10 Ways on How to Find New Customers and Increase Sales
If you are starting a new business, whether it is small or big, your main goal is to grow your business. In order for your business to grow, you must increase its sales. In order to increase your sales, you must find customers. Take note that every time, you must have new customers. So, what are you going to do? How are you going to promote your products? Is building relationship with other business owners the only way for your business to grow?
Let’s ask Rieva Lesonsky, CEO and President of GrowBiz Media, a media company that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. She’s been covering small business and entrepreneurial issues for more than 30 years. Furthermore, she is the author of several books about entrepreneurship and was the editorial director of Entrepreneur magazine for over two decades. Now here’s what she’s telling us on how to find new customers.
1. Ask for referrals.
Referrals are one of the best ways to get new customers—but if you sit back and wait for your current customers to refer their friends and family members to you, you could be waiting a long time. Take charge by implementing a system for actively soliciting referrals from your satisfied customers. Build referral-generating activity into the sales process. For example, send a follow-up email asking for a referral after a customer has received their order from your e-commerce site. Have your B2B salespeople ask for referrals when they follow up with customers to answer questions after the sale.
2. Network.
Generate good old-fashioned word-of-mouth by participating in networking organizations and events relevant to your industry and your customers. Be sure to approach networking with the attitude, “How can I help others?” rather than “What’s in it for me?” By thinking about how you be of service, you’ll build relationships that lead to new customers.
3. Offer discounts and incentives for new customers only.
Introductory offers, such as a two-week course at your karate studio for $100, can lure curious customers in your door by providing a low-risk way to try your products or services. Track which customers redeem the special offer, then target them with marketing message encouraging and enticing them to keep buying from you.
4. Re-contact old customers.
Everything old can be new again—including old customers who haven’t done business with you in a while. Go through your customer contacts on a regular basis and, after six months or a year without an interaction or purchase, reach out to dormant customers with a special offer via email, direct mail or phone. They’ll be glad you remembered them and want to win them back.
5. Improve your website.
These days, consumers and B2B buyers alike find new businesses primarily by searching online. That means your website has to do some heavy lifting to attract new customers. Give your website a once-over to make sure that the design, content, graphics and SEO are up-to-date. If this isn’t your strong suit, it’s worth enlisting the services of a website design company and/or SEO expert to help.
6. Partner with complementary businesses.
Team up with businesses that have a similar customer base, but aren’t directly competitive, and strategize how you can target each other’s customers to drive new business to each other. For example, a maternity clothing website and a baby products website could pair up to offer discounts and deals to each other’s customers.
7. Promote your expertise.
Generate interest—and new customers—by publicizing your expertise in your industry. Participating in industry panel discussions or online webinars, speaking at industry events or to groups your target customers belong to, or holding educational sessions or workshops will impress potential new customers with your subject expertise.
8. Use online reviews to your advantage.
Does your business get online reviews from customers? Cultivate your reviews and make the most of them. Link to reviews on your website and post signage in your location urging customers to check you out on Yelp (or wherever the reviews are). Social proof is powerful, and new customers are more likely to give your business a try if they see others praising it.
9. Participate in community events.
All else being equal, most people like to support independent businesses in their communities. Raise your profile in your community by taking part in charity events and organizations. Sponsor a local fun run, organize a holiday “toys for kids” donation, or supply a Little League team in your city with equipment. It gets your name out there, which helps bring in new customers. And lastly,
10. Bring a friend.
Offer 2-for-1, “buy one, get one free” or “bring a friend” deals to get your “regulars” to introduce new customers to your business. For instance, a restaurant could offer a “buy one entrée, get a second for free” special to attract more customers. You can even get specific: “Invite a friend to try our new happy hour specials!” to let customers know you’re looking to introduce your business to a wider customer base.
FAQS:
How do you find new sales clients?
Answer: In order to find new sales clients fast, you should make a habit of checking Job Boards/Freelancing Sites. Next, you should do more networking offline. But since we are having a pandemic, we are locked in our houses and the only thing we can do is to make networking online because socializing outside is very limited. Third, you should still each out to your existing contacts. Fourth, set up a landing page and run ads to it. This one is very effective. You could also use Facebook and other social medias to put some ads and to promote your products. Fifth, let people know you’re looking for work. Sixth, cold outreach via email or phone calls. And lastly, ask for referrals. However, you can go to Webpage Conversion. This will surely help you find new sales client fast.
How do you increase average sales per customer?
Answer: Give offers and incentives. Point of sale promotions. Premises and appearance. Have better customer education. Do business more selectively. Offer multiple payment methods. Offer more convenience. Have better pricing strategies and better sales techniques. Make upselling and cross-selling. Offer more exclusive products/services and lastly, make setting expectations better. Now that’s something to think about!
How do you attract new customers?
Answer: Have an attractive website and a blog. Attract new customers over social media. Make free offers and contest for attracting new customers. Use customer reviews and customer testimonials as marketing campaigns. Also, email marketing partnerships. Always be active and attract customers online.
How do you target new customers?
Answer: Survey customers. Next, research your competitors and find out who their customers are. Third, target ads.
Fourth, smart social media. Use social medias to promote your business. Fifth, respond to every email, tweet, facebook comment, and phone call, adjust yourself as necessary. Sixth, affiliate marketing. Establish trust in your community. Seventh, publish user reviews, get likes, syndicate articles.
How do you win customers?
Answer: Hone in on your target markets. If you’re broadly marketing your products and services to a vast array of consumers, you’re going to be sinking more resources into marketing than necessary. Study your competitors. Make better use of business resources. Focus on providing value to customers. Leverage big data.