How to Attract and Keep Customers for a Small Business (Marketing)

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Understand your customer.

   Customers are the focal point of your business, so you need to grasp who they are and what motivates them so that you can meet customer needs.
   
   Ask yourself important questions about the types of customers who spend money at your business.
   
   Are they rich or poor? Educated or not? Young or old? Male or female? Business or consumer? Where are they? Create a mental image of a customer you would like to serve and use this image when you are creating marketing campaigns.
   
   Make sure that you direct your message to this customer and not to some general population.
   
   Really try to connect with your ideal customer.
   
   Consider market segments that may exist for your customers.
   
   For example, does your business have both male and female customers, but you may need to market to them differently? Other examples of market segmentation include age and geography.Remember that business is all about serving others.
   
   They are the only ones who will put money in your bank account.
   
   The more a business focuses on serving others, the more successful it will be.
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   Step 2: Analyze yourself and your business.

   In order to learn who your customers are, you must understand your business thoroughly.
   
   This requires a realistic view of yourself and your business.
   
   What makes your business special? What is unique, different, important? Be able to clearly answer the question, "Why should I buy your product or service when there are so many other choices?". , SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
   
   A SWOT analysis can help you better understand your business, which can improve your ability to identify your ideal customers.
   
   Strengths and Weaknesses are factors of internal to your organization.
   
   An example of a strength is having an excellent location.
   
   An example of a weakness is lack of capital for investment.
   
   Opportunities and Threats are factors external to your organization.
   
   An example of an opportunity is a growing number of your target customers moving into your area.
   
   An example of a threat is a new competitor moving into your area. , Your brand is the most identifiable advantage you bring your customer expressed in a a simple, short phrase.
   
   This phrase is constantly repeated in your marketing effort and informs all other aspects of your business's public presentation (employee behavior, advertising, tone used in written materials, etc.).
   
   Your brand is the message that you want your customers to hear that will make them choose your product over your competitors'.
   
   Identify your brand or create one that represents your business's overall identity and your competitive advantage.
   
   A brand serves as your company's identity and allows you to build bonds with your customers.
   
   Focus on forming relationships and syncing your brand with the identity of your customers., Depending on your understanding of your business and its customers, there are many traditional marketing techniques to choose from in order to attract new customers.
   
   Direct Mail — Using direct mail is a way to mail items to a large number of potential customers.
   
   Newspaper and Magazine — Placing advertisements in newspapers or magazines frequently read by and in your target market can be a cost-effective marketing strategy.
   
   Phone Book — Listings and advertisements in the commercial section of telephone directories in your target areas are still a valuable way to market in some industries.
   
   Signs and Billboards — Advertising space on signs and billboards can be very cost-effective if properly designed and placed. , Certain businesses, or those with certain types of customers, may find that thinking outside of the box of traditional and online marketing is best.
   
   Advertising on vehicles — There are many ways to advertise with cars including bumper stickers, decals, car wraps, and more.
   
   Industry examples — Look at what competitors and others in your industry are doing to market their businesses.
   
   It may work for you, too. , Sometimes your identified customers may not be local or easily marketed to by traditional methods.
   
   You may have a business that sells products online or even an entirely online business.
   
   In these situations, and others you may determine when identifying your customers, online marketing is useful.
   
   Website — Nearly every business today needs a good website to help in marketing efforts.
   
   Pay Per Click — If your website is your business, or at least strongly relates to building your business, consider a pay per click campaign to help attract targeted customers to your website.
   
   For example, Google advertising makes it possible to target people based on different types of customers. , With the prevalence of social networks and social media today, it can be important Use Social Media to Market Your Business.
   
   There are many ways to use social media to market small business.
   
   Consider posting content on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Twitter.Focus your social media presence and communications on benefit to the customer instead of features of the product or service.
   
   Use the social media tools that your customers use.
   
   This may include social networking sites, blogs, or microblogging sites.
   
   Utilize different types of content, from text and pictures to audio and video.
   
   Be active regularly on social media.
   
   Having an account is not enough.
   
   You have to be present online for your customers to notice you.
   
   Use free product give-a-ways or other incentives to increase traffic and connections to your social media accounts. , It is important to keep track of digital campaign statistics of your marketing efforts so that you can continue to use your advertising budget wisely.
   
   Make an effort to assess how each marketing effort affects sales.
   
   For example, you can ask customers where they heard about your business and record the responses.
   
   You can also look for jumps in sales (or lack thereof) after beginning a new type of advertising.
   
