Every business knows that unless it grows its customer base, it won’t be competitive enough to make real profits. In fact, just a five percent increase in customer base can significantly increase profits.
It should go without saying that successful businesses understand that while it is important to grow their customer base, they must also do everything in their power to retain existing customers.
Below are six strategies to grow your customers.
- Create a business plan – while the creation of your business plan on its own won’t increase your customers, you need to develop it. Here’s why: your business plan will give you the roadmap to increasing your customer base. For example, if creating a hair salon business plan, your plan will help you figure out the best marketing strategies to use to attract new salon customers. It will ensure you have the right salon products and services to offer. It will make sure you have the proper salon staffing and operations to serve customers. And it will help you create milestones to grow your salon and acquire and serve more customers.
- Offer great customer service – Poor customer service can lead to a drop of sixty percent in customer orders. Your business should therefore interact well with unhappy or needy customers. Satisfying unhappy customers ensures that 93 percent of your unhappy customers will become repeat buyers.
- Gain the attention of possible leads – Do it by offering freebies and other incentives. Particularly for first-time buyers, giving them extra value can persuade them to try your business instead of your competitors.
- Use social media to your advantage – Today most customers are on social media. Use this tool to reach out to current and prospective customers. Tell them about what you’re doing and offering. Have current customers talk about how good you are.
- Use tools – you must use tools that analyze how your customers use the products they have bought from you. Knowing how customers use your products/services will help you personalize your customer service and, in this way, create a new army of customers.
- Leverage Customer Feedback – Finally, whenever it becomes difficult to come up with new ideas to grow your customer base, you should rely on using existing customer feedback to improve your prospects. If the feedback was positive, you know you are doing something right. On the other hand, negative feedback indicates a need to improve whatever the customer did not like about your products/service.
The bottom line is that you can grow your customer base by first of all getting to know your customers and prospects. You should then divide your time between supporting existing customers and looking for new ones. The bigger you think, the more likely it is that your business will attract new customers.
Ayesha completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry and started her career as a College Lecturer in 2013. Today, she’s a happy mom of 2 Kids in the field of digital marketing. She loves reading books, spending time with her family, and making delicious food for her husband.
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