Local food is at the center of everything Taste the Local Difference does. We work diligently to be Michigan residents’ go-to resource for learning about local food businesses, providing you with resources for how to support them, and how to make the most of everything Michigan farms and food businesses have to offer.
For these businesses, an important aspect of succeeding is growing and maintaining a supportive customer base–and that is often done through marketing. But of course, small business owners are juggling a million things at once, leaving them little time to focus on marketing. This is where we come in!
Beyond providing resources for local eaters, we work to support local businesses by providing them with affordable marketing services. We help them put their best foot forward–whether that’s new brand photography on their website, some copy updates for their product descriptions, helping to build business connections, an email marketing campaign, or a complete social media strategy to connect with more people. And we do so much more than that–because above all else, we want to support Michigan’s local food economy.
Accessible services for any size business
Keeping these services accessible to all is a key component of our client services; we offer business-paid services but we also partner with several organizations throughout the state that sponsor our services and allow us to offer them at little to no cost to the business.
A few of our amazing partners in supporting small businesses include:
- Michigan Economic Development Corporation
- Michigan State University Product Center
- Center for Regional Food Systems
- Fresh Food Connections
Verdant Hollow Farms: Lowering eCommerce costs and boosting marketing efforts
Verdant Hollow Farms came to Taste the Local Difference for help transitioning their eCommerce operations from a third-party platform to their own website. They were also seeking support managing their social media and email marketing efforts while growing their produce, meat, and farm product sales.
Using our expertise in eCommerce functionality, website design, and digital marketing, we were able to easily guide them through the transition, which ultimately saved them money, boosted sales, and gave them a sense of confidence in managing their marketing efforts. Read more about the work we did for them, and how much we improved their bottom line!
Brooklyn Street Local: Increasing foot traffic for a local brunch spot
Brooklyn Street Local is a widely popular weekend brunch restaurant in Detroit, and their next step was to get consistent foot traffic in the door on weekdays. After learning about their goals, TLD created a multi-faceted approach to increasing weekday sales.
- Social Media Audit and Strategy: After assessing their social media, we made an actionable plan to promote take-out orders and encourage weekday visits from nearby residents and workers.
- Email Marketing: We provided recommendations on content and frequency for them to implement on their own and increase foot traffic.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Strategy: Based on previous traffic and performance data, we provided keyword research and other optimization recommendations for their website to grow their brand awareness online.
- Photography: Nothing makes a person hungrier than amazing photos! By upgrading their photography, we were able to make their takeout menu even more appetizing to customers and tempt them to dine in with photos of their inviting dining room.
Devries & Co. 1887: Connecting to potential customers nationwide with eCommerce
Devries & Co. 1887 is a specialty shop in Detroit and has been a staple in the community for decades. While in a neighborhood with a very well-attended farmers’ market throughout the week, they came to us to help them expand their business online with a new eCommerce website.
Now, they are able to sell their impressive collection of cheeses and more to customers all over the country – growing their customer base and their bottom line.
Know a food business that could use some help?
Send them our way! Or explore our portfolio to see what other work we’ve done to support Michigan food and farm businesses.
And as a consumer, don’t forget to shop local this holiday season! If you need some gift ideas from some amazing Michigan small businesses, be sure to explore our Michigan Local Gift Guide!
Carrie Hause is the Digital Marketing Specialist for Taste the Local Difference.