We caught up with Darren Evans, Head of Commercial at InYourArea, our platform for hyperlocal news and information in communities across the UK.

With over 12 years experience in digital marketing and having spent the last 5 years shaping opportunities for businesses to connect with InYourArea’s audience across the UK, he’s perfectly placed to explain the importance of connecting with potential customers at a local level, regardless of the size of their business.

Q: Why is it important for businesses to forge strong connections with their local communities?

A: Regardless of the size of a business, their customers come from the communities they serve, wherever they’re located. However, with such diversity across those communities, connecting with them in a way that resonates is key to their success. Engaging with potential customers at a local level, reflecting their distinct priorities in your approach and supporting their needs not only means they’re more likely to engage but, if the product or service is also aligned with their needs and expectations, go on to become long-term, loyal customers who will also advocate for the business and drive growth.

Q: What role does local community engagement play in enhancing a business’ brand image and reputation?

A: For any business, having a presence in (or actively engaging with) the communities they serve helps build positive customer relationships. If a business is supporting local people, whether that’s helping to make their products or services more readily available, overcoming challenges, celebrating successes or even to share experiences, they’re more likely to reciprocate with their custom. Having an active presence at community events, supporting local causes or even just engaging with people in a way that feels natural can have a huge impact on brand perception, improving reputation and building trust with local consumers.

Q: Can you share some effective strategies for businesses to build meaningful relationships with local community members?

A: Strong community connections can really help differentiate a business from their competitors, but building those relationships takes time, effort and consideration, so it’s important to plan and execute strategies that will help establish those. That could include:

• Know Your Audience . Take time to understand the needs of the communities you serve – identify who they are, what’s important to them and how they perceive you (or your competitors), then use that insight to refine the way you engage with potential customers – from the products or services you offer, to the language you use, adjusting that for a local audience can help build your reputation and drive conversion.
• Get Feedback. Don’t just do what you think is right for your customers, find out from them directly. By creating safe and inclusive opportunities for people to share their thoughts, listening and taking action, you can build meaningful relationships based on trust and respect. And remember, communities may have different needs, so you may need to tailor the changes you make to their distinct needs.
• Be Visible. By having an active presence in local communities, businesses can enhance their relationships with existing customers, as well as attracting new ones. Take time to understand where your customers are and plan how best to engage with them in a way that adds value to the individual or the things that matter to them, such as supporting good causes that are at the heart of those communities. Strong community connections can go a long way in differentiating a business from the competition and creates a sense of shared purpose between the business and the consumer.

Q: What advice would you give to a business looking to start engaging more with its local community?

A: First and foremost, understand how you define the communities you serve – we often talk about our local community in relation to where we are physically, such as where we live or where our premises are located, but in the digital world, many businesses can serve customers from much further afield, so it’s important to know where they are and what their specific needs are – only then can you begin to explore how best to engage with those communities.

Ultimately, this starts with making those potential customers aware of who you are and what your business can do for them or their local area – be visible at local events, support local good causes and establish a marketing strategy that will allow you to connect with those communities in a way that’s accessible and relevant.

Most importantly, once you’ve connected with potential customers, listen to them, respond to them and evolve your business to make sure you’re meeting their changing needs and expectations.

Q: In summary, what are the three key takeaways when it comes to businesses connecting with local communities?

A: As I’ve mentioned, every business is different, as are the people and communities they serve, so there’s no silver bullet. However, there are broad themes that can help you to connect with those communities and unlock value for both your business and the customers you serve.

• Embrace Diversity. Understand that your customer base may be more diverse that you first realise and that those communities may have different needs and expectations of you and your business. That may include the products you offer, the services you provide or even how and where those are made available.
• Have a Plan. Use the insight you gain about the communities you serve to set out an engagement plan. Once you understand why you need to connect with them, you should think about who, when, where and how you can do that. What local events could you attend, are there other local businesses you can collaborate with and what marketing tools are available to amplify your message.
• Listen & Evolve. Word of mouth can make or break a business and even the best plans will have gaps that you’ll have to work to address. Create opportunities to hear what your customers think, whether in person or online, but more importantly take action. That could be a timely response to a review, an adjustment to your engagement plan, or even evolving your business (or the products and services you offer).
  

The key is that the challenges and opportunities within those communities will change over time, so ensuring your business is prepared to connect, understand and evolve with them creates the strongest foundation for success.