The Hard Truth About Local Marketing in Brisbane
If you’re running a plumbing business in Coorparoo, a cafe in Paddington, or a law firm in the CBD, you don't need to be famous across Australia. You don’t even need to be famous across all of Queensland. You just need to be the first person people call when they need help in your specific neighbourhood.
Most business owners I talk to are frustrated. They’ve spent thousands on fancy agencies that talk about "brand awareness" and "impressions," but their phone isn't ringing any more than it was last year.
I’ve seen this work for dozens of Brisbane businesses: the secret isn't spending more; it's being smarter about your own backyard. In this guide, I’m going to show you exactly how to own your suburb. No jargon, no fluff—just practical ways to get more customers through your door.
Why Being "Local" is Your Biggest Competitive Advantage
Big national companies have massive budgets, but they have one massive weakness: they aren't here. They don't know the traffic on Gympie Road, they don't know the local footy clubs, and they can't show up at a customer's house in twenty minutes.
People in Brisbane want to buy from people they trust. When a homeowner in Carindale has a burst pipe, they aren't looking for a multinational corporation; they’re looking for a bloke with a van who is five minutes away.
The Shift in How People Find You
Ten years ago, you could put an ad in the Yellow Pages and wait. Today, people grab their phones and type "electrician near me" or "best coffee in West End." If you aren't showing up in those specific local searches, you are effectively invisible.
I’ve seen many local shops struggle because their business is invisible on Google Maps, which is essentially the modern-day storefront. If Google doesn't know exactly where you are and what you do, you're handing money to your competitors.
Prediction 1: The Death of "Broad" Advertising
In 2024 and beyond, throwing money at broad Facebook ads or radio spots that reach the whole of South East Queensland is a waste of your hard-earned cash. Why pay to show an ad to someone in Ipswich if you only service the Northside?
The Expert Insight: Precision is the new profit.
You want to focus your efforts on a 5km to 10km radius around your physical location or service area. This reduces your travel time (saving you petrol and hours in the car) and increases your profit per job.
How to act on this:
1. Audit your current spend: Look at your last three months of marketing. How many of those leads came from outside your service area? If it’s more than 20%, you’re burning money. 2. Hyper-local content: Stop posting generic photos. Post a photo of your team at the local park or mention a specific Brisbane landmark. It signals to customers (and Google) that you are truly local.Prediction 2: Reputation is Your New Sales Team
I’ll be blunt: your website can look like a million bucks, but if you have three stars on Google, nobody is calling you. In a tight-knit neighbourhood, your reputation travels faster than ever.
We recently worked with a landscaper in Morningside. He was a great worker but had zero reviews. His competitors had dozens. Even though he was cheaper and better, he was losing jobs because he looked "risky." Once we helped him get a system to ask happy customers for a quick review, his enquiry rate doubled in six weeks without spending an extra cent on ads.
The Cost of a Bad Reputation
It costs you nothing to be decent, but a bad review can cost you thousands in lost revenue. You need a proactive plan to get customers from your own back yard by proving you’ve done a great job for their neighbours.Prediction 3: Community Partnerships Outperform Paid Ads
Most small business owners think they need to give money to Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) or Google to get customers. You don't. Some of the most successful businesses in Brisbane grow through "handshake marketing."
If you’re a dog groomer, why aren't you leaving cards at the local vet? If you’re a mortgage broker, why aren't you talking to the local real estate agents?
What’s a waste of money? Sponsoring a local sports team just to have your logo on a fence that nobody looks at. I’ve written before about why your $5k club sponsorship is failing to actually bring in business. If you’re going to spend money on a local club, you need to be there, shaking hands and offering a specific deal to the members, not just hiding behind a sign.
The "Neighbourhood Domination" Action Plan
Here is what I would tell a mate to do if they opened a business tomorrow and wanted results fast.
Step 1: Fix Your Google Presence (Free to Low Cost)
Your Google Business Profile is the most important piece of digital real estate you own. It’s more important than your website.Photos: Take real photos of your work, your shopfront, and your team. Avoid stock photos—people can smell them a mile away. Accuracy: Ensure your phone number and opening hours are 100% correct. You’d be surprised how many businesses lose sales because their phone number is wrong on Google.
Step 2: Use Local Influencers (The Real Ones)
I’m not talking about bikini models on the Gold Coast. I’m talking about the admin of the local "Community Noticeboard" Facebook group or the person who runs the local school P&C. These people have the ear of your customers.Step 3: Make Your Website Work on Phones
If a mum is sitting in her car at school pickup in Chermside and finds your site, but she can't click your phone number to call you, she’s going to the next person on the list. Your site must load fast and be easy to use on a thumb-sized screen.Realistic Timelines: When Will You See the Money?
Google Profile Optimisation: You can see more phone calls in as little as 2-4 weeks. Reputation Building: It takes about 3 months to build a solid base of reviews that makes you the "obvious choice."
- Community Partnerships: These take time to bake (3-6 months) but produce the highest quality leads for the lowest cost.
What Most Businesses Get Wrong
They try to be everything to everyone. They want to rank for "Plumber Brisbane." Do you know how hard and expensive that is? It’s much easier, cheaper, and more profitable to rank for "Plumber Ashgrove" or "Blocked Drains Indooroopilly."
Stop trying to win the whole city. Win your street, then your suburb, then the three suburbs next to it. That is how you build a sustainable, profitable business that doesn't rely on massive ad budgets.
Summary: Your Next Moves
1. Check your Google listing. If you aren't in the "Top 3" on the map for your service, you're losing money. 2. Stop the generic ads. Only show ads to people within a short drive of your office. 3. Ask for reviews. Every single happy customer should be asked to help you out with a 5-star rating.
Marketing doesn't have to be a dark art. It’s just about being the most visible, most trusted person in your local area.
If you're tired of guessing and want a team that actually understands the Brisbane market, we can help. We don't care about "likes" or "engagement"—we care about your phone ringing.
Ready to grow your local business? Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get you more customers from your own neighbourhood.