Have you been scratching your head thinking of ways to get new customers? This is one of the primary concerns for any small business owner. You have to develop ways to attract customers and then ensure that they are satisfied to improve so that they keep coming back to you.
Many first-time entrepreneurs are clueless at the initial stages of customer acquisition. Large enterprises use the power of branding and advertising to attract customers. Having been in the market for a long time, they also enjoy the benefits of customer loyalty. Is it as easy and merry for SMBs? It takes time, work and patience to find the right key that strikes well with the customers.
Table of Contents
First, study the market.
As a precursor to choosing your channel of paid or organic marketing, you must spend time in identifying the various target segments where you can find customers interested in purchasing the product or service you are selling? When you complete the research, you will find several possible target audiences that you could reach out to. For small businesses, it is vital that you focus on a few small sets of audiences to introduce your product. Spending too much in the wrong market can lead to severe financial drain, which is a problem that many small businesses face when they start-up.
Therefore, spend sufficient time crafting a buyer persona with a value proposition that gets fulfilled for a customer when they use your product or service. You could also look at strategies your competitors are using in the various areas of operations to either mimic them or stay unique depending on your strategy.
Target your ideal customer group
Every business is unique in its own sense. Similarly, every target audience has a unique taste and mindset. Think of offers, product promotions and business strategy by keeping the preferences of your target customers. Suppose you have started a cosmetics business where the specialty products are lip colors and nail art kits. It is evident that you are targeting teenagers and millennial women. So, you must include product specifications and highlight the USPs that can attract the ideal buyer group.
Rely on word-of-mouth publicity
Very few small businesses can hit off the ground in terms of sales from the very first day! Usually, small businesses have to struggle initially to stabilize their sales numbers. Hence, you have to rely upon word-of-mouth promotions to attract new customers. It may take some time, but it will be fruitful in the long run. It will attract potential buyers and influence those who are unaware of the existence of your business or brand.
Conventional and digital marketing
Anything that a business does to attract potential buyers is marketing, both paid and unpaid It is highly effective in creating an impression in the market. Even if they do not purchase at first, it is an add-on for your brand value. People get to know your business and may try your products in future. So, put optimal focus on conventional marketing methods and digital promotions. Try to keep a mixed marketing approach, so the impact is maximum.
For example, if you have started a restaurant, you can initially rely on leaflet distribution as a conventional medium for marketing. In other cases, digital marketing is always an excellent option to rely upon. Focus on social media marketing as a free marketing tool if you are short of marketing funds. It attracts customers and makes a positive impact.
Service offers and network widening
Small businesses have to follow the golden rule of discounts when it comes to initial customer acquisition. It not only promotes the business but helps you connect to the audience outside your target reach. Service discounts are everyone’s favorite. Nothing can go wrong if you can offer the best discounts without downgrading the quality of service. Referral offers and first-time discounts can be effective. Most small businesses nowadays offer referral codes for product discounts or refer to a friend and get a discount scheme to the newly acquired customers.
This way, you can grow your customer network and attain a loyal customer base. It works excellently for all business types, and multiple brands have incorporated this technique in the past to bring the best outcome. Give this a try and witness the impact on customer attainment.
Content and engagement for new customer acquisition
Irrespective of the business or brand, content marketing is a clear winner for acquiring customers. Utilize free content promotion platforms and make people aware of your existence. Express what makes your product unique and worth the price they are paying. Instagram marketing or tie-up with influencers can be an excellent move for attracting new-age customers who consume online content and rely on influencer marketing for shopping.
Educating the target buyer base to convert them into loyal customers is an effective way. It creates a lasting impression and quality content is the best way to achieve this. Focus on content management and engagement campaigns to witness the drastic impact.
Partnerships and alliances
It is not a wise decision to stick to an unsuccessful plan. You should look for better ways to get more customers. Associate with other large enterprises so you can gain from their wide customer range. Business collaborations are an excellent way to earn credible customers for a small business. Make collaborations where your product fits in as a value add to the collaborator’s product. You can also experiment with the offerings and products to make them distinguishable from the rest.
Promote reviews and your expertise
Public listing on the directories and making your business identifiable as a local one can help in local consumer traction. Make optimal use of the reviews and ratings and promote them to attain more crowds. A registered name in the local directory with credible and positive reviews helps in earning customer trust and loyal consumers in the long run. Share the reviews from your customers and ask them to post their thoughts on social platforms.
Offer quality products and services.
Undoubtedly, the quality of products and services is the ultimate key to gaining customers. You can never expect customers to be loyal to your business or brand unless you offer them something worth the money they are spending! Maintain your promises attached to the product in terms of quality and features. It is easy to attract customer volume through consistent quality maintenance and marketing support.
Get recognized to acquire more customers.
Besides establishing a business that promotes quality, you should also focus on building a brand recognizable by customers. The brand creates the initial impression, irrespective of the business scale. Get experts on board to guide you well to establish a reliable small business brand to acquire more consumers.
- For a service-based company: A service-based company can work on network expansion, social media marketing and referral offers as the initial steps in attracting customers. It can be difficult initially to expand the network or find collaboration opportunities. But you have to keep going by trying the different ways of online and offline promotional campaigns. It will help you find clients and make your small business brand recognizable.
- For a product-based company: Product-based businesses need a robust business approach so they can convince the target buyers into their real customers. Selling products depends on word-of-mouth publicity initially, which you have to target in online and offline mediums. Social media can be a game-changer in boosting the buyer numbers as the internet audience get influenced by digital promotions and convert easily.
B2B versus B2C – Does the strategy remain unaltered?
The methods and approach of customer attraction are distinct in B2B and B2C companies. The target buyer or audience base is different in both cases. So, the business owner has to develop a strategy that works for their specific service or product offering.
A B2B company needs to focus on developing a relationship with the client so they can envision the investment return. While, in a B2C company, the approach is dynamic and heavily based on delivering quick solutions. Here you target one customer at a time with a mass campaign. Thus, you have to think of a balanced marketing and customer-attraction policyThe legal document issued to the policyholder that outlines the conditions and terms of the insurance; also called the ‘policy that covers the majority of the target buyers.
Concluding words – Promote wisely to strike the right note!
Research, analyze and promote to widen customer network and attract new ones. Focus on your product USP and incorporate what the customer requires. Put forward valuable info about your offerings so new consumers can recognize the true worth of your offerings.
