The client base is the lifeblood of any business. No matter how sophisticated your business model or how well you’ve cornered the market, without a steady flow of new customers, your business will not reach its full potential. Finding the best way to attract customers in a digital economy can be difficult and calls for new ways of thinking.
Young entrepreneur Stan Gershengoren is typical of the new breed of modern business consultants who are changing the way that businesses think and operate. The official Stan Gershengoren approach to building a thriving business is rooted in the vital importance of maintaining a strong base of clients, even if you operate exclusively online. How do you go about it? Here are seven steps to attract new customers to your business.
Identify the ideal customer
Finding something is much easier if you know where to look! But do you know what type of consumer you are looking for? Without a composite picture of your ideal customer, the task of attracting new interest in your business is much tougher.
You should take time to develop a clear idea in your mind of your target client. Try to think about what they want in life, what makes them happy or sad, and then work out how you can help to make their lives better. Beware of settling for broad stereotypes. Focusing on “millennials” will be little use to you as few products are likely to appeal to an entire generation, and nobody likes to be stereotyped or patronized.
Work out where they are based
When you know the type of customer that you are looking for, the next step is to find out where they are. Identify where they can be reached. For some people, that will be by mail, but others may be easier to reach through email or other media. Where to start looking will depend on your business, but forums and social media pages are a good place to start. When you find out where your ideal customers can be reached, you can craft the perfect message.
Be the expert on your business
If you have a deep understanding of your sector and a detailed grasp of your product or service, then you will be well positioned to attract new clients. Your knowledge will be apparent in every communication, and that will encourage potential customers to ask questions, and even seek you out for your expertise and assistance.
Make yourself the answer
By setting yourself up as the answer to your customers’ problems, you will be giving them a great reason to try your product. This can be achieved by getting out there and creating content, through webinars or blogs, as well as networking. You will gradually earn a reputation for expertise, and as long as your sales conversion process is well-designed, you should be able to turn followers or fans into customers.
Direct response marketing
An important aspect of reaching out to customers is to try to encourage them to take a specific step, such as asking for more information or joining an email list. One effective direct response technique is to create adverts that offer potential customers something for free, but there are many methods in the direct response marketing arena, and it is a good idea to take the time to master this area of marketing.
Create partnerships
Synergy is an important part of modern business, and you can give your business a major boost by linking up with other companies that provide complementary services. For example, if you run a website-building business, why not consider linking up with a company that specializes in SEO? Creating partnerships is also about building those vital human relationships that will ultimately lead to more customers returning and recommending you.
Follow up
You’ve followed all the steps – now what? Well, it is important to finish the process by following up on all those tasks that you’ve initiated along the way. After doing the hard work, make sure that you follow up to build on those potential leads and conversations to turn them into income. Remember that you should never neglect the follow-up when trying to boost your client base.
You can adapt and tailor these approaches to your own needs, but by following the steps outlined here, you can significantly improve your chances of establishing a strong and growing customer base that will help your business to thrive.
