A big part of owning your own business is getting it to be successful. In fact it’s the biggest part of owning a business, unless you need a loss-making enterprise to balance your books, but we won’t go there. If it is your aim to make your business successful, there’s only one way to go about it – find new customers and keep them.
Keeping customers is completely dependent upon you and your product or service. As long as your product is of a sufficient quality, your after sales services are sound, and all that other stuff about competitive pricing and competent employees is taken care off (this stuff is pretty straightforward and you’ll fine reams and reams of articles dedicated to it, so I’m not going to touch it here) you’ll be able to retain your customers.
How you get them to come to you in the first place, well that’s a little tricky, and that’s also why we are here today. That first contact is crucial, when a customer comes to you for the first time, he stepping into the unknown, he doesn’t know what he’ll get but he will have some expectations coming in. You have to anticipate there preconceived notions and surpass them too, that’s the most fool proof way of making sure he keeps coming back for more.
Tips for attracting customers to your business
• Develop your brand’s identity
Make sure your brand is instantly distinguishable from the throng. This means your logo, your packaging, and your branding should all converge in a way that makes your product appear unique and different from the rest. This is important, because unless your product or service isn’t easily identifiable, how do you expect your clients to remember it?
• Advertising
If you want new customers you have to advertise your product. It’s the most basic step, and one that many people take for granted. Advertising isn’t just about throwing money at a media and waiting for the customers to show, it requires innovation and nous to be effective to a greater degree. You need to understand what your target market is, and then come up with a plan to reach as much of that target market as you can, at the lowest cost. This could involve everything from flyers to television ads and everything in between. Effective advertising can bring you massive volumes of consumers, and as such should be implemented with great focus.
• Go online
Having a web presence is absolutely vital in today’s day and age. With the internet literally at everyone’s finger tips, you never know who might come across your company while looking for the kind of products you offer, and then decide to do business with you. Also, if friends or family mention a product and how good or bad it is, now, the natural reaction to such a conversation is to Google the product and see what you can find out about it.
• Accept credit cards
If you aren’t accepting alternative methods of payment, you’re losing out on a decently sized fraction of your demographic right there. People want convenience while shopping today, and by denying the use of plastic money, you’re offering them the exact opposite of convenience. As soon as word spreads that you don’t accept credit cards, people will be predisposed to taking their business elsewhere, regardless of your product. If you think that credit cards are too expensive a hassle to take on, check out specialist vendors who deal in only the business of credit cards. Some like creditcardprocessing can help you get an account started in just one day. These guys will charge a lot lesser than your average bank, and provide a more streamlined service, because unlike banks, this is all they do. There are others like PayPal but you should compare commissions and processing fees to see what works best for your business.
• Create a buzz
Help create a positive vibe about your product in the online sphere. Request your regular customers who are quite happy with your product, to write a good review for it online. They’ll usually be more than happy to oblige, and just need that initial push. If you notice someone has given you a solid review, send them a thank you note and a discount coupon or a small gift, this will only encourage them and others who hear about this to give you more referrals in the future.
Increasing your business isn’t really rocket science, and as long as you put in enough effort and perseverance into it, and approach it in an intelligent fashion, you’re bound to succeed. Follow the aforementioned tips diligently, and you’ll be improving your customer base in no time.
