3 Ways to Know you can Trust a Local Business

As a local business selling gym equipment in Denver, Colorado, we wholeheartedly support the ever-growing buy local movement. However, we also understand that when it comes to being a customer, it can be difficult at times to trust a local shop that most likely doesn’t have the well-known and widespread positive reputation that only a multiple-location business can acquire. Most local businesses operate through word of mouth or by marketing on their own, which means you might stumble upon them without much prior knowledge on what they’re selling.

But no matter how you found it, where it is, or what kinds of products it sells, whether it be home gym equipment, furniture, jewelry, or bicycles, there are the 3 easy ways to know if you can trust a local business: 

#1. Up-to-date website

Not all local businesses will have a website, but if they are selling long-lasting and substantial products such as fitness equipment, they should have a website. If they don’t, that is your first red flag and an immediate sign that you should look more into this business before giving it your hard-earned money.

Most likely though, local business like Simpson’s Fitness Supply will have a fully detailed website that showcases what kinds of products they offer, prices, and ways to contact the business for more information.

Seeing different offerings with good quality pictures as well as descriptions and information about the business and the owners is one of the first ways that you can tell that a local business is still in top-notch operation and one you can trust. The more up to date and fresh the website looks, the more you can be sure that this is a business that cares about their products and the customers. If you are unsure of what an up-to-date website looks like, think about other current websites that you are on often and how they generally look. If the local businesses' website seems similar to those “other ones”, then you can be sure that it is at least a relevant website.

Lastly, scroll down all the way to the bottom of the website’s home page and see if there is a date with the copyright symbol next to it. If there is, and the year is a recent one, such as 2019, that is a great way to tell if this local business is still in the game. This little date is called a copyright date and it reflects the most recent time a business updated their website and claimed all the information on it as their own so nobody else can use it. The more recent the date, the more you can be assured that this business is real and ready for you.

#2. Facebook Activity and Reviews

Nowadays, most local businesses are on Facebook, especially with it now being the easiest platform to get the word spread about products and promotions. A lot of local businesses will have a Facebook page before even having a website now.

So to start, an active Facebook page is a great sign that a business is moving and grooving.

An active Facebook page will look a little like this: https://www.facebook.com/pg/simpsonsfitsupply/reviews/

It will have regular posts every week that include relevant information as well as images that reflect what kind of business it is and what it sells.

Moving on from the posts, an incredible way to tell that a local business is a reliable one is by reading Facebook reviews. The more customers that have left a review, the more you can be assured that the local business is real and the more positive the reviews are, the more you will know that you will get what you pay for with this business.

For example, Simpson’s Fitness Supply’s Facebook page has an average of 5/5 on all reviews left there. This lets our customers know, through personal accounts of real customers, that they were happy with their experience shopping with us as well as the quality of the home gym equipment that they received. Reviews like these can tell you the highs and lows of local business so that you can make an informed decision.

#3. Customer Service

The mark of any reliable and irrefutable local business is the customer service that you receive when you talk or interact with them. If when you give them a call, send them an email, or walk in the store, you experience a welcoming and helpful response, you know that the local business cares about you as a customer.

Only businesses that are authentic and valid will put forth the effort to communicate with you and make you a happy customer. The way you are treated when you encounter the local business is the best way to know if you can give this business your business.

If you’re interested in seeing what the best local business that sells home gym equipment in Denver, Colorado looks like, check us out HERE.