Imagine how wonderful it would have been if new customers just came to you on their own. Unfortunately, in real life, that does not happen, and businesses need to work hard to attract new customers while trying to retain the existing ones, too. While bringing in new customers can cost you five times as much as keeping your regular ones, it is still an essential part of your marketing strategy.
Why is it important to get new customers?
Growing your customer base has a positive effect on many aspects of your business that eventually leads to higher profits and competitive advantages.
Business maintenance and expansion
The main reason for wanting to attract new customers is to maintain and expand your business. Of course, you may have a steady base of your regular clientele who return to you for more purchases, but no matter what you do, you are going to lose some of them for various reasons. This phenomenon called customer churn is, unfortunately, unavoidable, and its rate reaches 25% on average across industries.
In order to maintain the same volume of business, you need to bring in new customers to “replace” those you have lost. Moreover, growing the customer base can even expand your business. Think of a situation when the demand for your products becomes higher than your production. What would you do? Why, increase the production, of course.
Brand awareness
New customers help to spread your brand presence to other areas. If you want to expand to another region, start advertising there, and the first customers who have a positive experience of your product will do the rest.
As you attract more new customers on a new market, your brand becomes recognized and associated with a great product or service. This is when viral marketing kicks in, and your new customers become natural ambassadors of your brand.
Higher revenue
Last but definitely not least, new customers mean new sales and, consequently, more revenue. All businesses are started to make a profit, and maintaining and growing your customer base is essential to achieving this goal. Your revenues become even higher when you convert new customers into regulars and they start referring you to their friends and family.
How to attract new customers?
What can you do to increase your customer base? Well, almost anything as long as it works. However, here are a couple of tried and tested techniques that you can also include in your marketing strategy.
Use referrals
Word-of-mouth marketing may be one of the most effective, as people tend to trust their peers more than they trust advertising. Referrals are an important component of your growth funnel. However, for them to work, you need to make a lot of effort.
To get new customers through referrals, you need to work with the existing ones, as they are going to become your promoters within their circle of friends and relatives. Make them love your brand enough to recommend it to someone they know:
- Implement a loyalty program
- Exceed their expectations of the product you offer
- Continue to engage them
- Provide easy opportunities to share your content
- Offer referral incentive
Offer discounts and promotions
This tactic is old but it still works like a charm. People love getting things for free, and offering free stuff can be what draws their attention to you in the first place. No matter what you produce, there can almost always be something you can offer for free or at a discount:
- Free trials
- Subscription-related discounts
- Free guest use (here, you are combining a discount with a referral)
Such free offers allow your prospects to get a taste of your product, which makes their decision to go for it more informed and confident.
Use social media
Social media are no longer just a space where you meet your friends and classmates from ago. You can use social networks for all kinds of marketing activities - to promote your product, engage with your audience, and, of course, generate leads and attract new customers. Focusing on social media is especially crucial if you are trying to target young audiences.
To run an effective social media marketing campaign and increase your customer base, you need to make some preparations to get a proper social media boost:
- Determine your target audience and choose your social media accordingly.
- Post engaging content that will make your followers and new visitors click that link to your website.
- Be active on social media and quick to answer any questions that your visitors might have.
Include email marketing in your campaigns
Today, email marketing can be tricky, as many people are already fed up with dozens of promotional messages cluttering their inboxes. However, if you structure your email marketing campaign in a smart way and deliver interesting and engaging content, you can get new customers through email marketing, too.
One thing, though - do not buy email address databases. Rather, get real email addresses directly from their owners through subscription on your website or online or offline surveys. This way, your prospects will not wonder, how did you ever get their address in the first place.
For your email marketing campaign to succeed, follow some basic rules:
- Send engaging newsletters containing important information. To save time, use creative email newsletter templates.
- Use catchy email subject lines to make your recipients want to open your messages.
- Consider sending free content, such as ebooks or video tutorials.
Maintain an engaging website
There are many ways your prospects can land on your website, but once they do, its content must make them want to browse and explore further. Your website must look professional and provide real value for your existing and future customers. Make sure that the website navigation is intuitive enough and that the information is updated regularly.
Here’s what you can do to make your website engaging for new customers:
- Include self-service resources, such as video tutorials or a detailed knowledge base
- Make sure your website loads quickly
- Provide various communication channels, such as live chat, messenger, or virtual numbers
Once in a while, review your website and get it a “facelift” to boost your customers’ interest. A good time to do it is during holidays when the marketing activities are at their lowest.
Partner with other businesses
Not every business in the same market is your competitor. In many cases, your products or services can complement each other and attract the same type of customers. This is where you can join efforts and collaborate to help each other to increase the customer base.
For example, consider the following business partnership types:
- Create guest posts on each other’s resources to promote your brand, product, or expertise among your partner’s customers.
- Co-produce digital content, such as video tutorials or ebooks.
- Share each other’s posts on social media.
Join communities and trade networks
Online communities and trade networks offer a space for people with similar interests to get together. The Internet is full of such spaces, you can find virtually anything - from highly specific gamer communities to groups for young mothers or cross-stitch enthusiasts. Research the Internet for the communities that can be a good place for your product and join them. Alternatively, you can create your own online community to allow your customers and prospects to interact and learn more about your brand and business.
To engage with more customers via communities, use certain tactics:
- Provide expertise in answering members’ questions.
- Offer gifts and other freebies.
- Hold contests among community participants.
Join offline events or hold your own. This is a good opportunity for you to showcase your product and increase people’s awareness of it. Prepare an engaging event program, create merch to sell or hand out, run an effective advertising campaign - and meet your customers face to face.
Build your strategy and get started
While getting new customers is not an easy task, the effort is totally worth it. By making new people enjoy your product, you establish a firmer presence on the market and expand your sales opportunities. Pick the marketing techniques that suit your business, put together a marketing strategy - and go for it! Oh, and don’t be afraid to adapt and change, too.
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