Attracting more customers is an age-old challenge for business owners. You want to find more customers, but often have a limited budget to do so. However, today there are more options than ever—many of which are very affordable or even free. Sometimes, small business owners need to open their horizons and consider less traditional methods to achieve their goals. Here, we offer some excellent and effective ways to help you attract more customers to your business.
Focus on Customer Satisfaction
This might seem like an odd place to start, but it is the most powerful tool any business owner has at their disposal. By simply upping your game and providing everything your customers need, you can attract more customers. First, it generates more sales from people who already know and trust you. This is just as good and often better than finding new customers, as it provides a continuous cash flow. Second, happy customers talk about their happiness, whether it is to friends, family, and co-workers by word of mouth, or in four-star ratings and online reviews.
Ask Customers for Reviews
Building on the above idea, ask your satisfied customers to post reviews and ratings for your business online. This is one of the first things people check when searching for new products or services. The more positive reviews and stars you have, the more likely people are to give you a try.
Create a New Customer Offer
Use traditional means such as signage in hand with online methods such as social media to advertise a new customer offer. Whether it is a free sample to try your products, a buy-one-get-one-free option, or a limited price offer, people love feeling special when they receive exclusive offers. Once you get them lured in, your superior products and services will keep them coming back for more.
Offer Existing Customers a Referral Gift
You already have an excellent resource at your disposal: your existing customers. Offering customers a referral gift for recommending you to a friend is an excellent strategy to get more customers. Happy customers, as mentioned above, are some of your biggest promoters. If you entice them to speak up and refer you to others, they can help generate more customers. It’s the whole “they told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on” strategy. It’s highly effective and usually has a very good ROI.
Announce Your Presence
If you have a storefront, announce your presence with a noticeable business sign. Your company name needs to stand out from the crowd, and brick-and-mortar locations can provide an ongoing bang for your buck with the right signage. Whether you are a dental office, lawyer, restaurant, or gift shop, if you face the street where cars and pedestrians walk by, your signage will be a constant reminder that you are open for business.
Run a Contest
The allure of free stuff is always a great draw, and contests are an excellent way to attract new customers. Create a fun idea for contests using social media for online audiences and signage for foot traffic. Contests can be exciting, such as having people enter it by sharing a picture of themselves in your store, or using or wearing your products.
This can be something as easy as visiting you in person to fill out a ballot, or an automatic entry with every purchase. The better the prize, the more people will want to enter. As well, the more fun and engaging the entry method, the more buzz it will create.
Work on Your Website
We’re going to assume that you have a website, but if you don’t, then you need one. If you do, work on your website to help build your online presence. This includes:
- Making your site easy to navigate and responsive to the devices people use.
- Adding tons of content to establish your expertise.
- Using keywords relative to your business to improve your ranking on Google results pages.
- Ensuring you are easy to reach with contact buttons and phone numbers on every page.
- Listing all of your products and services with appropriate images.
These are basics for today’s small business owner.
Make Sure You’re on Local Directories
Online directories make it easier for people to find you. Without getting into too much detail, the best way to get onto local and/or industry directories is to open a Google My Business account and complete your profile page in full. When you do this, directories use Google to find new business listings so they can include them on their lists. This helps them attract more visitors while promoting local businesses.
Use an LED Sign
This is an excellent way to keep everyone up to date on your offers and events. Your digital sign also helps attract attention. You can manage messaging in advance, and everything is entered on a computer. Your advertisements can change at the drop of the hat, and you can take advantage of keeping your messages fresh in order to attract more customers.
Get on Social Media
If you aren’t already using social media for your business, now is the time to start. Almost everyone uses some form of social media today. You can learn how to incorporate things like hashtags to help your ideal audience find you, and so you can find new leads and raise awareness about what you have to offer. Best of all, it’s 100% free unless you decide to advertise. You can run contests, announce special offers, engage with customers, and more, all without spending a dime.
Consider Pay-Per-Click Advertising
If you want to increase your online presence, pay-per-click advertising is the affordable way to go. The beauty of pay per click is that anyone can create ads easily, and you have access to your ideal audience. Best of all, you only pay if someone actually clicks your ad and visits your website, landing page, or social media site.
Volunteer in Your Community
Another way to advertise your products and services for free is to get involved in your community. You can cover your volunteer efforts on social media to raise awareness about the things that matter to you, and help attract customers who share your values. You will also feel good knowing that your time is being spent on helping your community.
All of these ideas will help drive more traffic to your business. If you would like more information about custom signs that Toronto business owners need, speak to our team at New Style Signs today.
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