Starting a business is difficult and often overwhelming. One of the biggest obstacles to doing so successfully is lack of customers. Without paying customers, there will be no revenue and without revenue, you can’t pay for advertising or promotion. If you’re struggling with getting customers, here are some tips that might help.
How to get more customers for my business?
Make your business visible on social media.
If you’re not already, create a Facebook account and post your product/service at least once a week. Also tweet and retweet about what your company does on Twitter. When people start to know you exist it will be easier for them to remember when they need or want whatever it is you sell. Read more: How to advertise on spotify?
Promote your business in person.
If you have a brick-and-mortar shop, talk about your business as much as possible. Consider making a sandwich board that says something about what you do and post it outside your store from time to time. Consider putting flyers in local stores, libraries, laundromats, etc… Have friends and family wear t-shirts with the name of your company or logo on them when they go out or invite some people from work if appropriate.
Offer coupons to new customers.
Whether you offer a flat percentage off all first-time orders or 10% off for signing up for an email list, getting money upfront will help offset costs until revenue comes in from new customers. Post ads online where everyone is already spending their time: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Google+, etc…
Give away free samples.
People love getting something for free and oftentimes they will be willing to give you their information in exchange for a sample of your product or service. You can later use this information to offer them a better price or discount if they return the favor and become a customer. Just be sure to clearly state what is being given away and how people can get it so as not never to enter yourself into any type of scam that violates advertising regulations where you live.
Network with other local business owners.
Make friends with everyone from grocery stores to pet stores, dentists offices to bike shops, etc… In some cases these businesses might have customers who would also benefit from your services and you might benefit from theirs.
Make sure you’re getting the word out about all of your promotional events.
If you’re having a sale or doing something different to attract customers, make sure the people who already know about it tell their friends so they too can get in on the fun! Consider using Facebook event RSVP invites for this purpose…
Don’t give up!
Starting a business is tough but persevering through all obstacles until eventually one day everything clicks is what makes owning a small business so rewarding!
Be creative!
There are tons of ways to get new customers without spending any money, just put some time into brainstorming ideas and giving them a try! Finding success with these methods will require trial and error so go slow, have fun, and good luck!
Try using SEO (search engine optimization) methods to generate more customers for your business.
This is something you can do only if the product/service you offer is relevant to one of the most popular search terms people use when looking for what you’re selling. If it’s not, don’t waste time trying to optimize keywords that just won’t work!
Consider hiring a professional search engine optimization expert
It helps you reach the top of the organic (unpaid) results in Google’s, Bing’s, or Yahoo’s search engine for whatever words/phrases your target audience is using to look for your product/service…
Be willing to give away some profit margin to gain more customers.
It might be worth it to give away a little less profit margin per product/service if you can attract more new customers because of the lower price. Try reading up on psychological marketing tactics that are proven to work so you can stand out from your competitors and better appeal to your target audience…
Offer discounts for returning customers.
This, for example, might be a certain percentage off if they spend a certain minimum amount. It’s the incentive for returning customers to keep coming back!
It can be tough trying to get new customers for your business but there are many marketing strategies you can try to help fill your customer base. Try using some of these ideas… if they don’t work, move on to the next one! Good luck out there!