Hi I'm Neil,

I love the sense of belonging to a community experienced when shopping at my local independent businesses. 

However, I feel I’m not always up to date with what they have to offer, which means I miss opportunities to support them, and they lose out on revenue.

I wondered, is it just me that feels this way, or do others share the same sentiment?

So, during lockdown, while others were perfecting their banana bread recipes and masterminding quizzes, I embarked on a mission to answer three pivotal questions:

1.      What is the public’s attitude toward shopping local?

2.      Why do I see so many advertisements from big brands but so few from my local independent businesses?

3.      Is there a solution?

After hours of listening to podcasts and reading market reports, I discovered I’m not alone, my research revealed some striking statistics:

68% consider buying local is important to them

85% of customers want proactive communication from a business

63% agree that supporting the local community was more important than buying from larger multinational brands

Clearly there is a demand for local independent businesses to proactively engage with customers. So why isn’t this happening?

One report states that 73% of businesses lack confidence in their marketing strategy. This is understandable, as owners face significant challenges in consistently carrying out marketing activities.

Here are 5 key barriers to overcome:

Lack of time, 58% of respondents report postponing their marketing activities.

Budget, finding value for money solutions

Measuring results and return on investment.

Keeping up with marketing trends and technology

Building a database of ideal customers.

Big brands are afforded the resosurces that allow them to overcome these barriers, and having multiple outlets enables them to build a significant cusotmer database.

In contrast, independents face a massive disadvantage as they cannot single handedly create a large database, the fundamental factore that underpins all marketing activity.

What is required for independents to compete with big brands?

Two key elements, firstly a musketeer mindset, a “one for all and all for one” attitude, with like-minded business owners united in the shared purpose of competing against the big brands.

Secondly, a marketing tool that removes the barriers to consistently carry out marketing activities enabling them to engage their community and generate revenue.

So, what’s the solution? Further research shows that the easiest and most profitable way to sell more, to more people, more often is to run a digital gift voucher program.

The UK gift market is valued at a staggering £7 billion, with virtually all of this revenue going to big brands.

To make it easy for independents to win their share of this lucrative untapped market, I’ve created the LGV Birthday Club app – made easier as we offer a “one stop solution” taking care of your campaigns from concept to conclusion.

With hope and optimism, my immediate mission is to encourage the public to think local and independent as a priority when purchasing gift vouchers.

My vision is to build a nationwide network of independent business owners united in their goal to compete with big brands and generate revenue by engaging with their community.