THE MOST critical requirement for a business to grow and evolve is a constant increase in its customer base using its products or services.
However, reaching new audiences while retaining repeat customers can be tough – it costs money, takes time and requires a lot of effort, especially in a competitive market.
While companies may typically employ sales agents to drum up new business, a well thought-out marketing campaign can be just as effective.
More importantly, meaningful relationships with potential customers must be created, and often this requires a company-wide approach.
Four tips to grow your customer base:
One size does not fit all
Whether your clients are other businesses or consumers, keep in mind that each customer is unique. Having the ability to deliver services, communicate and handle customer issues through a variety of channels according to customer preferences is essential.
Not only will this differentiate your business from its competitors, it creates a positive impression of your company’s flexibility to work around customer needs.
Try different tactics and mediums
It’s easy to revisit the same familiar tactics when launching a new campaign – but sticking to old habits can be limiting when you’re trying to expand your customer base, particularly in a tough economic climate. While email campaigns, for example, are popular, business owners should consider expanding their reach by using different platforms and mediums. The channel you use will depend on the objective of the campaign and who you are trying to reach with what message.
It helps to have a good understanding of the target market as well as the audience of each medium, so do your homework, or consult with a specialist.
Identify the right buzzwords and tone
Whether executing a marketing campaign, relying on sales agents to make cold calls, or talking to existing customers, getting your messaging right and delivering it consistently is vital.
Know what you want to say and who you are talking to and craft your messages as authentically as possible while making sure it’s catchy.
The tone you communicate in should also be consistent whether it’s serious or more light-hearted, as this will become part of your business’s identity.
When purchasing a new product or service, people tend to look for the marketing language that resonates with them, rings true and is clear about the need that it addresses. So make sure there’s no misinterpreting what you are selling.
Track campaign performance
When spending time and money on marketing or sales campaigns, it’s crucial to know whether it’s adding value to the business and if there’s been any return on investment.
Measuring the success of a campaign in terms of conversions to new business generated can be difficult.
However, there are measures that can be put in place and tools to track the performance of these efforts, particularly for digital and social media campaigns.
Investing in a good analytics and reporting tool will clearly show when there were spikes in traffic to your website, for instance, which can be linked to a specific campaign.
This reporting helps to justify future spend and informs the best tactics to use for promotional campaigns to achieve maximum impact.
The most successful businesses are those that know how to connect with their customers, both in terms of messaging and channels to reach them.
It pays to spend the time and money to understand the behaviour and needs of your customers.
Ben Bierman is a managing director at Business Partners Limited.
*The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL or of title sites
BUSINESS REPORT