You are not alone in asking the question “How can I get more customers for my business?” Over 7000 people search the same question every month. That is a lot of people who need help and as you are reading this, my guess is you are one of those people.
Why do we need more customers? Because we need to make more money. But sometimes we don’t actually need more customers because if we treat the customers we have the right way, they will part with more money. This still achieves our actual aim of getting more money. That is not to say we couldn’t still do with a few more customers, right?
So in this post I am going to teach you how to get more customers and how to retain them as repeat customers.
Getting more customers
The first step in getting new customers is knowing what you are selling? Yes you might be selling a simple product or service but what is it, the customer is actually buying? A feel good factor? A great service done quickly and efficiently? A service or product that is cheaper than anyone else? We could call this your USP (Unique Selling Point) but I think it is often more than that.
The customer may be buying your product or Service to give them more time, or to get them out of a difficult situation. Really think about what it is you are selling. Write down what it is your customer is getting from you, whether physically or emotionally. If you really know what you are selling you will more easily understand step two.
The second step to getting new customers is knowing who your customer is. No matter what your product is, it will have an ideal customer. If you do not know who your ideal customer is, you will have a hard job in finding them. Who are your current customers? What do they have in common? What differentiates them from people who don’t buy your product? Asking yourself these questions will help you to decide or should I say create your ideal customer in your head. Once you know who your ideal customer is then you need to walk in their shoes. This can be literally or hypothetically depending on your product and customer resume. This is your third step in how to get more customers for your business. Do it well and you will not only get more customers but keep them too.
7 WAYS TO WALK IN YOUR CUSTOMER’S SHOES
1. Spend time where your customers hang out. This can be on or offline.
2. Watch what they do and listen to what they have to say.
3. What are their problems?
4. How do they feel in a situation where you can make difference to them?
5. How do they want to feel?
6. How can you can get them from where they are now to where they want to be?
7. What change will take place in their lives because of your product or service.? Now sell them that.
If you spend time with your customers or your potential customers, and watch, listen and learn you will come to a better understanding of who they are and what problems they have. If you know what problems they have then you can see where your product or service will help them.
To appeal to them you need to be able to tell them that you know how they feel and how your product or service will help them feel differently.
People buy people first and products or ideas second.
We also like people who are similar to us or that are like someone we would want to be. If we have walked in their shoes then we become like them or can portray that you, at the very least, understand them.
Any marketing approach you take will fail if you cannot appeal to them and show that you understand and can help them. Throwing stuff all over social media will not work. That is just a spray and pray method that you cannot afford, because trust me, you have to spray an awful lot just to get a couple of nibbles and that costs money. And we want to make money not spend it.
Make any marketing campaign targeted to the customers you know who will benefit from your product or service. Tell them that you understand them and that you can help. If you have been hanging out with them online or in the real world, you know where they are. Target them where they hang out. It’s called a captive audience and we like those.
A product I use is Tailwind which helps me schedule my posts to Instagram and Pinterest. It lets me know what time my customers are likely to be on those social media sites. Don’t ask me how, that’s there job but I do know it has increased my followers and likes. I also put out the same post on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so all social media organised and targeted. If you would like to trial Tailwind click here and not only will you get 100 Pinterest pins and 30 Instagram posts in their trial I will give you $15 to pay for your first month.
It’s also looking into things like your ability to work with a Facebook ads agency who can help you make the most of every single potential customer on sites like Facebook.
It is easier to keep a customer than to gain one. Once you have a customer you need to keep in touch. Ask them how they are. Can you help them with anything else? Keep them up to date with what’s new. Make them feel important and part of your gang.
There are many ways to do this but an email campaign will work wonders if you do it the right way. Bombarding them won’t work but regular and consistent updates will.
Anyone who gives you their email address expects to be communicated with. So communicate. Even if they don’t need anything else from you they might know someone else who does. A referral is one of the easiest sales you will ever make.
I use mailchimp which gives me a nice clean look to my emails that I have branded my own way. They make it easy for me to organise and schedule all of my email campaigns. Pop over and take a look at my email autoresponder review, which will give you the run down of the top 4 email autoresponders
I hope this has been helpful in gaining you more customers. Sorry if you have to do some work or thinking before you get those new customers but as they say their is no such thing as a free lunch.
If you have any questions please feel free to comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can. If you want to subscribe to get my new posts first you can do so in the sidebar or below.