Did you make a resolution this year to expand your customer base? Here are some proven tips to assist you in attracting a larger clientele.
1. Set goals for attracting new customers
It is crucial for any business to set goals. Despite the potential for it to be tiring, goal-setting can serve as a source of motivation. Keep these pointers in mind when establishing your goals.
- Write down short-term and long-term goals for attracting new customers.
- Start by working towards short-term goals, which can lead to achieving your long-term goals.
- Set SMART goals:
- Specific: How many new customers do you want to acquire? Using which channels (social media, referrals, Google searches, etc.)?
- Measurable: Establish the metrics you’ll use to determine whether you’ve accomplished your goals
- Attainable: Analyze each goal and determine its feasibility
- Relevant: Determine which goals are the priorities for your business
- Time-bound: Set a time frame to meet every goal
2. Know your customers
In order to be successful in the market, it is crucial to have a thorough understanding of your customers. It can be beneficial to create a buyer persona before proceeding with any strategies. Buyer personas serve as a representation of your company’s ideal customer. It is essential to avoid creating an excessive number of buyer personas, but having one or two in mind can enhance your business’s ability to effectively reach its target market and attract potential customers.
To create a buyer persona, refer to our brand strategy template which includes all the necessary steps.
3. Determine your best channels to attract new customers
When considering how to reach potential customers, it is most effective for businesses to engage with them on the channels they regularly use. Do they frequently use social media? Do they have a preference for receiving communication through email? Are they more inclined to meet face-to-face?
To find out how your customers prefer to be contacted, collect data from your current customers. Nonetheless, do not rely solely on one method, as customers are continually joining various new platforms. It is always more effective to adopt a multi-channel marketing approach to appeal to new customers.
4. Understand the buying process
To determine how customers are reaching you to purchase your product, you need to identify the inbound channels. Identifying these channels will allow you to accurately determine where to allocate your efforts and identify areas that may require improvement. Consider the following questions to ascertain your customer’s buying process:
- How are customers arriving at your website? Is it via social media, organic SEO, or other methods?
- What page do they first land on?
- What do they do once they land on a page?
- What content or pages do they go through before making a purchase?
5. Use direct response marketing
Direct response marketing is utilized to encourage potential customers to take immediate and specific actions. By using this approach, potential customers can be persuaded to join your email list or provide their contact information through a lead capture form. This enables you to engage with them through various means and guide them towards making a purchase.
To effectively target your ideal audience, consider offering free information such as an ebook or downloadable template in exchange for their contact information. Additionally, ensure that your messaging addresses their primary pain points. The objective of direct response marketing is to promptly deliver messages that cater to potential customers’ needs and effectively demonstrate the value your business provides.
6.Weigh in on your website
If a business wants to attract new customers, it should ask itself, “Is our website providing value?” Many websites have flaws because they do not have sufficient quality design resources. To create a professional and efficient website, it is recommended to utilize plug-and-play website design templates available on platforms like Wix, ThemeForest, HubSpot, or SquareSpace.
As websites are increasingly interactive, it is crucial to consider their user-friendliness in order to attract potential customers. Employ tools to assess the usability of your website and ensure that users can easily reach you or complete a purchase.
Ensure that your website maintains a consistent brand image and tone on every page, which should be aligned with your other marketing materials. If you are inexperienced in building and managing a professional web page, consider using a service like FirstSiteGuide to assist you in establishing your online presence.
7. Know your competitors
Competitive analysis is now crucial for every business. Understanding your competitors does not involve plagiarizing their ideas; instead, it entails identifying their strengths and weaknesses. By gathering this information, you can enhance and refine your own business strategies.
When analyzing your competitors, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of what you are searching for and how that data can benefit your business. For instance, it is worth considering if your competition is missing a solution that your target audience is seeking, and if your own business is capable of offering this solution.
Here are a few methods you can use to collect information about your competitors.
- Analyze industry reports
- Check their current products and services
- Analyze your competitor’s website and SEO strategies
- Note their strengths and weaknesses (as a service provider, on social media, etc.)
- Look into their content marketing strategy
- Read their customer reviews and ratings
8. Offer new customers discounts and promotions
In today’s market, consumers continue to seek out value and bargains. To attract them to your business, you can entice them with introductory discounts or provide specials like buy 2-get-1-for half-price, and offer free gift wrapping for the initial three purchases.
