(Aerial Photo courtesy: Sean Paul Photo IG | FB)
Alan Boyd provides invaluable guidance to local business owners. As part of his commitment to equipping entrepreneurs with the best practices and tips, he continues to offer a series of helpful insights. Stay informed and receive regular updates by subscribing to Alan’s Newsletter, ensuring you never miss out on these valuable resources.
On paper, ‘traffic-dependent Tequesta businesses’ appear to be the most vulnerable to the US-1 bridge closure – which may not necessarily be the case though, especially for the most proactive businesses of the bunch.
The reasoning behind this has to do with the population size. Tequesta has a population of approximately 6,000 while Jupiter has a population of around ten times that size coming in north of 60,000.
Here are some fundamental concepts that you should consider to help keep sales consistent or even improve them during the bridge closure.
*This guide will be updated frequently but is by no means exhaustive.
**For brevity I’ll refer to ‘traffic-dependent Tequesta businesses’ as just ‘Tequesta businesses’ from here on out in this guide.
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Promotion Types
Going Direct
This is the low-hanging fruit. Keep your previous/existing clientele engaged and up-to-date with periodic updates.
This can be done by leveraging cost-effective channels such as social media, email, direct mail, and even by phone in some cases. Social media is likely the easiest of this bunch but remember that not everybody is active on social media so you may not want to rely on this channel entirely.
*Set up your own USPS direct mail campaign here.
Local ‘Mass Market’
Local mass-market advertising and promotions consist of getting publicity from local radio and television stations, newspapers, and online publishers.
This will be utilized both by individual businesses (primarily those that hire Public Relations firms) and news stories that cover specific businesses or the entire region as a whole.
*Here’s a link to a standout PR firm in the area.
Local ‘Interest Based’
This encompasses bloggers, travel sites, local influencers, and local celebrities who write about or feature businesses like yours. Do research to find out who is writing about your industry.
*Ask me about our Northern Palm Beach County-based social media influencer account with 9 million followers that we can leverage for some serious local exposure.
Promo Events
Organized events designed to attract customers to Tequesta businesses will definitely be a play to make. There are a lot of moving parts here though and I might go a bit deeper in subsequent guides.
Targeted Advertising
Effective targeted advertising campaigns should utilize both a unique message and/or unique channel for each of the following market segments. Let’s explore each market segment with broad brushstrokes.
Market Segmentation
Tequesta Residents
The most obvious activity for Tequesta businesses will be to target Tequesta residents specifically.
Figuring out ways to get and keep their attention will be your top priority.
Jupiter Island Residents
There are several Tequesta businesses that cater specifically to the Jupiter Island crowd. I’m guessing that this customer base will remain strong for those businesses.
Emphasizing online ordering and delivery options could also be a smart add-on if not already well established.
Depending on where they live on the island, they do also have the option of driving north toward Hutchinson Island if congestion does become a major inconvenience but I’m thinking that’s not likely.
Jupiter Residents
It’s a reasonable assumption that a decent percentage of Tequesta business revenue comes from Jupiter residents and that number may shrink as Jupiter residents avoid Tequesta during times of high congestion.
The main message toward attracting Jupiter residents will be something like this:
“The Bridge may be Closed, but We’re Open for Business”
Initial ideas to combat this are to monitor which times of day have the worst congestion and let your customers/clients/patients know that ‘Hey, from 8-9:30, 12-1, and 4:30-5:30 congestion is highest but X-Y and Y-Z and are great windows to pick your spots’.
Extending operating hours to remain open after the end of the day rush hour may be beneficial but would need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Hobe Sound & Stuart Residents
Something that others may not have anticipated that I think could become a favorable trend is that residents from Hobe Sound and Stuart may start coming down to Tequesta more frequently and in higher concentrations.
In fact, I think we can create this demand. More on this later.
Juno to West Palm Residents
Honestly, I think most Tequesta businesses will have their hands full with higher priorities and may get spread too thin by trying to cater to every market segment, therefore I personally haven’t even given this market much thought as of yet.
*I will highlight this market segment in my upcoming Jupiter business marketing guide.
It is worth noting that some Tequesta businesses (and Jupiter businesses alike) generate upwards of double-digit (or higher) percentages of their revenue from people from south of Jupiter down to the West Palm Beach area.
