Hey, would you like to get some more customers for your business? Sure you would. No matter the number of customers you have already, you can always use a few more. Unfortunately, this is often the unloved task. If some persons had a pick of what to do and what to ignore, they would likely opt for the more enjoyable tasks in the business, and leave the search for customers to others.
But, there is no business without customers, so it is something you will eventually have to love doing, or at least find a way to get the results you need for your business to survive. In fact, this is the most essential task to do, otherwise you’d make no revenue at all.
One way to find clients and customers is to position yourself in a way that you can be seen. You may not be the best in your industry, but if you make yourself visible, you will find the customers you need, and ultimately, they will find you too. Here are some things you can try out. Not every of these would apply to your business, but the trick is to find what is applicable to your industry and shoot.
1. Be informed and have an opinion on issues within your niche
This is a good way to become an authority in your field, and have other entrepreneurs within your space looking up to you. You should be able to give out valuable information on things that concern and affect your niche. If there is a new trend in your space, be one of the first to talk about it and how it may affect business owners and consumers in that space.
You can share your thoughts through blog posts, videos on social media, webinar presentations, guest columns on related blogs, etc. You can host a webinar yourself, or make valuable contributions to other people’s webinars. This is part of building your online presence and portfolio.
Another enviable way to share knowledge is through email newsletters. You can start one, and build an email list of people who listen to your voice. You can later convert them to customers.
2. Follow up on clients
Make it your business to follow up on clients who have made a one-time purchase from you. Find out how they enjoyed your product, and what was their experience with your service. What would they like to see next time they shop from you? etc. If you dedicate one or two days in a month to doing this, you will successfully convert many one-time customers into returning customers.
3. Offer something for free
This is literally an old trick. When you offer people something for free, they come around to see what else you are offering. It can be a complementary product or a value-added service. It is a good way to find clients who are interested in what you do, especially if you have a bouquet of related products and services. You can partner with a business that offers complementary products to design a promotion campaign that would be mutually beneficial to both businesses.
4. Network like a Boss
There is a lot of stuff out there telling you why you need to network in business, but not as many telling you how to network.
An entrepreneur said he was introduced to a certain investor at an event, and the first thing the investor did was present him a card that said “DO NOT PITCH TO ME”. While it is laughable, one can only imagine how the poor man must have been flooded with pitches from different entrepreneurs.
When you meet someone, try not to come off as desperate. If you set out to provide value, they will eventually get to know more about your business. Every introductory message needs not to sound like a pitch. There will be times when you need to be upfront about your business, but outside of that, you should concern yourself with meeting people and seeing how you can provide some value. The rest will follow naturally.
So, where can you find customers and clients?
You might want clients for your business, but you don’t want just anyone. You want respectful clients who will make your life better, not worse. Knowing the how is one thing, knowing the where, another. You do not look for diamonds in the dumps. Where can you take your activities to so that you get the right kind of customers for your business?
- In discussion groups and forums – Make valuable contributions on those platforms.
- Online – put out valuable and engaging content on your social media handles, and websites. If you don’t have a website, build one and share your portfolio with visitors. You can also have a blog session to share educational and valuable article. If you want to know what your profile looks like, google your name / business name and see what pops up.
- Offline – attend relevant in-person and online events, network and engage meaningfully.
Here’s an extra tip for finding the right clients. You need to price yourself appropriately. Set your standards and processes, and stick to them.