Digital tech and services companies live in a different world than the geographical one that their employees inhabit. These businesses reach consumers around the world, unified by their behaviors, not their national boundaries. However it is important, especially for tech companies in cities of sufficient size, to be known entities in their local communities. Customers who live in the same zip code can be among the most loyal that technology companies can earn. Local loyalty can bring a stability and permanence to the relationship that an e-relationship lacks. For this reason, local advertisement should always be part of the marketing budget. The applications are often simple.
Sponsorship
By supporting local causes and events, you give back to the community, the folks who pay the taxes that maintain the infrastructure you depend upon. By supporting causes you believe in, you also feed into the culture of your area. You help nurture good practices and charitable thinking. On the one hand, it makes your business look good. But on the other hand, it really does make a difference in the physical culture that your business inhabits. It’s worth being involved.
Simple, Visible Advertising
This can be as simple as giving away free outdoor stickers to your best local customers. A great logo, seen around town, is among the best ways to make your brand familiar to the people around you. After random people see your name and logo 4-8 times, the image can become ingrained in their heads. For tech companies who focus most of their energy advertising online, the next big customer may be in your own back yard. Stickers, local print ads, and media coverage are among the best ways to raise your profile in your town or municipality.
Be the Best Place to Work
There’s nothing like happy employees to bring attention to a tech company. If you need qualified people to make your business work, pay them generously for their help. Offer them more vacation time than the average. Pay well, and give the opportunity for growth. Think about better than average health care and employer-backed savings opportunities. These sorts of things incentivize the best talent to come work for you. By employing the highest quality employees, you set yourself for better clients, bigger payoffs. It’s not exactly the same thing as advertising, but it can grow your business all the same, and it increases the quality of life for members of your regional community.
There are many ways for technology companies to integrate themselves into the physical communities where they set up shop. It is easy for tech companies to have the “ivory tower” mentality, but when techies become good neighbors, everybody benefits. We hope that these ideas have given you some of your own.