Customers are the driving force of any business. Without them, you can’t grow and expand the company to desired heights. Therefore, it’s important that you continue attracting as many potential customers as possible while working to keep the ones you already have. Remember, your competitors are always trying to improve their operations to capture the very same customer base you’re targeting. You, on the other hand, must also work tirelessly to ensure that customers will choose and stay loyal to your brand.
Many businesses, even the established ones, find it difficult at some point to generate new customers. As a start-up business owner, this can be quite intimidating if you don’t have the know-how and skills to navigate a competitive market. Even the most successful companies were in a similar position before they managed to overcome all the barriers.
Fortunately for you, the experiences of these entrepreneurs can tell you what and what not to do when it comes to increasing the popularity of your business. To start growing your customer base, you can follow these tips:
1. Provide Top-Notch Customer Service
This tip might seem obvious, but you’ll be surprised by the number of companies that get it wrong. In fact, some businesses that have already made a name for themselves and are at the top of the pile are still having issues with their customer service. Hence, being able to provide high-quality customer service with consistency is an underrated skill. This doesn’t only require someone with the necessary certifications, but also enough experience in dealing with people from different backgrounds.
For instance, regardless of the customer’s tone, your agent is required to keep his or her cool through the conversation. Remember, this is one of the areas where your company’s reputation is either built or broken. A single wrong word uttered could have huge repercussions on the success of your business.
The quality of your customer service isn’t only gauged through the behavior of your representatives. How you respond to questions and the kind of strategies put in place to handle incoming calls also play a huge role.
For instance, SMS autoresponder systems that are created by the likes of Call Cowboy, might be what you need to start turning those potential clients into returning customers. This technology gives you the ability to respond to messages as soon as they’re received. This is crucial as it keeps customer engagement going and will prevent some of your targets from opting for other alternatives.
For example, when one sends a query and you’re not at the office, the autoresponder will let the sender know when they can expect an answer from your end. As such, they’ll know that their message was delivered and that someone will get back to them later.
The rule of thumb when it comes to customer service is to treat everyone calmly and equally. Don’t take the needs of an unhappy customer as a chore but rather an opportunity to make things right. Remember, these are the people who will either praise or condemn you in front of your target group. Therefore, always make sure that whatever is spread in public is something that builds your credibility rather than destroy it.
2. Use Auto Dialers
Consumer demands are ever-changing and it’s up to you, as a business owner, to catch up with these needs. The best way to do this is to introduce modern technology into your business. For instance, replacing your manual dialer with an auto dialer can go a long way towards capturing new potential clients.
How does that work? Glad you asked! Well, with the old and rather outdated dialers, the customer has to wait in line for other callers to be served before getting the help they need. Auto dialers, on the other hand, are designed in such a way that can help engage new callers as they wait for the next available agent. The self-care options featured in these systems have proven very vital in the generation of new leads.
3. Get Into Digital Marketing
Your call center is not the only department that needs upgrading; the rest of your marketing team needs to keep up with the times too. How much have you invested in social media advertisements? If you’ve not made a move in the world of digital marketing, then you’re missing out on a lot of potential leads. Every modern business is busy trying to capture an online customer base because it’s one of the fastest-growing markets.
Social media marketing can be your ladder to new heights if you know how to utilize it. For instance, posting regularly is a good idea, but you need to publish relevant content that adds value to your customers every day. You can also use this platform to advertise your new products and services. If you plan your digital marketing strategies and do them right, you’re going to attract a lot of new customers, especially if you’ve built your credibility over time.
Of course, it can be quite intimidating to compete with established brands, especially if you’re still starting a small business. If you’re one of those struggling to conquer the online market, then the best option is to hire a professional to take care of such tasks. You can also get influencers to advertise your products on their Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook accounts.
Getting influencers to promote your brand gives you a good advantage because these people already have a wide audience that you can tap to. Therefore, you can easily reach a huge base even if your social media accounts don’t have much of a following yet. However, partnering with influencers can be a bit tricky. You have to make sure that the influencer you’re getting would match your brand, and that their followers are also part of your target customers.
