Last year I was able to travel to many different countries, and suffice it to say that I was astounded by the differences between marketing strategies across geographical boundaries. Successful pubs in England, for instance, are in a relatively unique situation in which they often keep a customer for life. In Norway and France, however, clubs seem to be hot one week and not the next. Businesses are therefore forced to develop strategies which are truly tailored to their target markets. This is square one, I typically tell my clients. The fact is that Industry A may benefit from strategy A and industry B may benefit from strategy B, but not vice versa. Many business owners are left scratching their heads when they find that their marketing tactics which were successful in previous ventures are slow to have an effect in current ventures.
Now, I will get to the point. In the last month, I have been counseling two businesses in Santa Clarita—Valencia, California to be specific. In my market research I have found that Valencia (but Santa Clarita as a whole—Castaic, Newhall, Canyon Country, etc.) hosts a unique and eclectic mix of consumers. Market trends are actually quite easy to predict in these areas, and captivating the desired audience is very practical. For example, in what is perhaps a perfect microcosms for entrepreneurial efforts, restaurants go through very typical cycles, and when considering their target market, such research leads to a far more likely success.
As a tip to businesses in the area, in my work thus far, I have found SEO (search engine optimization) to be the name of the game in these Valencia businesses. For these businesses, search engine optimization has been the most affordable, most targeted, and most dynamic of strategies. I nearly always recommend that businesses put quite a bit of effort into proper (though ingenious and clever) web marketing, and in future posts, I will go into some more detail about how I have been able to capture the consumers’ attentions in the Santa Clarita Valley.