By providing such bargains, you can allure potential customers who have been contemplating doing business with you but required a motive to alter their purchasing patterns. Afterwards, monitor their purchases and the offers they utilized in order to more effectively aim future marketing messages towards them, thus solidifying their loyalty.
9. Ask for referrals
Once you have earned the loyalty of a customer, take advantage of that by requesting referrals from them. Existing customers are a valuable source of new customers. However, you should not be inactive and rely on them to bring colleagues, friends, and family to your business. Instead, seize control and establish a methodical approach to actively seek referrals from your contented customers.
Include activities in the sales process that generate referrals. After customers have made their purchases, send follow-up emails to ensure their satisfaction, followed by another email requesting referrals. If the sale price allows, consider providing incentives.
10. Recontact old customers
To reconnect with your past customers who haven’t engaged with your business in a while, refer to your list of lapsed customers. Establish a consistent schedule, such as quarterly, and target those customers who haven’t interacted with you for the past six months. Reach out to them through email, direct mail, text, or phone, conveying a message of “We miss you” and providing an enticing deal or promotion as an incentive for their return.
11. Network
To effectively raise brand awareness, it is beneficial to meet new individuals, introduce yourself, and communicate your identity and occupation. Consider joining trade associations, local chambers of commerce, and networking organizations.
Make sure to participate in Meetup events. If you happen to own a local business, even attending PTA meetings can serve as a valuable networking opportunity.
12. Update your website
The primary method for both consumers and B2B buyers to discover new businesses is through online search. Consequently, your website needs to play a significant role in enabling customers to find you. It is crucial to assess and enhance your search engine marketing and search engine optimization strategies, which should include ensuring that your website is compatible with mobile devices.
If you lack the necessary expertise, it would be beneficial to engage a website design company and/or an SEO expert as even the design of your site can impact its load speed, which can deter customers.
13. Partner with complementary businesses
Joining forces with non-competing businesses that share a similar customer base and devising joint marketing strategies to target each other’s customers is a clever approach to acquiring new customers without incurring excessive costs. For example, if you specialize in selling baby products, collaborating with a maternity clothing business would form an ideal partnership.
14. Promote your expertise
By demonstrating your knowledge in the industry, you have the ability to generate interest and create excitement, ultimately enabling you to both attract new customers and expand your business with existing clients.
One way to create a positive impression with potential new customers and clients, especially for B2B business owners, is by volunteering to speak on industry panels, give webinars or workshops, speak at industry events or to groups that your target customers belong to, or hold educational sessions.
15. Take advantage of online ratings and review sites
To ensure success with unfamiliar customers, it is essential to monitor online rating and review sites and promptly address any grievances expressed by consumers, regardless of whether they belong to the B2B or B2C sphere.
Maximize the benefits of favorable reviews by incorporating them into your website. Display noticeable signs within your establishment, office, eatery, or any other designated place urging patrons to contribute their viewpoints. The potency of social proof should not be underestimated, as potential clientele are more inclined to give your enterprise a chance when witnessing commendations from others.
16. Participate in community events
According to surveys, the majority of individuals prefer to back local, autonomous establishments. To enhance your presence within your community, consider engaging with charitable initiatives and groups. You could become a sponsor for a local fun run, arrange a donation drive for holiday toys destined for children, or provide equipment to a Little League team in your area. All of these actions contribute to boosting your visibility, consequently drawing in new patrons.
17. Bring a friend
This concept shares similarities with referrals, but it involves customer involvement. In order to increase the number of customers, provide “bring a friend” offers that encourage loyal customers to introduce their friends and colleagues to your business. For example, a restaurant could present a special deal of “buy one entrée, get a second one for free.”
When thinking step by step, consider these strategies as an initial lineup for starters. Feel free to contribute your own ideas. It is crucial to commence immediately so that by the time next year arrives, you will already be engaging with a larger customer base in terms of sales.
18. Stick to your plan, and learn from the results
If you find yourself falling behind on your quarterly plan, consider the following: remain optimistic and continue following your plan for the entire quarter, despite any setbacks. Remember that unforeseen events are likely to occur, so don’t let the absence of desired outcomes discourage you.
Even if you encounter a minor obstacle, do not allow it to deter you from proceeding with your plan, as achieving outcomes from a comprehensive strategy frequently requires patience. Once the quarter concludes, you can assess your progress and devise an updated and well-informed course of action, drawing upon the gathered data.
