Find Erie customers by becoming easier to choose.

Start with a reachable Erie customer

Choose a group you can describe and contact without guessing. "Small businesses" may still be too broad. "Independent Erie retailers that need product photography," "property owners who need seasonal exterior work," or "families planning a graduation celebration" gives you a clearer place to start.

List where those people already make decisions: neighborhood groups, professional associations, community organizations, vendor events, markets, local publications, search results, referral partners, or businesses they already trust. Do not join a community only to drop an advertisement. Learn the norms and contribute something useful.

Create an offer people can repeat

A customer should be able to explain your offer to another person. Include the customer, result, scope, price or pricing method, timing, and next action. Replace "full-service solutions" with language such as "a two-hour product-photo session that produces 20 edited images for an Erie retailer." Specificity reduces uncertainty and makes referrals more likely.

Use five local paths together

1. Direct conversations: ask relevant people how they handle the problem now, then offer a suitable next step.
2. Referral partners: build relationships with businesses serving the same customer without competing for the same sale.
3. Events and vendor opportunities: choose events where the right audience attends, then measure leads and sales instead of foot traffic alone.
4. Local search: publish a page that clearly states the service, Erie area served, proof, and contact path.
5. Community proof: share useful work, outcomes, lessons, and customer-approved stories consistently.

Follow up without becoming noise

After a conversation, record what the person needed, what you promised, and when you should follow up. Send the promised information. If there is no response, make one or two respectful follow-ups that add clarity or value, then stop. Permission and relevance matter more than volume.

Track a small funnel each week: relevant conversations, qualified leads, proposals or offers, sales, repeat customers, and referrals. If conversations are high but sales are low, the problem is probably not reach. Review the offer, price, proof, trust, or next step.

Make local pages genuinely useful

A useful Erie landing page answers who the service is for, what result is provided, what area is served, how the process works, what it costs or how pricing is determined, and what the visitor should do. Add original photos and customer-approved proof where possible. Do not create dozens of nearly identical city pages; one strong Erie page is more useful than thin pages with only the place name changed.

Verify programs and opportunities directly

Erie County's official business resource page describes regional development resources, while the Economic Development Department coordinates countywide support. Event applications, grants, financing, certifications, and training programs change. Review the current organizer or agency terms before paying, applying, or promising customers anything.