A-Board if you like. When it's raining, when trade is slow, when the football is on and it's mainly women in town etc., (sexist I know )

Some examples that spring to mind:
Coffee shop: Special Offer 2 Lattes for the price of one between 2pm and 3pm today.
Taxi Firms: Book your cab early and get £3 off the fare - for today only.
New store openings. Come and meet Mary Berry at the opening of CakesRus today at 2pm.

In other words a virtual sandwich board carrier, virtual leaflet distributor all in the palm of your hand...