The Atlantic Canadian Effect

THE CUP OF COFFEE

In Atlantic Canada, you will find more people “connected” than anywhere else in the world. When I say the word connected I don’t mean the first thought of internet connectivity; I am referring to others that live in the same area. If you’re not from the Atlantic Canadian region but have visited you may have noticed that it’s a bit slower paced and the people are very friendly. Due to the culture we have, it’s only natural for us to get to know others and it’s not uncommon to see people drum up conversation out of nowhere at the local barbour shop, on the street, or even with the people sitting next to each other at a coffee shop. When we get home from work we often talk about our day while mentioning at least a few people that we ran into that day. This is who we are and that connected feeling is something I think Atlantic Canadians are proud of. There’s a reason why Canadians are known as the friendliest in the world! It’s especially true in Atlantic Canada! 

HOW does knowing about people being “connected” help my business?

If you have a connected community at your fingertips, your business may be succeeding with little to no effort in marketing. You may just serve a market where your product or service is in high demand and people are simply spreading your business via word of mouth. This is more apt to happen in Atlantic Canada than anywhere else, because it’s our nature to tell our friends and family about a new business or something that really worked for them. However, what most businesses are missing here is the huge opportunity to capitalize on knowing how our community operates. If you want to keep the status quo, then keep doing what you’re doing . However, if you want to grow your business then you should show up where your community is spending their time. It only makes sense to enable your business to be talked about in the places where your potential customers are communicating. Today more than ever before, that conversation is happening online. To see if you’re really empowering your community to share/talk about your business, let me ask you 3 questions.

1. Have you thought of ideas on how to get people talking about your business more?
2. Have you dived into the world of video? It’s the hottest marketing trend in 2019 and is what people are consuming the most of at an alarming rate – People relate to other people and the meaning behind the business and nothing is easier to attain this than through video. The high cost is worth the trade-off in the long run! 
3.  Have you ran a strategic marketing campaign that has clear goals in mind? 

When it comes to marketing in Atlantic Canada it’s not as easy as putting up a Google Ad campaign and watching the sales pile in. You need to build a brand, show some creativity in your passion, and get people talking about your business. You don’t always need to reach your target market with direct advertising because our population base is small and filled with community. This is a great thing if you know how to market to the “community”. I cannot stress this enough and is where most marketing agencies fail and struggle to bring in sales for their customers. Atlantic Canada operates through community so your marketing strategy needs to be based off of that fact. 

If you feel overwhelmed, that’s why Valley Marketing is here. I help small to medium size businesses flourish online. Take one of our clients for example, Brown’s Paving in Sussex, NB. When they first reached out to me you couldn’t find them online and they did have a website. They met with the YellowPages rep every January like many businesses still do today, throwing thousands of dollars out the window on very little value. If your a business that still does this and is reading this nodding your head, yes, don’t worry, you’re not alone! We’ve all been there! What’s better than throwing money at YellowPages ads? BUILDING A BRAND. We provided Brown’s Paving with a branding guide, a new website that is found everywhere when you search for their business, and the first impression you get when finding their business is the best of the best for their industry. This is because we took the time to brand the business and make sure everything was cohesive and consistent throughout. We used our professional photography to get local images of them working on the job, taking the extra effort to showcase community and Brown’s proud history. From their online presence they are easily seen as the “cream of the crop”. We also help them with social media from time to time. We are currently running a campaign for their unique winter pothole repair bags that is soaring with success. One targeted Facebook post has reached over 33,000 Atlantic Canadians and has been shared 120 times. The $/reach is mind-boggling and so effective that it has Brown’s Paving management super happy with their results. We achieved all of this with a very small budget and with a genuine and authentic approach. There is some ground work to do before you start advertising your product or service, but with the right help, every business can grow.

If you  understand “community” and have time to dive head first, I recommend signing up to our monthly newsletter and implementing some of the strategies I talk about. It’s a fun community to be a part of and you will never stop learning because I never stop learning!

If you don’t have the time to brand + market your own business then reach out today. All it takes is a short conversation over coffee to see where your business is at and I can show you how I can get people talking about your business and funnelling new potential sales through your doors.  I set you up with a no-risk package that if you’re not happy within 30 days, you get 100% of your money back. Every day that you wait is another potential lead lost!