Promoting a new business locally: 6 neighbourhood touchpoints, a Beylikdüzü example
Anyone walking around Beylikdüzü, on Istanbul’s western edge, notices one thing: most homes sit inside gated housing complexes, with a barrier and a security booth at the entrance. A shopkeeper who plans on promoting a new business locally door to door with flyers stops at that barrier on day one. That is why in Beylikdüzü neighbourhood promotion works through touchpoints, not doors.
For a newly opened business, the answer is six touchpoints: the window and sign, neighbouring shopkeepers, the complex notice board and the neighbourhood office, local groups, the map listing and walking routes. Arrange them in three rings moving outward from the shop and it becomes clear how many hours each one deserves. Below we go ring by ring through a hypothetical shop opening in Yakuplu, Kavaklı or Gürpınar.
Where does promoting a business in the neighbourhood start?
Neighbourhood promotion starts with three rings drawn outward from the shop door. The first ring is the street, roughly 300 metres: here the eye and the window introduce you. The second ring is the neighbourhood, up to 1 km: here people tell each other. The third ring is the district, where customers find you on maps and in search, and each ring has its own touchpoints.
How do the window, sign and neighbouring shops work in ring one?
Two touchpoints work in the street ring: the window and sign, and neighbouring shopkeepers. The window says “something is opening here” even before the shutters go up. Neighbouring shopkeepers talk to hundreds of people a day and can speak up for you. Setting up these two points 2 weeks before opening keeps the first day from being silent.
Touchpoint 1: window and sign
Even with the shutters down, write the opening date and phone number on the window. Before you hang the sign, get permit and size information from the municipality’s enforcement or revenue office. You can find templates for the announcement text in how to write an opening announcement.
Touchpoint 2: neighbouring shopkeepers
The pharmacist, baker, hairdresser and corner grocer are the neighbourhood’s news desk. Drop by for a tea before opening, leave your card and take theirs. Mutual referrals with a non-competing neighbour are the cheapest and longest-lasting promotion in any neighbourhood.
How do you use notice boards, the neighbourhood office and local groups in ring two?
In the neighbourhood ring, people trust the management and the group, not you. The complex management’s notice board, the muhtar’s (neighbourhood head’s) office and local WhatsApp or Facebook groups are where that trust travels. The rule here is permission: a notice or message left without the approval of management, the muhtar or the group admin is a nuisance, not promotion. With permission, a single notice reaches hundreds of households.
Touchpoint 3: complex management and the muhtar
Go to the complex management office and ask permission to pin a one-page notice. Leave the same notice with the muhtar’s office. Make it about what you do, your address and your hours, not a discount.
Touchpoint 4: local groups
Post a single introduction in neighbourhood and complex groups with the admin’s permission. Do not repeat the same message every day, or the group will mute you. A quick, helpful answer when someone asks a question brings more business than an ad.
How do maps and search widen the neighbourhood in ring three?
In the district ring, the touchpoint is your Google Business Profile and the map. Google ranks local results by relevance, distance and prominence. Distance is how far the business is from the person searching. So when someone two streets away searches “hairdresser near me”, a new shop that has set up its profile can appear in front of them.
Touchpoint 5: the map listing
Fill in your address, hours, category and phone completely. Start verification before opening, because it can take a few days. We cover the details of showing up in nearby searches in showing up in near me searches.
Prominence is earned in the neighbourhood
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can contribute to local ranking. Reviews come from the neighbourhood: the customer a nearby shop sent, the one recommended in the group, the one who walked in from the window. Rings one and two feed ring three.
Why are walking routes the sixth touchpoint?
In a neighbourhood people walk the same routes every day: school gates, the weekly market, the metrobus or bus stop, the mosque after prayers. If these routes do not pass your door, your shop has to get onto the route. A market-day stall, a permitted poster near the stop, or open shutters at school-run time puts you in front of the people on that path.
Touchpoint 6: find the route, know the hour
For one week, count how many people pass the shop at 8:00, at noon and at 18:00. Set the window display and any tasting around the busiest hour. This count is free data the neighbourhood hands you.
Market day
In Beylikdüzü, district markets set up on fixed days of the week, and on those days the neighbourhood is out on the street. Learn your market day and open early. A product or tasting just for that day pulls in people walking home from the market.
Which week, and how many hours, does each touchpoint take?
The six touchpoints spread over the 2 weeks before opening and the first 4 weeks after. The window, neighbouring shops and the map listing are set up before opening. Notice boards, groups and walking routes work in opening week and after. Effort is a few hours a week and cash spend is near zero at most points; the table below shows an order a shopkeeper can follow without leaving the counter.
| Touchpoint | Ring | When | Estimated effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window and sign | Street | 2 weeks before opening | Half a day |
| Neighbouring shopkeepers | Street | 1 week before opening | 2 hours |
| Map listing | District | 2 weeks before opening | 2 hours |
| Complex board and muhtar | Neighbourhood | Opening week | 3 hours |
| Local groups | Neighbourhood | Opening week | 1 hour |
| Walking routes | Street and neighbourhood | First 4 weeks | 2 hours a week |
Combine the neighbourhood with shop preparation
We listed every pre-opening task in how to promote a new shop. If you think at company scale, see how to promote a new company, and for all channels together, the new business promotion guide.
Quick Summary
- Neighbourhood promotion is built in three rings from the door: street, neighbourhood, district.
- Six touchpoints: window, shopkeepers, board, group, map, walking route.
- Notices in complexes and groups need management or admin permission.
- Google ranks local results by relevance, distance and prominence.
- Count passers-by hour by hour for one week.
- Cash spend is low; effort is a few hours a week.
Short Glossary
Touchpoint: A touchpoint is the term used for the place or channel where a potential customer first meets a business.
Prominence: Prominence is the criterion Google uses in local ranking to judge how well known a business is.
Foot traffic: Foot traffic is the measure used for the number of people passing a shop at a given hour.
Next Step
Walk the neighbourhood yourself and leave the map and the page to a specialist. Apply to the Get Visible Online campaign and get the Website Recipe, or whichever recipe your needs form points to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Source: Google Business Profile Help — Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
Sık Sorulan Sorular
Not every touchpoint works at every distance. Your window cannot be seen from a complex 300 metres away, while Google Maps shows you even to the person across the street. The ring puts your effort at the right distance.
The E-5 (D-100) highway and the metrobus line run through the district, and the line ends at Beylikdüzü Sondurak. For pedestrians, this road is a border that splits neighbourhoods. When you draw your ring, treat a hard-to-cross road as the edge, not the straight-line distance.
If you are behind the counter you can do the first five points yourself, but the map listing and the web side need expertise. The Website Recipe in the Get Visible Online campaign sets up a mobile-friendly sales page, contact buttons, Google Business Profile, basic SEO and visitor tracking in one package.
Yes. The Website Recipe in the Get Visible Online campaign covers a mobile-friendly sales page, contact buttons, Google Business Profile, basic SEO and visitor tracking.
The campaign is TRY 36,000 + VAT, paid upfront at a fixed price, and covers a three-month period. Results are reviewed together at the end of the first month.
In most groups, a message posted without the admin’s permission counts as unwanted. Ask first, post a single introduction, and stay visible by helping with questions.
Updated: October 2026