As a small business, it’s essential to know how to find and keep the right customers. As a business owner or manager, you are very busy and want to put all your efforts and hard work against actions that actually drive new and repeat business. Broad reaching efforts without strategic direction or targeting, could be a waste of time and you gain nothing in the end if you don’t seek the right people and have an informed plan. The right customers are the ones who support your products, make repeat purchases, and tell their friends.
And even as you grow and find success with your business, you’ll always need new and potentially loyal customers. They not only make your business profitable, they can also be a critical word-of-mouth marketing lever.
So… aim to find the right customers. Here’s how:
- Define your ideal market
“Ideal customers are the ones who want your products, have the ability to pay for the product, and have the authority to purchase your product.” Seth Godin, entrepreneur and blogger.
Gather some data about your ideal customers:
- Demographics – age, gender, location, marital status, income, etc.
- Psychographics – lifestyle, values, behavior
- Ethnographic – culture, customs, beliefs
- Buying habits – where and when they buy your products and services
Once you have these details altogether, create a customer persona or an imaginary customer as if he or she is real. It’s okay if you have more than one ideal customer. The point is to develop a lens to run ideas through when developing your marketing messages and tactics.
- Reach out to your target market
Once you identify your ideal market, it’s easier to know who you’re looking for and where to find them. Use this information to determine the perfect way to reach to them. There are marketing tools that may not be suitable for your target market, this can lead to poor marketing campaigns and reduced sales.
If your ideal customers are seniors and retirees, you may leverage print and TV rather than mobile or email. On the other hand, if your target market are business professionals, you can conduct seminars and utilize email lists and LinkedIn to reach them.
Make a customized and personalized marketing message to your market. Mirror their problems, dreams, and desires so you get to know where they struggle and you can use that to draw them in. Present your company as a solution serving their needs and wants.
- Use social media
Social media is the most efficient advertising medium at scale period. Maximize your activity on social to look for the right customers by using polling tools, groups, recommendations, etc. You’ll be surprised there are many potential customers out there waiting to be swayed. The good thing is that these platforms already have tons of user data that can be applied to target your customer. Create connections and build relationships with your potential customers. More than just selling, you are telling your brand story and building a reputation with communities that resonate with your brand.
- Go network
If you are a business dependent on word-of-mouth, get into the crowd and look for the right customers the old-fashioned way. You can go to community organizations, attend social functions, seminars, trade shows, or any business gatherings. These gatherings can help you find potential customers. Develop your network, be the face of your business, and sell the person behind the work.
- Sponsor Events
Your goal is to build your brand and reach your target market. If there are upcoming events in your community that involve your potential buyers, take advantage and join them. It’s one of the effective ways to introduce your brand and it can also speak to your values and beliefs, which can draw potential customers closer.
- Give free samples
How do you show your potential customers that you bake the tastiest brownie? Let them taste it. Giving free samples won’t cost you an arm and leg, but it can help you increase sales and establish trust with your potential customers.
According to a blogpost on www.upserve.com, “This psychology behind free products isn’t exclusive to snack foods or samples at a wholesaler. A free sample of a new product or a tasting of your latest specialty cocktail could be the key to building a long-lasting connecting that will keep them coming back. By tracking the amount of free samples given to guests in your restaurant, you will easily be able to see exactly what you’re giving away and compare it to your overall sales each day. This will give you insight into the impact on sales and how you can alter your free sample program to work for your business.”
- Work on your website
Your website is your all-in-one proposal to your future customers. It is your opportunity to tell them why they should trust you, show them testimonials, and learn more about you and your back story and mission. If someone meets you for the first time, is referred, or hears about your business, the first thing they will do is whip out their connected device, jump online and they’ll have access to your information and story via your website anytime, anywhere.
Make sure your website is easy to find. Also, format your website to make it engaging with some personality, while being informative about your business. Take time and effort to work on your website as it is one effective and inexpensive way to provide lasting communication with your existing and future customers.
- Get partnerships
Two heads are better than one. As cliché as it may sound, if it fits you, then you might find it as an effective way to establish your brand and sell your products and services faster and easier. Look for a potential partner that compliments your business and you can work together in finding the right customers.
- Make them right
Instead of constantly looking for the right customers, why not turn your existing customer into loyal customers? It’s much easier to retain your customers than to exhaust your time convincing a new customer to buy your products. Take care of your existing customers and provide them value to make them the right and loyal customers.
Want to increase sales with existing customers? How about provide more value:
- Provide first looks or exclusive access
- Give them rewards
- Offer incentives
- Provide more benefits
- Upgrade your products/Bundle products
- Give freebies
These are just a few ideas that you can explore. You can always do more. Just be a great listener, advocate for your customers, and they’ll do the same in time for you!