Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2010, during the economic crisis in Spain. Its channels, such as door-to-door leaflets, radio spots, local TV, social networks and a website as the new thing, reflect that time.
We’ve written our business plan, studied the market, set up our office, we have the product and we’ve defined our marketing strategy. Now we’re missing the essential part, the customers, because without customers our business won’t work. Here are some techniques for attracting our first customers.
First of all, ideally customers should already know about our business before we even open our doors to the public. That way we avoid having to start winning customers once the expenses have started to mount up.
Below are the most effective, proven ways to get our first customers:
1. Cold calling: I don’t mean going to customers’ homes, although that method still works well in certain sectors. By cold calling we mean any visit we make to a new customer without having arranged an appointment beforehand.
So if your customers are businesses, go to the company in person and offer them your service or product. Make sure you know how the competition works in your sector so you don’t go in blind.
2. Your contact list: If you made contacts in your previous job, dig them out now and call them to offer your product. Remember to tell friends and acquaintances who might be interested in your business, and don’t hesitate to offer them a commission if they send someone your way.
Word of mouth is the best advertising, and someone you pay a commission for sending you a customer is like one more employee, one who won’t hesitate to mention you at meetings. Set your profit margins carefully so you don’t lose money on that commission.
3. Advertising: Never think of advertising as an expense. Advertising is the best investment, because the return can be truly astonishing. For local advertising, door-to-door leaflets and radio spots still work, not to mention local television. And nowadays you have countless ways to promote your business with the right advertising.
To see which types of advertising are most viable for your business, read our article covering each and every advertising medium: The best types of advertising for your business.
4. Special discounts and two-for-one offers: It may sound like a supermarket, but plenty of businesses use this kind of successful promotion for their services: dentists, massage parlours, laser hair removal clinics and so on.
They use these promotions and offers because they work perfectly in times of crisis: buy a set of tyres and we’ll change your oil for free; buy your furniture here and get 20% off appliances. Whatever your sector, this kind of promotion will attract customers and it will work.
5. Your own ideas: Come up with ideas to bring customers into your business using the white lie that big corporations use: “Come in and we’ll give you X for free.” And you will indeed give it to them, as long as they buy Z.
Get the customer through your door and make sure that, once they’re there, they’re happy with what you offer.
These are the well-known, effective ways to attract customers to your business. Once again, remember how important it is today to make yourself known through social networks and to have a complete website that ranks well online.
But the most important thing is what I said at the start: you should have your customers before you open your doors.
Further reading
- 5 ways to grow your business’s sales
- Why new businesses fail
- The entrepreneur’s mindset
- Common mistakes made by Spanish business owners
Featured image: Colin McMillen from Pittsburgh, U.S.A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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