Getting Noticed: 7 Clever Ways for Small Business Owners to Attract More Customers
Businesses make money by selling products and services to people at a profit. It’s that easy. The trouble starts when customers aren’t willing to buy from a business. No customers, no business. Period.
Many business owners and managers don’t realize that, when a business fails, it’s usually not because customers don’t want the product or service. It’s usually because people aren’t aware the business exists. This is where the ability to attract customers becomes key. Doing this can be as easy as offering a coupon or creating a custom window film by solartex. What follows are seven clever ways for small business owners to attract more customers.
Encourage Word-of-Mouth
Word-of-mouth referrals are probably the oldest and most effective form of promotion. When customers are happy with a product or service, they are likely to tell others about it. This, in effect, makes each of your customers a foot soldier in your promotional efforts. A businessperson’s daily objective should be to make every customer a happy customer. The rest is just human nature.
Use the Power of Discounting
Everybody likes to think they got something for nothing. A businessperson can play on this idea by giving customers a discount for almost anything or a promotional item. It doesn’t have to be very much, and it could be for a mom, a dad, a service person—almost anything. Just let them know what you are doing and why. They will be thrilled.
Make a Sign
Signs have been used to promote a business for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, many business owners don’t give much thought to the signage on their storefront. The truth is that a storefront is the most effective place to put a sign. Even if there is a need for protective window film, companies such as Solartex can put custom messages on their product.
Offer a Contest
One thing people like more than to get something free is to win a contest. It’s not even the prize that gets people the most excited. It’s just the knowledge that they won. All that’s needed to promote this is to start word-of-mouth discussions and posting on social media. People will be talking about entering in no time.
Have a Website
Even a small business needs a website. After all, who looks in a phone book anymore? And, with all the mobile devices out there now, even with a single-page website, a business could be just one step from attracting a new customer.
Get in a Directory
This isn’t one of those clunky old phone books everyone remembers for boosting a kid at the table. These are online directories such as Google Places, Yahoo Local, Bing, and others. Best of all, getting listed in these is free.
Get on Social Media
Social media outlets such as Facebook are another prominent promotional outlet that not too many businesspeople think of to promote themselves. Not being on Facebook, for example, is denying a business access to 40 million regular users. Best of all, it’s free.
It’s Action Time
All the points discussed above are actionable items that will attract more customers to a business. They are all inexpensive, simple ways to promote a business. Some ideas might not work for all businesses, but trying them is the only way to determine whether they are for you.
The best strategy is to combine several of these methods to increase the number of customers who come to your door. More customers mean more sales. More sales means more profits. It’s that easy.
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