Competing online for worldwide customers is fine, but don't forget about those who still see you as the shop around the corner...

Although most entrepreneurs think of their Web sites as vehicles for getting new customers - from far corners of the world, no less - many end up neglecting a market with even greater potential: the one right around the corner. After all, local customers live and shop near your business. Why not reach out to them, too?

"Businesses are realizing they don't want to compete globally," explains Ron Reynard of Peninsula Online. "They want to be more effective and more efficient competing where they've always competed, which is locally."

In fact, the survey also points out that 80 percent of small businesses do at least 75 percent of their business locally (within 50 miles of their businesses) whether it's selling directly to customers or buying products and services their companies need.

Whether you emphasize community flavor or encourage patrons to drop by your neighborhood store, localizing your site gives current customers a better reason to choose you over larger online or local competitors.

As Entrepreneur Magazine detailed in June, 2001, Bud Matto, 37, is just one entrepreneur finding success with the strategy: As founder of Matto Cycle, a Pottsville, Pennsylvania, motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle parts vendor that sells products online and off, Matto goes out of his way to use his site to target local customers.

Although Matto's initial intention was to reach a global audience, he also realized the importance of localization. "[The site] gives our fairly large local clientele the option to order a product online and have it shipped to them instead of having to drive an hour to the shop and an hour back," Matto explains.

One of the easiest ways to localize your site is by taking advantage of local services available. For example, aside from helping companies set up Web sites and offering to place banner ads, many PeninsulaOnline.com now features online shopping malls. For a modest initial setup fee and monthly fees starting at $49, local businesses and entrepreneurs can establish their Web sites and also be prominently featured on PeninsulaOnline’s shopping mall, PeninsulaOnline.com. The home page of each participator is linked directly to the online mall, which is viewed by a substantially greater number of visitors each month than an individual store would generate.

"Intelligent entrepreneurs are doing everything they can to meet the needs of their local customers," says Reynard. "PeninsulaOnline.com allows businesses to launch local promotions on their Web sites to reach local customers, doing e-mail marketing and even allowing their customers to set up appointments for their services on their Web sites."

This is now becoming a traditional manner of successful business - leveraging your bricks and mortar (physical store) with a presence on the Web. Successful businesses recognize that participation in a local online mall gives your customers and potential customers more chances to interact with you.

Ultimately, the more points of presence and the more distribution channels you have, the better chance you have to play an important role in your customer's purchasing behavior. Having these multiple channels increases your chances of obtaining loyal customers. It's axiomatic that customers who are engages in more than one channel usually have greater average sales and greater customer loyalty!