Have you thought about ways you could get customers for a new business but you’re not sure because the market is over saturated and there are too many existing businesses competing for clients in that same market?
I was exactly like you when we started. There was clearly no way my brand could compete with the big fishes in our industry. And every day, I used to wonder how I was going to be able to make our first sale before I finally go completely broke.
To make things worse, I was not great at marketing. I was shy when it comes to talking about our business but I know I was grounded in the results we created. This solid knowledge was one of the key things we leveraged to start a brand that has reached millions, more than half a decade ago.
Today, I’ll be sharing with you some of the strategies that eventually helped us, including insights and lessons you can use to get customers as a new business, regardless of whether you’re starting a laundry business, tech start up, plumbing or a law firm.
Be So Good at Your Business
In every industry, new businesses will always spring up while some old ones fizzle out. And some new businesses will also fizzle out before they see the light of the day. But if you want to make it in any niche, be so good at your products or services that you cannot be ignored.
This is one of the things that worked for us. Even if we were just new in the system, I knew that we were good. I am not saying we were the best in the industry but I knew we could stand head-to-head when it comes to creating results in that market.
This knowledge provided a good boost in our confidence. Something we needed really well if we were going to go out there to convince people to do business with us.
If you want to get customers for a new business, you have to be so good that you cannot be ignored. This is what you have to do.
Put in a system in place that meets the needs of your customer more than anyone else. Prioritize excellent delivery, great customer service and a satisfactory result for every customer that patronizes your business.
I know you’re not going to be able to satisfy every single customer 100 percent, but put in a system that prioritizes this. This is very important.
Know your Audience and What they Want
You can be very good with your product or services but if it does not explicitly meet the needs of your target audience then you are very far from getting new customers for your business.
This is one of the major factors that led to the folding up of our first major business initiative, after just one year. I was expecting what I am offering is exactly what my audience would want. But I was wrong.
Sometimes you might have what you consider a million-dollar business idea but if that business idea does not meet the needs of your potential target audience, you’re most likely going to be wasting your time and resources.
So, before you spend on propagating your business idea, study your market to understand what exactly your audience wants and prime your business to deliver on that. This is a great recipe to get clients for a business.
Research your audience before you set out your market strategies. Find out their needs, pain points and get your business to meet those actual needs, not the ones you think about in your head.
If your audience are in need of a full-service digital agency for instance instead of a freelance service provider, consider setting up one, if you really want to attract clients.
Publicize your Business Effectively
A holy book says “you can’t light a candle and put it under a bushel” but the first few months we started, this is exactly what we were doing, hiding.
You may be wondering why I was hiding but I wasn’t just sure if we were ready for the market. For a long time, I watched as smaller upstarts with less robust pedigree come up and take over the place while we standby.
This went on and on until I decided it was time to “get the candle out of the bushel to the mountain top”. Not until then did I realize that there were people actually waiting to buy, if only we could have said the word.
Getting customers for a new business starts with getting publicity for the business. Regardless of how good you are, the quality of your product or services, no one will get to buy if they don’t know you exist. So you have to get your name to their faces.
A lot of brands have taken some very drastic steps to get publicity.
From going on offline outreach campaigns with microphones and trucks to getting on TV, Newspapers and robust PPC Ads on YouTube, Google and other platforms, people have chosen publicity options based on their budgets and what works in the markets.
You don’t have to go over the top if you don’t have a big budget. Create a marketing plan that will get your clients to reach you effortlessly based on your own budget and reality.
When you do, monitor your campaign outcomes to see if it delivers. If it doesn’t analyze your strategies and change your structure.
I have also seen businesses run a few half-hearted ads and then run off. Publicity for a new business is not something you run and go to sleep. Sometimes the results do take time to come so you have to be strategic. You also have to be consistent and willing to be so committed to it.
Corner a Portion of the Market
You may not be able to appeal to everybody if you’re in a very large market. But, if you’re able to target a segment of the market, you can create a very specific marketing targeted at that section of the market.
This gives you the chance to tailor your marketing, services and actual outcome to a smaller niche, making it easier to meet the needs of that target niche.
So if you’re providing laundry services for example, instead of targeting the general population, you can consider a sub niche like busy professionals or working-class professionals in need of fast laundry delivery.
