SmallBusinessNewz

Just because someone is only passing through doesn't mean they don't represent a selling opportunity.

If you have a good understanding of the city where you do business, you should have an idea of what attracts travelers to town. A college town may draw big football crowds in the fall, like anywhere in the SEC, or researchers all year round to work with a university.

Those people have needs and wants, with only the time to act upon them varying. To reach them, a business has to get in front of them in the places where they are likely to look.

For restaurants and food delivery services near hotels or motels, small businesses should try to be part of the in-room directories, and maybe the lobby brochure or business card displays. Drugstores and car repair businesses may have an audience looking for them too.

If conferences come to nearby hotels or conference centers, sponsorship spots may be available that will put the business in the associated literature for the event. On a multi-day event, in a place with leisure activities available, businesses that build upon interest in those activities (think sporting goods stores for golfers and other hobbyists) could draw a tourist customer or three.

Heavier tourism destinations merit greater devotion to reaching those travelers, but not so much that those efforts over-reach the neighborhood of the small business. Some demand a broader reach for tourists, like an outlet mall with lots of small boutique shopping destinations.

Knowing one's local area will help orient tourist-focused campaigns. There's no good reason to let money pass one by if an ad in the right place would have grabbed their attention.