A small customer base is a good thing. If you’ve got a small but dedicated portion of customers that come back repeatedly, it shows you’ve captured your product offering and sales process just right. And while your marketing may need work, you’re just starting to build your budget and make a regular income off this little cash flow.
However, a business cannot thrive off of a small market subsection alone; you need to expand your customer base by bringing in more customers. But how can you manage that? Check out the tips below to help you get your name out there and bring more interested parties down your sales funnel.
Offer Free Samples
Free samples are great for getting people through the door. Something going free brings them over the threshold, and you can start showcasing your products on the ground prime for the hard sell. After all, if they liked the sample, they’ll love the real thing. Try running promotional events using this principle.
If you’re a local bakery, you can offer a free drink with every pastry on a certain day or a free cupcake batch if they buy a big cake. These samples can cost money in the long run, so only run them for a limited time. When you do so, you also have the added bonus of a sense of urgency – people never want to miss out.
Kick Up Local Advertising
Your local customer base is your most loyal, both off and online. For the former, the people who live nearby are more likely to come exploring and walk into your store. For the latter, targeting local keywords in your SEO can improve website traffic tenfold. People want convenience when shopping, meaning they don’t want to go far for service.
Use this to your advantage by kicking up your local advertising. If need be, talk to local advertising companies about getting started on focusing your efforts on the people who live and work amongst you. Billboards and banners are one thing, but you can sponsor local events, run local groups and workshops, and create a buzz on your local social media pages.
Update Your Website
Your website might not have been touched in a year or two now, and that’s bad. People want to know you’re active and have something to offer, and clicking on a website that isn’t loved/wasn’t developed with passion will turn them away.
If this sounds like a situation you’re in, now’s the perfect time to update. Write a blog post, a new landing page, add more images, or include a few more testimonials. A little activity goes a long way; this is your chance to create something impressive that catches the eye.
A small customer base is a brilliant start. Now expand on this using these tips to make this year profitable.
