Perfect Example of Great Local Marketing

This weekend I was treated to a perfect example of very good local marketing at work. It worked well. It was not complicated. And it didn't cost a lot.

The marketing genius behind this success story is a neighbor of ours. She held a garage sale this weekend and despite the weather being cold and windy (lousy weather even by Minnesota's standards) they had a steady flow of shoppers that would make any retail store owner jump for joy.

The sale was held on Saturday and people lined up before they opened and they were still showing up after they were closed. And most people we saw leaving with their arms full.

What was the magic behind this residential retail success?

Signs.

Very good signs in good locations. And a lot of them.

First, her signs were well done. They were easy to read with the words "Garage Sale" in big black letters on a white background. And the letters were done with a computer, not hand written so they were clear.

They had big red arrows on them that always pointed the right direction.

Our neighborhood is in a secluded, heavily wooded area. So, getting people here is always difficult. We usually tell our friends to use Mapquest so they don't get lost. But her garage sale signs were so well placed they just drew people right in to the neighborhood.

In short, this garage sale guru did a good job in delivering her message ("Garage Sale") to a lot of people and then made it easy for them to get to the sale.

Because she used a lot high-quality, professional looking signs they were easy to see, easy to read and they gave people a positive impression so they could assume this was a quality sale. And since all the signs were the same and they were well placed, there was no confusion about how to get to the sale.

As far as I can see, she met most principles of effective local marketing and it worked. Bravo!