Those of us who follow social media know this is where small businesses have the greatest voice. Let’s face it, a family owned local fish store (LFS) has a small advertising budget and needs to make the most impact they can. Word of mouth has always been the way small business grows and it remains the best option for LFS to bring in new business. My favorite tool for finding what I need is Google Maps, which is like the old yellow pages, but better. There are many other apps, webpages, and resources available today. Yelp, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook (FB) are the top platforms these days. I personally prefer Facebook, because they offer a large membership, pictures, videos, text, and more, all for mostly free. There is a trend I have noticed recently, of LFS posting their inventory list on their FB page. All the big LFS are doing this, especially the saltwater stores. It is just good business to get your product out in front of potential customers. From the looks of it, we have plenty to choose from.
The next time you are online, search a LFS you like and see if they don’t have some sort of info about their inventory. Some still leave this info on their website, however many post to FB. Need to find a LFS near you, check out my list of Colorado LFS. As an aquarist or aquarium hobbyist we have it made here in CO. Not many other states that I know of, especially in the west, have 37 LFS, plus the big box stores to find resources. We are truly blessed as consumers. The LFS owners have real competition to contend with. I find LFS specializing to set themselves apart and using free advertising like social media and word of mouth to bring in customers. By the way, let me point out that my blog here is not monetized. This is my passion and hobby. I enjoy this and I trust you are finding something useful among my many blogs. Please share with your friends.
We have a new player on the board here in the Denver Metro, MC Aquatics. It turns out they are somewhere between a big box store and a LFS. Meaning they have 4 stores around the country and are still expanding, so they are not just a Colorado Fish Store. I will have an updated blog on them coming out in the next few weeks. The store reminds me of the Fish Crew in Ft. Collins, but a bit bigger. Tis the season, so get out and support your local fish store!
Sequoia Elisabeth
ps - If you have specific questions, please use the contact page on this blog site and I will do my best to get you a timely answer.
Comments