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“It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.” Wise words from entrepreneur, industrialist and inventor Henry Ford. So the equation is a simple one: Get more customers, increase your wages. Whether you’re the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, accountant, plumber, or dry cleaner, you depend on customers. And in order to grow your business and income, you need to increase your customer base.
You know who your customers are. You know the demographic. Or do you?
Let’s say you sell smart phones. You might think that your client base is teenage to middle age. But many retirees are interested in learning new technology. It gives them an easy way to stay in touch with their children or grandchildren who may live far away. And in five or six years, that 7-year-old boy or girl is going to be relentlessly pestering the parents for a smart phone. Think smart and think ahead, and you can significantly expand your customer base.
Here are some tips for reaching those “unreachable” potential customers:
1. Do some investigating
If you know who your customers are, then you know who your customers aren’t. You need to find out who you’re missing. And don’t be closed-minded. Start out by assuming that anyone can be your customer. Do some research and conduct some surveys.
You can check your website, your competitors’ websites, blogs, and social media to find out:
- Who isn’t connecting with you?
- Who is connecting with your competitors? Why? Compare your demographics with theirs. Examine their strategies.
- What are people saying about your type of business, and who are they?
You can conduct interviews and surveys. The public can be your best source of information. After all, they are your potential customers. Regardless of which specific-to-your-business questions you ask, be sure to include questions such as:
- Which groups/individuals are uninformed about my business, and why?
- Which groups/individuals are uninterested in what I offer, and why?
- What can my business do to attract you as a customer?
Check out our free template for creating your target audience profile >>
2. Approach your potential customers with an appealing message
What will appeal to them? Some research will help you to discover this.
Where do they live, work, shop, and play? What do they do on weekends? Evenings? Create a story which will appeal to them and touch their emotions.
For example, in 2013 Dodge made a commercial with the theme “God made a farmer,” featuring both old and modern photographs of farms, farmers, and farm equipment. The voice-over was by the inimitable Paul Harvey. It isn’t until the very end of the ad that the advertised product is even revealed. But it’s extremely effective, because it’s sentimental and nostalgic and touches emotions.
To attract new customers, you must sell an idea, a lifestyle. Coca-Cola doesn’t just advertise a product, it advertises the fun, carefree, exciting lifestyle that goes along with it.
3. Once you find out who your customers aren’t, target your message to them
After all, you don’t need to convince the customers you have already. What works with your main demographic probably won’t work with others, or at least not as well. So change your approach. Geico’s Humpday Camel has nothing to do with cars or insurance, but it’s funny, has broad appeal, and it’s something people will talk about.
4. Offer them more than just your product or service
You have to give them something that others don’t. Anybody can make and sell a mousetrap, and your mousetrap may not be much different from that of your competitors. But what can you offer along with the mousetrap? Treat those who aren’t yet your customers as though they are your most loyal ones. If you can give them something unique, something they can’t find elsewhere, you’re a step ahead of the competition. For example:
- Webinars, instructive materials, blog articles, tips
- Samples of your products or services
- Coupons or discounts for first-time customers
- Package deals
5. Raise awareness of what you offer and why people want/need your business
Your potential customers are already aware that they want or needsomething. You must convince them that what they want or need is yourproduct or service.
If you are a travel agent, convince them that your travel agency is the most diligent, affordable, has the most contacts and connections, can provide the most detailed information on both domestic and foreign travel locations, and offers the most family-friendly trips, excursions, and accommodations.
Be willing to be flexible and offer as many different travel packages as possible. In this way you are creating awareness, desire, and need. Target specific demographics with tailored-to-their-needs offers.
6. Show that your business is multi-faceted
If you run a bookstore, your main business is selling books. But do your customers also know that you sell footstools, lamps, reading lights, tablets, e-readers, magnifying glasses, games, bookcases, etc? The “one-stop-shopping” approach can be effective, as your potential customers can come to you for all of their needs.
7. Present your business as being positive, helpful, and creditable
Once people are aware of your business, they’ll want to know what you can do for them and what the experience will be like. They want to know how your product or service will make their lives easier, more comfortable, more convenient, etc. For example, Lee and Morty Kaufman, the elderly couple in the Swiffer ads, showed us just how much their lives improved from using that product. Your customers will also want to know the “character” of your business, i.e., how it supports local schools, the local economy, the environment, charities, etc.
Here are some ways to present your business as being positive and helpful:
- Create an inviting, modern environment, whether online or a brick-and-mortar location. Your website should be modern, up-to-date and easy to navigate. A physical location should be well-lit, bright, uncluttered, and with appropriate and pleasing-to-the-eye colors and décor. Consider your product. A candy store should obviously look different from a store that sells high-end furniture.
- Use refer-a-friend discounts or coupons
- Use language that is confident and offers help. Avoid negative comments about competitors
- If appropriate, feature customer photos/videos and testimonials
- Establish a presence on social media, and make it informative, unique, and fun
- Have an online blog and Q&A section. Maintain a friendly, helpful tone
- Allow customers to donate to a charity, and make this visible on your website or in your store
- Hold customer appreciation events
- Show that your business is environmentally friendly by recycling, using environmentally friendly materials, teaming with eco-organizations, etc.
- Display both online and in a physical location any noteworthy awards, accreditation, or certificates that your business has acquired
8. Take it a step at a time
Don’t try to implement all of this at once. Chart your course. Take your time and think each step through. Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? Set small goals, attach a time frame to them, and work to achieve them. If something doesn’t work, don’t give up. Restrategize and try again. Ask questions. Be open to suggestions.
Let us know in the comments section how you grow your customers base, what tactics worked and what didn't.