How to Build a Small Business Marketing Strategy in Midtown

America the melting pot is a nice aspiration. However, most people live in areas where their neighbors share similar values and motivations to themselves. Most people choose to live in a location where they feel they fit it. It is a natural part of human nature. When it comes to smaller neighborhoods, you'll find that New York City is filled with people and places to consider. That includes Midtown

‍

The Most Basic Unit: The Neighborhood (in this case, Midtown)

There is no one America, and there is no one NYC. People in NYC share values in common, such as openness to cultural diversity, drive, and a live and let live attitude, among others. But, each neighborhood has its unique flavor and shared values and experiences.

Take Midtown, for example. It's a great neighborhood and has some real character to it, but more often than not people don't take advantage of what the city provides. The people who generally live in Midtown are the audience that you would usually cater to. Taking that a step forward, you should consider how the people of your community relate to your business. If you run a cafe, for example, make sure that you're putting yourself in the proper place and environment.

A coffee shop in Midtown will want to be built for people hard at work and on the go, as many who live and work in Midtown often can be. The city is more densely packed in Midtown, and the audience is a bit different then you'd find in, say, Bushwick. Make sure that you know who you're working with and who is around you when you're developing the audience profile of your business.

Brand Messaging is How You Put Those Insights to Use

Once you’ve identified your target and what they value, it is time to focus on your message to them. This is where you craft your marketing message. A great message uses the benefit your product or service provides to shows how it solves your target's needs. In addition, it has to communicate how your business is different from others who may also have solutions.

In our Midtown example, a benefit was allowing the audience know they're talking with someone they can trust. Many successful small businesses in the area embrace the Midtown community.

Lastly, the Marketing Strategy Focus on How the Message is Delivered to the Target

A marketing strategy in its most basic form is the set of tools that you will use to deliver your Brand Message to your target through in-market advertising. This is based on the media the target uses the most.  

This is where it can be challenging because now you have to consider the cost of the different media and what you can reasonably afford as a marketing budget. This is why media targeting is so important. You can’t afford to waste money so finding those niches where your audience congregates can improve results and reduce cost and improve the bottom line.

In Summary

These are the three most basic steps in developing a small business marketing strategy in Midtown.

1. Start with the Neighborhood: The neighborhood in which your target lives can give you insight into their motivations and values. It’s not fail-safe, but it’s a great place to start
2. Create Compelling Messages: The insights you learn from your market research will help you build more motivating and compelling messages.
3. Build the Right Marking Strategy: Exploring the social media platforms and websites they use can be very helpful in identifying the best tools to reach them.

A marketing plan outlines how you will add all three recommendations together.