FInding new customers is a lot like fishing in a new lake. There can be a lot of guesswork and it can be quite time consuming.
You could get lucky, but without the right approach you’ll be waiting a long time.
This article will give actionable tips & ideas on different creative ways to get new customers.
1. Start with Referrals
Getting people that know you and have done business with you to give you new business is THE BEST way to get new customers. You could sit and wait to get them to refer customers to you. Though you will likely be waiting a long time if you do. We recommend that you actively solicit referrals in a proactive yet considerate manner. You shouldn’t try to bother your current customers every week to get new customers while at the same time, you should try to actively reach out. Here are some creative ways to get new customers with your current customers:
- When you’re starting out. Ask them for a review. If it’s a good review then you have a natural opening to ask them for a referral. This could be as simple as asking or you could include an offer for them or your potential customers.
- Offer sharing incentives for your ideal customers. If you’re a make-up brand, you could offer a family & friends discount. If you’re a cafe, you could offer a free cup of coffee when you bring in a friend to get a cup. The point is that you can consider which people in your current customer’s life are likely to need your product/services then offer an incentive that gets them to try you out. Not everyone will fit into these incentives and you need to make it easy for customers to redeem your offer or they likely won’t go out of their way to do so.
- Offer seasonal incentives – similar to holiday promotions, you could offer current customers the chance to get a discount and then share the love. If an apparel company comes out with a fall line you could give customers a chance to get a promotional discount then an additional offer (ex. A free hat or sunglasses) when they bring a new friend into your store.
2. Offer Discounts & Incentives
Another creative way to get new customers is to think about your marketing in a creative way. One example I like to bring up with apparel clients is thinking about why a new customer will replace a current brand they have with their brand.
People tend to own around a dozen different brands depending upon the product. To get a new customer, you need to think about why they would want to replace one of their current pieces of clothing (a jacket for example).
It feels like nearly everyone offers discounts and incentives these days. The people that get new customers are more likely to offer something that relates to their target audience and aligns with their needs.
For example, if someone got a jacket that wore down too quickly, you could give a better return policy and talk about the quality of your jacket. You could even give them a 15% first time buyer discount to entice them to try you out.
3. Develop Your Content
On top of your discounts and incentives, you should be able to provide new customers with the details they want to know to decide between you and an alternative.
You could be offering them a 50% discount, but it won’t matter if they don’t know what they’re getting and why they should get it.
We like to do persona research and walk through potential updates with our clients to help them get more out of their website content. If you’d like to learn more about what updates you could make, we could discuss it on a free consulting call.
Then if customers are looking for something specific, you should have content that relates to their inquiry. Here are a few creative ways to get new customers by developing your content:
- Create an FAQ page to proactive answer questions customers might have before they buy
- Put the useful information they want to see upfront (product materials, use cases, etc).
- Give content that relates to their lingo. If they’re looking for cool blue sneakers and you have a page for cool blue shoes, you should adjust your content to relate to how your customers talk about your product(s).
- Give them a chance to reach out to you (have a chatbot, meeting link, or phone number). If they want to talk, that’s a great initial sign that they are interested.
- Ask for feedback – whether it’s a section on your site or on your social media. Give customers the chance to say what they’re looking for and provide follow up to either get repeat customers or new customers.
4. Invest in Your Online Presence
That means putting some money towards developing organic social content, email drip campaigns, SEM/SEO, paid social, and so forth. You should get your content out there to let the right people know what you have to offer.
This could even include going to networking events, hosting community events, sponsoring events, newspaper ads, and so forth.
We recommend that you make a plan first or look at what’s working then make adjustments to get more out of your current marketing efforts. Then try to saturate the market for your ideal target audience. There are tons of people out there that want to use makeup, have a cup of coffee, get a new car, and so on…..these same people need to see your content because that’s how you’re going to get even more new customers in the long run.
Final Thoughts
Finding creative ways to get new customers varies for each business because everyone has a different value proposition.
If you need help finding creative ways to get new customers, then you should book a free consultation with us today. We would be happy to help!
