Want To Get More Customers?

Want to get more customers and grow your customer base?

Although I often get it wrong… from a business ownership perspective, I’m one of the lucky ones. I studied business at school, sixth form and university. I have multiple people that I’m grateful to class as mentors, and lots of business owners that I’m proud to call friends. I’ve had a great business education, which included lessons on how to grow your customer base; and like I said, I’m one of the lucky ones. 

Most of the people reading this won’t have chosen a degree in business as their path. Many small businesses are run by people with an absolute passion for what they do, but little to no formal business education. Most know how to provide a phenomenal service to customers on a small scale. 

So let’s assume you want to grow, but you’re not entirely sure how.  Below you’ll find 10 ideas that may help and inspire you to grow your customer base and your business. 

1. Create a newsletter

Email marketing is seriously underrated by most small business owners. A Forbes article suggests that you’ll get $42 for every dollar invested; and of those businesses with lists of more than 500 people, 42% say that their newsletter is effective or very effective.

If your newsletter can offer people quality content, then they will be curious to find out more about your business. When you offer a free newsletter, you are subtly telling potential customers that you’re willing to give them free information at the start. It goes without saying that you need to make your content thorough and relevant to your potential customers.

2. Make use of social media

It’s a bit of a double edged sword this one, because when I speak with small business owners, Social Media is often the only form of Marketing that they do. I’m a fan of social media for the reasons below, but I should point out that if you want to grow, social media in isolation is seldom enough.

That said,  we all know about the power of social media, and it’s ability to help you grow  can’t be undermined. Tiktok, for example, gains 8 new users every second according to Hootsuite. Additionally, there are 211 million Twitter users in a day. It’s nearly impossible to reach this massive number of social media users through any other advertising medium. Create compelling content for your audience, and you will be sure to grow your customer base.

3. Create freemium offers

Let’s be honest, we all love free stuff. That’s why giveaways work so well for marketing. If you want to grow your customer base, you should  consider creating freemium offers. You may offer them free advice or samples of your products. If you make your freemium offers really good, your customers will definitely want more and more. 

We always use ‘try before you buy’ at Networking in, Mastermind9 and offer Free strategy sessions to motivate business owners. What could you do?

4. Partnerships with other businesses

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Partnering with other businesses is really important and powerful. It exposes you to a new audience and potentially new customers. Find a business that you can collaborate with and mutually benefit from one another.

For instance, we find that great relationships with Bank Managers are imperative to helping our business grow. Who sells to your potential customers that you could collaborate with. 

5. Engage existing clients

What do your customers have to say about you and your business? Honest feedback is the only way to grow. 

Your existing customers are really important for word of mouth marketing, and they can help you gain new customers. Additionally, they can give you better insights into your audience and allow you to develop services that are matched to your clients’ needs.

Furthermore, your current clients already know you, like you and trust you and are therefore most likely to benefit from additional support. Which of your existing customers could you offer more help to?

6. Create Raving Fans

Have you ever been really excited about going somewhere, say a restaurant, and then the customer service turns you off completely? Customer service is everything, and will help you retain  customers through thick and thin.

Research shows that 78% of people have walked away from a sale as a result of poor customer service. If you want to grow, maintain and expand your customer base, it’s really important that you have great customer service and generate an army of people who will talk positively about you while you’re not looking.

7. Provide fresh, quality content

People will come looking for you if there’s something in it for them. What value are you creating for customers? What are they landing on and learning from you? Be sure that all your advertising mediums have quality content. Diversify your content and update it regularly so that your loyal readers always have something new to learn.

8. Encourage customer advocacy

The best form of marketing does not feel like marketing. Testimonials and referrals are a great way to grow your customer base. You may want to offer referral discounts to encourage people to do them. Leverage your customer advocates to build your brand’s credibility to new and potentially new customers.

9. Adapt as your business grows

As your business expands, you need to find new avenues for potential customers. This is the time to think about populating the different platforms. Be open to different forms of advertising and channels to get word out there about you. Make your content suitable for the different audiences out there.

10. Networking

Lastly, we have networking. Networking is not just about sales, it’s about building useful long lasting relationships, celebrating entrepreneurship and helping each other to grow. 

The best way to approach networking is to think of how you can help the next person, rather than what’s in it for you.

You need to understand givers’ gain. With time you’ll find that networking helps you to grow your customer base. Click here to check out our Networking in events.

Growing your customer base is not always easy, but it’s doable. The returns, of course, make it worth it. One of Maya Angelou’s famous quotes goes, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” That’s the secret to business success.  Appeal to your audience and give them value.

If you’d like some additional support to help you grow your business, why not reach out and ask us about our complimentary business strategy sessions, get in touch here.

Onwards and upwards my friends,

Px.

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About the author

My clients build brilliant businesses and spend more time with their families.

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