This sets you up in a totally different niche. You get to prime your business and marketing to deliver for these guys and as the business becomes well established in this niche you can keep expanding to reach the outlying customers.
Remember this doesn’t box you in in any way. It gives you leverage to scale up fast. This worked for us pretty well. It gave us a chance to build faster especially considering we did not stand any chance with all the big wigs in our market at the time.
When done effectively, this can get you a solid foot in the market and a chance to drive a more robust outcome with your marketing.
Get Clear Goals and a Solid Plan
A clear goal is your first step towards evolving a business plan that actually delivers on your ROIs. So, if you want to really get customers for a new business then you have to come up with clear goals and a business plan. Anything less than this is just a mere wish.
I have seen a number of new businesses that desire to attract new clients but they have no idea about the number of clients they would like to attract for their business or the plan they can use to get that.
To make sales, you need a goal. A clear goal gives you an idea on what to aim for. And then you can build a strategy on how you want to get the customers you have in mind.
There’s nothing wrong with checking out the market to see if your strategies is going to work. But, looking back, I believe if we had a clear goal (other than to make money) and a plan when we started out our first business back then, we would have made a lot more progress.
Unfortunately, we had no goals. The idea was to just start something. And so we started. We continued with this idea until the business folded up when it could no longer thrive.
A goal gives your business direction and purpose. Get one sorted out before you start. It will keep you on track. It will also give you a standard or a bar to measure your progress and track growth.
Offer Incentives to Get Customers
People will always go for what they are already familiar with. As a new business without a customer base, most people will not give you a try because they don’t know you but you can do something about that.
Instead of setting a price as high as your existing competition, offer your potential clients some incentives that will get them to at least give you a try.
It’s a strategy we used. Many other businesses have also used it. And this will work to your advantage especially if you’d taken the first steps as listed out earlier.
Also, if you’re running a service business, this strategic incentive can give you the chance to build a portfolio for your business, get testimonials and reviews, just like it did for us.
If you’re selling a product, this could come in the form of product testing, early bird registration, pre-orders etc. this gives you the chance to offer a subsidized product while getting real reviews, testimonials and exposure for your business.
If you’re able to implement this well, you can successfully get new customers for a business you own, get reviews and also word of mouth referrals.
Create a Brand & Get Visible Online
In this digital age, regardless of your industry, if you’re planning to get customers for a business, you cannot afford to run that business without getting online visibility.
This is so because “online” is now the new market place. With around 16 billion daily searches on Google alone and over 5 billion active social media users, its safe to say that every day, a number of people are searching for your services or product.
And if you’re not getting yourself primed up to appear in these searches, then you’re leaving money on the table.
As much as possible, create a brand, go digital and get yourself online. You can use the following steps:
- Create a Brand. Start with getting your brand sorted from scratch. Go for a brand name and other brand details that are easily relatable to your business and target audience
- Get on Social Media. From there, get on social media. Create a profile on the top social media platforms with your target audience and then start creating content and engaging with your audience there.
- Create a Business Website. After that, get your business a website and have it all set up with your brand details that showcases your business professionally
- Optimize your website for Visibility. It is not enough to build a website and leave it. Optimize your website for visibility so it can easily be seen when people are searching for your product or services.
- Promote your Business. Use marketing strategies like content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, paid promotion etc. to get your business in front of your target audience.
Even if you have little to no budget for marketing and visibility, the organic marketing strategies can get you started. But if you want to drive faster outcomes, you can consider using both paid and organic marketing to promote your business.
Final Words
I know that you can get new customers for your business regardless of your industry because I’ve been there, done that and I have also helped a number of businesses to get theirs.
Using the strategies here can get you started on your journey to growing your new business but you must also keep in mind that you need to have a firm belief in what you’re doing. You have to show up consistently and you have to keep going at it, using different strategies and approaches until you break even.
Also, I want to remind you that a business is not built in a day. Consistency matters. Creating excellent results is also important just the same way as staying on top of your industry trends is crucial.
And finally, you can always get help to reach your goals much faster than you’d do that alone. Reach out to us here.
Now, it’s over to you! What are your biggest challenges when it comes to attracting new customers for your business? Drop your comments below
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