4. Develop Excellent Products And Services
You can never go wrong in your marketing strategies when you have high-quality and reliable products or services. If you ask any customer what they look for in a brand, product quality will definitely top the list. It’s a no-brainer that a company that produces excellent items can easily compete with other players in the industry. Even a small business can have a good fighting chance against more established brands, just by providing better products.
High-quality products are easier to market. You may need some time to capture a sizable customer base but once the business takes off, you don’t even have to ask customers or influencers to promote your business. They will do it voluntarily if the products or services are indeed worthy of recommendation. They are most likely going to leave good reviews on your online pages too. Now, that would definitely boost your brand without much effort on your part.
5. Keep Your Employees Happy And Motivated
Customers are crucial to the success of your business, but so are employees. By now, you should be well aware of how important it is to have happy and productive workers in your company. An employee who’s in a good mood is always motivated to give their best at work.
This peace of mind is a result of many things and one of them is your treatment as their employer. It’s vital that you not only maintain professionalism but also consider your workers as family, rather than treating them like strangers. You might be inclined to think that commitment is enough for any worker to give their best. Well, that’s where many companies get it wrong. As a result, most of them end up replacing their workers every year. That isn’t an ideal situation.
Your employees are at the frontlines of your business, and they are the ones who face your customers every day. Their skill, expertise, and attitude will become part of your brand image because that’s what customers will first see when they transact with your business. An employee who is rude and unhelpful will definitely leave a bad taste among your customers.
So, how do you maintain employee happiness and motivation? It starts with the working environment. You have to provide your employees a safe and comfortable workplace, give them adequate training, and compensate them properly for the hard work they are doing. Recognizing outstanding employees will also help boost morale in the workplace.
6. Keep Your Website Fresh
In this day and age, your website is one of your biggest marketing machines. Every company has at least one online platform where new products and other related news are posted. Of course, having a website is a must for any business in the modern economy, but how you use this channel is what matters the most.
Apart from unique content, people are always looking for informative posts that pour out nothing but pure facts. Keep in mind that this is something that your competitors are already doing. Therefore, having a website is the bare minimum you should do as a modern-day business owner.
A website also helps legitimize your business. If you constantly update your posts, you’re going to attract many readers who’ll be looking to visit your website for more information about your business and products. Your website can also create a first impression for your business.
Nowadays, people would go to Google and search for a company before they decide to buy or support it. If your website looks dodgy, many of your potential customers might hesitate to continue transacting with you.
The same thing would happen if your website is very hard to use and navigate. Instead of simply adding stuff to cart and make their purchase, customers will just run out of patience if your website takes too much time to load. In other words, you must make sure that your website is not just updated with new content from time to time, it must provide a smooth user experience too.
7. Customer Advocacy
We’ve already mentioned a thing or two about previous clients recommending your products to other people. Now, let’s go into more details! In the world of marketing, there’re very few things that can top a word that comes from the mouth of a former customer. Therefore, it’s worth noting that the quality of the services you offer can easily market themselves without you making a lot of efforts in the advertisement department.
However, if you’re running a new business that’s trying to bring a new product to the market, it can be difficult to attract customers. Not many people are willing to invest in something that they’ve never heard of. It also takes time to gain the confidence of your target market. In such a situation, it would be prudent to encourage customer advocacy. This is a form of program where you employ current customers as your spokespeople.
Customer advocates are responsible for providing referrals and testimonials about what you offer. This strategy is one of the best because it breeds credibility and more consumers are going to come your way because of being referred by someone they can trust.
Conclusion
To conclude, capturing the attention of new customers is something that you should constantly work on for your business to grow. There are many ways of doing so, and many of these strategies are already reliant on modern technology. This includes using auto-dialers and autoresponders, and employing digital marketing strategies where you can promote your business through social media, websites, and other online platforms.
As you are looking for ways to make your customers happy, don’t forget about your employees because they are the ones that make things happen for your business. The attitude and skills they bring at work will affect your overall image as a brand or company.
Most of all, developing and providing high-quality products or services is a must. No amount of promotions and marketing can cover up a bad product. Sooner or later, people will talk and they can expose your business for what it is. On the other hand, if you make sure that your products are of top quality and are worth the price, customers would even voluntarily recommend them to friends, family, and random strangers on the internet.
