It’s worth identifying all the local opportunities available to you in order to help you establish the foundation from where your business will flourish and grow. Here’s our list of local opportunities that can help to grow your business:

Local meetups with other entrepreneurs

It’s safe to say that you won’t be the only business owner in your area. It’s also safe to say that there will be other entrepreneurs in your area looking to network and meet like minded individuals. Attending a meetup or even organising your own is an excellent chance to build relationships with other local business owners and to grow your pool of contacts in the local area. You never know, meeting other local entrepreneurs may even generate new leads for you to follow up on.

Not sure how to get in contact with other local entrepreneurs? Your regional Chamber of Commerce is a great asset when it comes to getting in touch with other local businesses.

Local events

It’s all about showing your face. Local events are good for maintaining your presence on a less formal level. There might be a regional function organised or sponsored by another local business. Even though these events may not be organised with the sole purpose of business networking in mind, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be opportunities to build relationships with other local influencers and business owners.

Sponsoring events

Sports tournaments, charity fundraisers and local music concerts, among others, will often look for sponsorship opportunities to fund their events. Picking an event that attracts members of your target audience will help to get your brand in front of those who will help your business grow.

Host your own events

If you want something done your way, chat to your Development Manager about the options that are available. For example, you might want to organise a grand re-opening of your business and invite local influencers or journalists to write blogs or articles covering the event. You could even host a workshop to help teach skills to members of your local community, proving that your business can provide value to the local community and helping you grow.

The YBS Media Relations team are here to help you build awareness of the Yorkshire Building Society brand. Please get in touch with us 2-3 weeks before any event on 0345 1200 890 or e-mail us at pressoffice@ybs.co.uk.

Partner with influencers

Identifying the local influencers in your area helps to secure that ever-valuable word of mouth. Be they a local columnist, journalist, blogger or popular shop owner, by proving your business’s value to those who have the ear of your local community, you can help to build a base of regional brand loyalty and set off on your path towards becoming a household name.

Getting feedback from your community

Sticking with the theme of word of mouth, by acquiring a few glowing testimonials or constructive comments from local residents, you can help to identify where your business is working or requires work. Try our YBS Agency Review Email Generator to generate an email that you can send to your customers to obtain feedback on their experience with you. Once generated, simply copy, paste and send to your customers. The results will hopefully reveal areas of your business you can strengthen and improve to further engage your community.

Provide local deals

Everybody loves a good deal. Providing a free or discounted service to other businesses in your area is an excellent way to establish your value within your local community. This could range from free advice, a free financial review, or (where relevant, of course) a discounted workshop in order to generate genuine municipal interest to your business.

Your local growth hub

The government endorses a number of growth hubs all over the country, run by the LEP Network, a not-for-profit company. These hubs are excellent digital resources that contain information on regional news, events and opportunities. With over 38 hubs across the whole country, they’ve been able to help many businesses grow locally by providing a whole library of valuable information.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the opportunities that are available to you in your local area. To find out more, it’s worth checking out our detailed reports so you can maximise your place in your target market.

Yorkshire Building Society has worked together with a growth marketing agency, Clients First, to supply this content. We hope it helps you grow your core business and you have found it of interest. Please ensure that if you apply any of these tips to your YBS agency that you comply with the specific marketing guidelines which can be found in the YBS ‘Working Together’ Agency Operations Manual.