New Hampshire is a great little state in which to do business. It offers some unique opportunities when it comes to connecting with customers.
The Granite State has low business taxes (ranked #6 in the country by the Tax Foundation) and access to a range of industries including manufacturing, construction, technology, healthcare, agriculture and aquaculture, tourism and recreation.
As for its residents — your customers — compared to the national average, they have higher educational attainment and household income. It’s consistently rated a top state to raise children in. The population of the state is growing, largely through relocation.
New Hampshire’s characteristics offer clear marketing opportunities. Key to the process is knowing your audience and telling stories that are relevant, authentic, and useful. Here are some tips to help market your business to those New Hampshire consumers.
1. Value relationships
With New Hampshire’s size, it’s important to remember that customers have an outsized influence when they discuss your brand. Even the state’s larger cities can feel like small towns where neighbors share customer experiences over proverbial fences. You’ll want to invest in marketing that encourages positive, and memorable, word-of-mouth recommendations. Take steps to ensure your message feels genuine and you live up to your promises.
2. Be a part of the community
From Old Home Days and country fairs to music festivals to conferences and industry-specific events, there are a range of gatherings your business can take part in. Strategize year-round opportunities to connect with the public. Think about your ideal customer and what they spend their time doing. Where is the best place to meet them? Think about ways you can open the door to a conversation.
3. Tap into New Hampshire’s seasons
New Hampshire’s shifts between spring, summer, fall, and winter provide great reasons to reshare your story framed with seasonal themes. You can keep your website feeling up to date by shifting photography to reflect the current scenery.
Embracing the seasons doesn’t have to just be about the weather either. New Hampshire’s seasons help fuel a robust rotation of recreational opportunities you can latch on to. Consider hockey, skiing or skating topics in winter; basketball, fishing, and gardening in spring; biking, swimming, and boating in summer; and hiking, off-roading and farm visits in fall,
4. Lots of channels for your message
With New Hampshire’s demographics skewing older, traditional media including cable news, newspapers and magazines remains popular. More than 80% of residents subscribe to cable TV and just under 30 newspapers cover regions of the state. That’s not to say to ignore digital media, such as social networks and email. About 90% of the state has access to the internet on a home computer or smartphone.
With an omnichannel marketing approach, you can repackage your brand story to share across a variety of platforms. That article posted on your blog can create print products and shared with your email list. A video interview may update your website and social media channels, while the transcript becomes the bones of a press release
While New Hampshire’s unique characteristics offer some clear opportunities when crafting your story, other states or regions can apply the same ideas. At the heart of the process is knowing your audience, including the landscape (or cityscape) that shapes their lives, and telling stories that are relevant, authentic, and useful.