Spent a morning at a small town chamber of commerce meeting and it rewired how I think about local ads

I was in Sandusky last month visiting family and tagged along to a chamber breakfast. An old guy who runs a hardware store got up and talked about how he stopped running Facebook ads and just started putting handwritten thank you notes in every order. He said his sales went up 15% in 3 months just from word of mouth. I had been spending $400 a month on Google Ads for my own shop and pulling my hair out over click rates. That one talk made me rethink everything. Has anyone else found that old school personal touches beat digital in local markets?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant4781mo ago

Handwritten notes work. I do the same thing for my landscaping clients. Leave a sticky note on their mailbox after a job. People actually call me back about it. Digital ads feel like screaming into the void sometimes.

robert6591mo ago

Ha! I feel personally attacked by that "screaming into the void" comment cause that's basically my entire marketing strategy for the last year. I swear I've spent more time staring at Google Analytics than actually talking to people who walk through my door. It's honestly kind of pathetic when you think about it. I tried the handwritten note thing and my handwriting is so bad that people probably think it's a ransom note, but you know what? They still laughed about it and came back anyway. Maybe I should just tape a $20 bill to my forehead and stand on the corner, at least that would be more direct than my Facebook ad campaign.

the_max1mo ago

Man, YES. That hardware store guy is absolutely right. I started doing the same thing with my small business last year. I print a little note on the back of every receipt just saying "thanks for stopping in" with my name scribbled at the bottom. It sounds silly but people notice that stuff way more than any online ad. I actually had a woman come back a week later just to tell me how much she appreciated the personal touch. Digital ads feel like you're yelling into a crowded room and hoping someone hears you. But a simple note or a sticky note like that landscaper said? That's like a quiet conversation with one customer who actually remembers it.