Help, Suggestions for my offline business

Become friends with the press... morning shows, especially. Send out press releases to local media, you'll get quite the jumpstart of business, it's up to you to find a way to retain that uptick in new business though. Are you sending flyers or postcards? Both can work.. maybe include a coupon on there.

Something that could really work... is a "bring a friend" campaign... where you bring someone with you and they both get something free, or an extra % off or something like that.

Think bigger Mick.

Call a few of your local television stations and tell them you have a great feel good story about the come back of the locally sourced small town grocer. To better your chances of getting picked up by a media outlet do a local food drive or event at your establishment for a local charity or family that needs help. You get coverage that far exceeds the reach of 3500 flyers and you'll sleep great knowing you made the world a better place. You'll get:

- Great TV coverage - more bodies in the door
- A great article on the stations website (hopefully with front page exposure)
- Links to your website from a very reputable source causing a better website ranking for your business.
- Lots of buzz in your local town

Now think even bigger and contact every radio outlet and newspaper after you arrange the event and ask for a mention (they usually do this free for these types of events). Make it an annual event and call it the "Feed a family for a week" contest. Partner with one of your neighboring businesses and have a drawing for a free dinner for two at the event. They'll love to piggy back on your event and it'll get more people at both of your businesses.

Now step it up even more and get ALL the neighboring vendors to join in on the event, each business offering a different prize for the giveaway and a donation for the event. The media won't be able to ignore it. Put your marketing hat on and be stealthy about it and in the newspaper/radio/tv coverage tell people they can register at each business for the drawing when they're in the neighborhood. You get a warm body in each of your businesses. Do it all with the intentions of getting them in the door (no registrations on Facebook). Make sure your staff is prepared that day and are super friendly that day so you make a big impression. Do the flyers too but make the focus the event, not your sales pitch. allow each vendor to have a 2"x2" ad on the flyer explaining their giveaway item. Now that you're helping others you can ask for volunteers to hand out the flyers and avoid postage. Ask the printer if he wants to be a part of the charity and now you have free flyers printed. Offer free samples of your food at the event and have your staff talk about the local economic and environmental benefits of locally sourced produce. Get e-mails from people and incentivize them to give it to you for a future newsletter. Get where I'm going?

Of course I don't know your local market but that's what I would do if I owned a grocery and things were slow. Best of luck to you. Whatever you do just take some action today and think big. I hope I didn't break your brain, I have a tendency to do that. Thanks too for owning a local business, you're appreciated and I know it's hard work.

Another thing is delivering fresh fruits and veggies to businesses and residential homes.
Again with the press releases and media coverage. Talking about how your store is more than a grocery store. But a business committed to helping people get fresh fruits and veggies.
Look up "The Fruit Guys"... they are killing it.
This way you are targeting people that can't make it to the store.