It seems that small business owners of all types have to come up with newer and more innovative ideas to keep their customers engaged these days.聽 That鈥檚 just the world that we live in now; the ways of the old school generation just aren鈥檛 as appreciated anymore.
It used to be that you became aware of such a business through this neat little invention called a 鈥榝lyer鈥�.聽 A flyer tells would-be customers of every sort of product that the business is selling, and contains vital information such as pricing, addresses, phone numbers, all that need-to-know stuff.聽 The flyer is printed on paper (gasp!) and circulated throughout the community area in which the business is located through mailboxes, bulletin boards, and even on power poles.聽 Customers would take in this information and proceed to make a conscious decision over whether or not to darken the doorsteps of the business.聽 If they liked what they saw or even bought, BOOM, that business owner probably made a customer for life.
That definition may have been wrought with some tongue-in-cheek condescension, but it does illustrate how a once-key piece of advertising information has gone by the wayside in a lot of respects, at least in some bigger urban areas.聽 I鈥檓 happy that a decent handful of Outlook businesses still see the 鈥減ower of print鈥�.
No, what we鈥檝e started to see in the last decade or so is this very noticeable shift over to the online world, particularly social media.聽 Apparently, one of the pre-requisites for starting up ANY form of small business is having a Facebook page.聽 They鈥檙e quick, they鈥檙e free (at least to a point), and everyone and their dog is on Facebook, so it鈥檚 easy to understand why it鈥檚 virtually essential to have one in 2019.
Hey, we鈥檙e not immune to it either here at the paper.聽 I fired up a Facebook page of our own two years ago, and it鈥檚 become a vital online tool to help direct readers to our articles, columns and stories.聽 But that鈥檚 just the thing; Facebook is really just a tool for us.聽 We use it to be connected with our readers, sure, but its main job is to direct people to our official website that houses all of our news.聽 Hey, what can I say, I love when our awesome readers help pump up those web traffic numbers!聽 It鈥檚 kind of a 鈥渞edirection鈥� sorta thing; we want you to click from THIS site to THAT site.
Oh, and before I forget, THANK YOU for making the month of April the busiest that our website has ever been!聽 Our readers are incredible and nothing short of passionate.聽 I say that sincerely, and with no 鈥渕aliciousness鈥� at all.
*wink*
Businesses of all types are on Facebook, even right here in Outlook and the surrounding area.聽 It鈥檚 understandable because that鈥檚 just a sign of the times that we live in; people are walking around with handheld devices that can connect to the online world with the tap of a button or two, so it鈥檚 important to reach those people.聽 But what if that just doesn鈥檛 seem to be enough for a business?聽 What if a business owner decides, 鈥淗ey, we need to take this thing we have to another level鈥�?
Take the Outlook Locker Plant, for example.聽 Last weekend, they did a really cool thing when they set up their newly-acquired food truck outside of a local business over the course of two days, offering up hot meals to customers who wanted some grub on the go.聽 Now granted, this may not sound like a big deal to those living in larger urban areas where food trucks are more of a thing, but it鈥檚 something of a shiny new toy in a small town.聽 The food was excellent (first time I tried catfish and I鈥檓 hooked) and the prices were fair, but more than that, it was something DIFFERENT for people to try out.
This kind of out-of-the-box thinking is what small town businesses may need to continue succeeding.聽 In the case of the locker plant, it was about answering the question of, 鈥淗ow do we get THIS food out to the people in a highly-visible, face-to-face manner?鈥澛� BOOM, food truck.
Another example was the returning Harvest Festival from two years ago, in which Outlook鈥檚 Franklin Street was sectioned off so that it could become a veritable smorgasbord of businesses mingling with customers in an outdoor trade show format.聽 You went and grabbed a burger or some fish, washed it down with something cold, played a game or two, and then visited with local business owners who believed in their products and/or services, all under the auspices of an amazing outdoor event that highlighted the best of the community.
I guess the question really comes down to this: are we talking about thinking out of the box, or maybe more specifically, 鈥渙ut of the store鈥�?
In a world that continues to move online with minimal person-to-person interaction, it seems that business owners may need to leave the inner walls of their brick-and-mortar storefronts to ensure that they thrive, or perhaps rather that they even survive.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
