Attract More Customers for Your Business in 8 Proven Steps

One of the key ingredients to a successful business is creating a steady flow of new and returning customers. In order to obtain new customers, your business needs to be found. Here are eight steps you can take this week to get your name out there and bring in new customers.

1) Offer Discounts and Incentives to New Customers

People love discounts. You can leverage that desire and introduce your business to prospective customers. There are many ways you can provide your product or service at a discount without losing much capital. Depending on the type of business you have, considering offering new customers a special discount on their first purchase or a "by-one-get-one" deal.

Maybe you can offer a free trial, free quote, or a free estimate. People are often leery of businesses they don't know, so offering a discount or incentive of some kind can provide a lower risk or risk-free encounter with your business. This will allow you to make a great impression and possibly convert them into returning customers.

2) Leverage Existing Customers

Word of mouth is powerful. People may be skeptical of new businesses, but they trust the word of their friends and family. One of the ways to gain new customers is to leverage the power of word of mouth. Ask your existing customers for referrals. Better yet, run a referral campaign and reward your existing customers if a friend signs up.

Another way to increase your brand's awareness is through events. If your industry has a regional or national conference, register to speak at it. This can help increase your professional network and increase your brand awareness. Speaking at an event also shows you as an expert in your field, which goes a long way to building trust.

You could also sponsor an event. Is there a Cancer Awareness Run occurring in your city? Perhaps the Little League team needs some financial help. Sponsoring an event or team in your community not only shows prospective customers that you care about your community but also gets your name in front of your community members and prospective customers.

In addition, you could open up your business to the community by hosting an event. Do you have a physical building that could double as an event space for a niche group? Host a book club at your coffee shop, a painting workshop at your paint store, etc. Customers who come to your establishment for an event that you host will likely purchase something from you.

Social media is here to stay. Businesses can utilize the networking capability of social media to bring in new clients and customers. It's important to be active on the platforms that your customers are active on. Ask your customers which platforms they use and create a business profile.

If you are a new business or don't know where your customers are active on social media, create profiles on multiple platforms at first. Popular platforms include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Linked In, and Pinterest. After a few months, you can identify where your customers are at and focus your posts on those platforms.

5) Improve Your Website

Social media is great, but it doesn't replace a professional website. Buyers find businesses almost exclusively by searching online. To be found, businesses need to have a working website. That does not mean that you need to spend thousands of dollars hiring a web development firm to make one for you or update your existing one. Obviously, that would be the best-case scenario, but spending a couple of hundred dollars a year can get you a good-looking website where people can find you.

To have the best chances of attracting your audience, investing some time into optimizing your website for search engines (SEO), having appropriate graphics, an informative description of your business and your values, and having your contact information easily accessible can go a long way to helping your business stand out to prospective customers.

6) Use Various Forms of Marketing

Every business has a different budget for marketing. Large ones can spend millions of dollars on marketing, while small businesses may have less of a budget for marketing. There are various types of marketing that your business should consider. Print marketing has been around for a while, but still pulls people in. If you have a single establishment or a few locations in a certain area, consider sending fliers and print advertisements to the people that live near your business.

You can take advantage of the internet and invest in Google Ads to have your name appear before a larger online audience. You can also target people searching for businesses in your town, helping your business stand out for those searches only. Social media platforms like Facebook offer you ways to boost your posts or run ad campaigns on their platforms. You can also target audiences in specific areas to make your ad more effective.

7) Seek a Testimonial Or Case Study

Did you know that nearly 90% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase? That's huge! Having several testimonials or case studies can be a very effective way of boosting your credibility in the eyes of your prospective customers or clients. A testimonial is essentially a positive review. A customer or client recounts their exceptional experience with your service or product for others to read.

A case study is an in-depth testimonial. Typically a case study will include the customer or client's background story, what their problem was, and how your product or service solved their problem. Case studies provide much more detail than a testimonial, but both serve as proof that your service or product is worth or others' investment.

8) Network and Partner

Another way to generate word-of-mouth business is to network with other businesses. You can network with businesses of similar trades and different trades. Consider joining your local chamber of commerce or business committees. Attend relevant industry events and the events where your prospective customers attend. Think about how you can help another business, because businesses that you support, will likely return the support.

Partnering with other companies is another effective strategy. Do you have a landscaping business? Consider partnering with a landscape design company, a nursery, or a business that sells sod. If you are a shop owner, consider offering a small discount to customers referred by another local business, and vice versa. The point is to not only develop a partnership but a relationship. Foster a relationship with other business owners so that they want to support you as you support them.

Conclusion

Having a consistent flow of new and returning customers ensures that your business stays open and thrives. When new customers stop coming, it is vitally important to adopt some new methods to attract them. There are numerous strategies that businesses can adopt to bring in new customers, and we have highlighted eight in this article. Always remember that people support companies they trust. Seek to gain people's trust, whether it be customers or partners.