Supporting Local Businesses in Collierville and the Surrounding Area

Andy McNutt is many things: husband, father, teacher, Star-Trek junkie, and computer geek, but it is as a local business owner that he is making a mark in West Tennessee. Enter RelyLocal.com, the tool Andy is using to help Collierville area businesses to compete for local consumer dollars against big name retail outlets, restaurants and services.

By trade, Andy is both a teacher and a computer geek. When he relocated to the western side of Tennessee in 2002, he brought with him a background in what he calls "break fix" computer service. He noticed that there was one company in town that seemed to get all the business and he could not find a way to "break in" to the market. That is what sparked him to start learning more about the internet and online marketing. Eight years later, Andy's business was thriving, but he saw other local outfits struggling. Restaurants nearly empty during lunch rush. Stores with few customers during regular shopping hours. He started asking questions.

Are you advertising?

Do you have a website?

How do you attract new customers?

How would a new resident know anything about you?

He realized that more than half the locally owned businesses in his area had almost no exposure to the consumer market and were relying only on word of mouth advertising to increase business. In a town where population is fluid due to the proximity of global headquarters of companies like FedEx, AOC, and International Paper, you always have new people moving in who are looking for goods and services. Left to themselves they will shop where they are most familiar, which is a great disadvantage to the local stores. Those businesses with web sites were doing little to get their name "out there" and compete for search engine rankings, mostly because someone had once told them they needed a website, but no one had shown them what to do with their sites. Like their shops, nobody knew where they were or what they were.

Having learned a great deal about internet marketing through his own "web work" and internet consulting, Andy began to brainstorm ways to help local businesses find the recognition they needed to increase foot traffic to their goods and services. His original intent was to build a local directory and help build a basic website for every business in town. Internet hosting was cheap enough, but he had no branding, and no budget for a big marketing campaign. That's when he found RelyLocal.com on the web. They were doing exactly what he wanted to do, help local businesses to thrive and to compete against the name brand stores. "Why reinvent the wheel?" he said, and began a RelyLocal.com branch in Collierville.

RelyLocal.com takes a local business and promotes them in several ways. Most obvious is the interactive directory, where customers can locate the goods and services they are looking for as well as leave feedback for the business owners and fellow patrons. Each member listing shows the description of the goods and offerings, contact information, operating hours, directions, and links to the business Facebook, Twitter, and any other media outlets used by the local outfit. The directory also offers free printable coupons and free job search listings.

Besides the online directory, RelyLocal.com networks to help grow businesses. Owners like Andy work alongside local Chamber of Commerce members to help spread the word and get businesses working with each other, through referrals as well as cooperative projects. A branding campaign in each town also helps drive traffic to the RelyLocal site, which in turn drives foot and web traffic to member businesses. The networking aspect is one of Andy's favorite parts.

"I have such a great time meeting everybody and learning about their business. Every day gives me a chance to drive my territory and see what's going on. I get to be out and about, talking and sharing with people about something I truly believe in. It's a rush, to say the least. Knowing that I am making a difference and keeping my community alive. No, it's more than that. I'm helping people thrive. These are good businesses and great products. They will not be a secret anymore."

Andy's absolute favorite part, however, is the internet portion of the business.

"We sit down over some local coffee and talk about new developments, new products, and just how they are doing. Then I go home in the afternoons and go nuts on the internet, plugging in new content and just 'geeking out'. There are just so many ways to optimize business listings and websites, and I'm not talking about cheap shortcuts that hurt you later. This is the real deal, content creation and backlink building. I absolutely love doing this sort of thing. That's probably why people are willing to join RelyLocal, to get somebody else to handle that for them. No problem. I love it. Plus, I can watch the business grow and know I had a hand in it. I find that very fulfiling."

RelyLocal.com operates 24/7 and has branches in almost every state in the US. The RelyLocal movement continues to grow, with new chapters being added every week. Each time a new market segment opens, the movement grows stronger, building a national branding that helps all participating members in the long run.

To learn more about the RelyLocal movement, visit the RelyLocal.com website today and support local businesses.