   For online marketing, track your daily and monthly "click through rates" or the number of clicks your advertisement receives on each site.
   
   Then keep track of your conversion rate or the rate at which each person that clicked on your advertisement did what you wanted them to do (signed up for a newsletter, made a purchase, or downloaded an app).
   
   To do this, divide the number of total conversions a month by number of visitors to your site a month., Once you have a few customers that like what you have to offer, enlist them to help you.
   
   This is known as acquiring customers by referral.
   
   Most happy customers will gladly tell others about you, but most of the time they will not think about it unless you give them a reason or incentive.Referral marketing works best for retailers and service providers, such as automotive service, health professionals, and banking institutions.
   
   If you find ways to reward or recognize your customers for sending you new customers, they will do so more frequently and with greater zeal.
   
   Examples include cash rewards, gift cards, or discounts on future purchases.
   
   Don't forget to market the referral program.
   
   In order for this type of marketing to be successful, existing customers must know about it.
   
   This could be done through direct communication, signs at the business, or online. , A customer is like a prized possession.
   
   In order to keep them, you must know what they like and why they like it.
   
   While respecting your customers' privacy, gather as much information as you can.
   
   In-person — This works especially well if your business allows for frequent, direct interaction with your customers or clients.
   
   Talk with them.
   
   Ask them questions, and feel free to be direct.
   
   For example, ask them why they spend their money at your business, or ask for suggestions for improvement.
   
   Surveys or questionnaires — Whether you provide your customers with hard copies of questionnaires, use phone surveys, or take advantage of online tools, this technique can provide valuable information and identify patterns or trends related to the experiences, likes, and dislikes of your customers. , Do not forget about your customers.
   
   Your customers will appreciate receiving communications and information from you beyond the original purchase.
   
   There are many ways to keep in touch with your customers.
   
   Newsletter — You can promote your business through newsletters provided to customers through the mail, email, or on your website.
   
   Blog — You may want to start a blog to provide additional information to your customers.
   
   Blogs can be excellent marketing tools.
   
   Updated information — Always send existing customers new information on your business and its products or services.
   
   Use their preferred method of communication — Some customers may prefer not to receive phone calls, but would rather receive information via email.
   
   Make sure you use the method they prefer.
   
   Remember birthdays and holidays — Send cards or small gifts to valued customers on special days. , Communication with customers needs to be a two-way street.
   
   Feedback from customers, good or bad, is valuable to a small business, so you need to present a way for them to provide it.
   
   Available contact information — Nothing can be more frustrating for a customer than not being able to find contact information for a business.
   
   Make sure your address, telephone number, and email address are readily available online, on marketing materials, and other places where customers can find it.
   
   Suggestions box — Having a suggestion box provides a physical means for customers to give immediate feedback.
   
   Make sure you read and respond appropriately to any suggestions.
   
   Website and Social Networks/Media — Your website and social media sites can provide a quick and easy way for customers to provide feedback.
   
   Be careful, though, as this type of feedback, even negative criticism, is public.
   
   Try collecting customer feedback through a call center.
   
   For tips read:
   Collect Customer Feedback Through a Call Center. , Read through comments in batches and start to separate them into categories such as speed, accuracy, courtesy, price, product choice, availability, hours, location, etc.
   
   Look for patterns of what went wrong and try to determine the root cause of the problem pattern before attempting to solve it.
   
   You may want to try the "5 Whys." Start with a problem statement like: "I don't like the way my salad tastes." Then ask yourself, "Why I don't like the way my salad tastes?" The answer might be because it is soggy.
   
   Then ask yourself, "Why it is soggy?" The answer might be because you put on too much dressing.
   
   Then ask yourself, "Why did I put too much dressing?" The answer might be because you were distracted when you were making it.
   
   Continue asking yourself why until you find the root of the problem.
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   Step 3: Perform a SWOT Analysis.

4. 4

   Step 4: Create your brand.

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   Step 5: Utilize traditional marketing techniques.

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   Step 6: Adopt non-traditional marketing techniques.

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   Step 7: Employ online marketing strategies.

8. 8

   Step 8: Utilize social networks/media.

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   Step 9: Understand the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

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    Step 10: Get referrals from existing customers.

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    Step 11: Get to know your customers well.

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    Step 12: Provide your customers with valuable information.

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    Step 13: Offer a way for customers to provide feedback.

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    Step 14: Analyze customer feedback.

Detailed Guide

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