- Leverage your community
Don’t be distracted by what everyone else is doing, sometime thinking small works to your benefit. Think locally find out what’s going on in your community. Sponsor a Book drive or bake sale for charity. Print flyers or brochures and leave them at the local library. Put yourself in your ideal customers’ shoes and think about how and where they spend their time. Then target those areas for opportunities to get your customer with your marketing message.
- Network
Take the time to meet your customers; we are always so busy focusing on Electronic Networking (Facebook, Twitter) that we become disconnected from our actual customers. This could give the customer the feeling of you only communicating with them when it’s convenient for yourself. Go outside shake some hands and introduce your business. This will make your customers feel truly appreciated. A strong network is one of the greatest assets any business person can have.
- Ask for referrals
Large scale companies ask their customers to refer their business to others all the time, so there is no need to be shy about it. Ask away, majority of people say they are willing to provide a referral if asked, but as always few customers actually do it on their own. Word of mouth is how you get new customers interested in your business. If you aren’t asking for them, you are missing opportunities.
- Offer coupons
In today’s society everyone is trying to save money and coupons are a great way for you to attract new customers. Coupons can also generate return visits. Give a customer a coupon for a discount to use on a future purchase, there’s a high probability they’ll be back to use it.
- Give it away
If someone has the opportunity to experience your product or service before committing to it, this will lead to a greater chance of them purchasing from you again in the future. Don’t be afraid to give someone samples of your product. Today’s economy offers customers a ‘try before you buy’ opportunity.