So you have started or expanded your new business and now wondering how you can find and attract new clients. For many, implementing a few marketing strategies and being hopeful seems like a perfect solution. But this may not always work, plus it’s slow and ineffective in the long run.
What you want is a deliberate strategy for attracting and retaining clients. The process may take some time before you see tangible results, but it’s often worth the effort. That said, below are some tips on how to get clients for a new small business.
1. Tap into Your Unique Value Proposition
Every business or company has a unique value proposition that sets it aside from competitors. The value proposition could be anything from free add-on services, reduced prices, highly-reliable customer support, etc. Tapping these strongholds can help you and your business appeal to more customers.
How this works is pretty simple. First, you want to identify at least one aspect that makes your business unique. Next is to evaluate how you can maximize that particular aspect in a positive and value-generating manner. More often, this will involve reaching out to customers, letting them know of your unique offering, and even asking them to take a particular action.
If, for instance, your business is known for having exceptional customer services, you can use this to generate more value. Typically, you’ll need a practical strategy, such as reaching out to your past clients and letting them know that you appreciate them for choosing your company.
You could then ask them if they could refer some of their business friends to your business and, in return, give them a discount. This shouldn’t be done in a manipulative manner, but rather in a formal way, with no hard feelings nor too many expectations. Ensure you are using your unique offerings as the base to win more business.
2. Rethink Your Marketing Strategies
Marketing comprises all the efforts you take to promote your business. You can do your marketing through online/offline channels. If you are already running some marketing campaigns, you want to evaluate their effectiveness and double down on the most promising ones.
If ads are your primary source of leads, you may want to pair them with social media marketing, email marketing, or point-of-purchase marketing. The goal is to build a robust marketing strategy that yields the best results.
Additionally, you can implement Cause Marketing Campaigns, such as those focused on recycling and environmental sustainability. Some customers are more attracted if your business supports worthy causes and aligns with their values and beliefs. Ensure these online campaigns are easily trackable through KPIs all the way through to checkout.
3. Enhance Your Online Presence
In today’s highly-connected world, having an online presence isn’t enough to stay ahead of the stiff market competition. You need to optimize your online channels to enhance customer experience and reach as many target audiences as possible.
Social media and websites are the two most popular online channels you can use for your business. Social media platforms like Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are great for engaging customers and sharing valuable content and information.
Others like YouTube and TikTok are great for long-format and short-format educational/ entertainment videos. Understanding your audience and where they spend most of their time online can help you target them better.
It’s worth noting that the main reason for having an online presence isn’t to sell your services but to stay in touch with prospects and customers. You will also need to build authority in the niche before you can win their trust.
When done right, a robust online presence can result in massive success. You need to be consistent in your content marketing while also being flexible enough to adapt them based on customer expectations and changing market dynamics.
4. Leverage Customer Reviews
Unless you are new in the business, chances are you already have a list of loyal or recurring customers. These customers can play a crucial role in helping you get more clients. All you need is to approach these customers and ask them to review your services.
The goal is to get as many genuine customer reviews as possible, especially on reputed sites such as Google My Business, Trust Pilot, Yelp, HomeAdvisor, etc. The more reviews you get, the more people will be exposed to your brand, business, and services.
To learn how to request customer reviews and boost the chances of success, you should explore some how to ask reviews for your website templates. Ideally, your customers should feel comfortable reviewing your business. The customer reviews don’t have to be all positive and five-star.
That said, customer reviews help build your online reputation and credibility among first-time customers. When requesting your past and current customers to review your business, communicate your intentions and be as honest, polite, and straightforward as possible.
5. Use Coupons and Discounts
Using price discounts is a common way of winning over customers in business. Many prospects are price-conscious, and assuming otherwise may not always work in your favor unless you have narrowed it down precisely and have identified high-end clientele as your primary focus.
Better still, these high-end clients will also need coupons and discounts from time to time. A rule of thumb is to understand your business in and out. And to know when to give your customers or prospects some discounts & coupons.
It’s worth noting that discounts and other price-related incentives will only result in profits if it attracts more customers. This is because your business will lose money by discounting the products and services. Always pay attention to the economies of scale.
Coupons & discounts also work well for newly launched businesses. You can explore as many techniques on how to get your first client, but the secret is always to understand your target audience. Next is to speak to their expectations, earn their trust and keep them returning for repeat business.
Get Started Today
Now that you understand how to get clients fast, what follows is to take action. The techniques above are not exhaustive but are enough to get you started. Always review your progress and take note of those techniques that are working well for you. Double down on them and seek professional help where possible.
Read more:
How to Get Clients for a Small Business