How to successfully grow your small business by selling at a local market.

Whether you live in a small town or a sprawling metropolis, patrons who are geographically close to you can represent a strong share of your entire customer base. Even if you have a website that sells nationally or globally, there is no better time than now to capitalize on your hometown appeal by selling your wares at a local market or fair.

The advantages of local selling.

Spreading the word about your brand via your website and affiliate links is effective, but there is nothing like face-to-face interaction. Giving people a chance to see your products up close provides a highly effective way to form a potentially long-lasting and lucrative relationship with the buyer. It also helps to create buzz on your local streets about what you have to offer.

Preparing for your local market debut.

Before you take your wares and your contactless mobile reader on the road, however, you should set yourself up for success. The following strategies are extremely important:

• Optimize your website and target it for your area. One way to do this is to use community-specific words for better search engine optimization.
• Claim your business listing on Google My Business. 
• Optimize and localize your social media pages, including updates as to when you will begin selling locally.
• Partner with other businesses that offer services or products that do not compete directly with yours to publicize your efforts.

Taking these actions could create a groundswell that will make potential customers excited about visiting your booth at the local market when it opens.

How to thrive at the local market.

The following tips will help you to not only make a splash, but to pull in a profit at your local market:

• Study what other vendors do, and take notes from the successful ones, particularly if they sell items in the same niche as yours.
• Sell your products based on what sets you apart from your rivals. This could be price, quality, artisanship, or any other factor you like.
• Accept multiple payment types. Today, accepting cash is simply not enough. Consider investing in a contactless mobile card reader to facilitate safe, secure, and convenient cashless payments.
• Carefully design your selling space to be intuitive, clutter-free, and eye-catching.
• Give out free samples or swag. Whether it’s food, chip clips with your log,  or any other inexpensive, portable item, these souvenirs engage the senses and make your business more memorable.

In the end, your most crucial task is to cultivate relationships with the people you see at the farmer’s market or fair where you’re setting up shop. Go the extra mile to be friendly and interactive today, and you may just have set yourself up to have a long-term loyal customer.

Selling at a local market gives you a unique opportunity to test out new products and establish we-were-here-first relationships with the hometown folks who can form the foundation of your future success.