Finding new customers is crucial to any business, but it can be difficult and time-consuming, especially if you're starting and don't have much money to spend on advertising or other forms of marketing.
It's important to have an acquisition strategy to keep growing your business long-term. You can have the best products and services globally, but if no one knows about them, you won't be able to keep your company afloat and growing.
While you could always hire an agency to take care of your marketing needs, there are many free ways to find customers that you can use by yourself or with your small team of marketers.
In this guide on how to repeatably find new customers, we outline ten ways you can grow your business without spending too much money or devoting too much time or energy to growing your customer base.
Create Something People Want
A lot of founders believe they have a great idea. But it's only an idea until you prove that people want it. To find out if anyone is interested in your product, you have to go out and sell—and yes, that includes getting up from behind your computer.
If you can't convince potential customers or employees that what you're building has value, then either a) no one wants it or b) your execution sucks (or both).
Great ideas aren't enough for startups: Thousands of startups with good ideas and smart people working on them, but almost all of them will fail anyway. The only way to have products and services selling through the roof is by creating products and services the people want.
Have A Great Offer
Often, entrepreneurs are more focused on getting customers than keeping them. If you want to keep and grow your customer base, you need a great offer that's appealing and easy for customers to take advantage of.
A great offer also needs an effective sales process. You may have an amazing deal for a potential customer, but they'll likely look elsewhere if it's difficult for them to sign up or purchase from you. So make sure that your offer is designed with a clear call-to-action (CTA) and follow up with customers on time.
Spend Time On Your Landing Page Design
Many e-commerce startups spend their precious time writing code and building their products, but few take enough time to design a killer landing page. A good landing page is key for convincing visitors they should sign up for your product or service.
You need a page that clearly outlines your product or service and why someone should buy it. The more specific you can be, and the more benefits you can outline without getting bogged down in features, requirements, and other boring details, it will be easier for potential customers to understand what your product or service does and whether it's right for them.
When you have customers on board, remember that customer retention is as important as acquisition when growing an e-commerce business.
Use Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are content (e.g., an e-book, cheat sheet, free trial signup) that you can give away for free in exchange for an email address. They're a popular tactic among startup founders looking to get their first 10,000 users.
But how do you know what content to create? Start by making a list of all your buyer personas and identifying which one is most likely interested in your product. Then, research existing content similar to yours and look for holes in what you offer.
Start With Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is free, making it an obvious place to start looking for new customers. There's no need to invest in paid advertising unless you want or need to when you're starting.
If your goal is to get more people onto your site (and learn more about them), try adding relevant keywords and long-tail phrases to your existing content.
Use Google Analytics or a similar service to track exactly how many visitors each keyword brings in—and then test and optimize accordingly.
Test The Offer And Design Before Spending Money On Paid Ads
Many businesses spend thousands of dollars only to discover that their audience isn't responding when it comes to paid advertising. With so much at stake, you must test your offers and design before hitting publish on an ad campaign.
There are several free services that offer A/B testing for Facebook ads (also known as conversion optimization). Make sure you're running multiple versions of your ad and tracking conversions from each version.
Use a different landing page for each variation to understand why one performs better than another—and then apply those learnings as you create ads for other campaigns to ensure success from day one. Once you find what works, continue with that winning version until more effective approaches emerge.
Run Your Own PPC Campaign With Social Media Or Google Adwords.
The most important part of PPC is creating campaigns that don't cost you a fortune. I'm not saying PPC doesn't work for new businesses, but your goal should be finding new customers at a low cost. If you already have some marketing budget (either through ads or your hard-earned cash), spend it on PPC campaigns that give you clear data.
Experiment with different channels until you find where they can add value to your business. For example, if you're trying to get email subscribers, try using Facebook Ads or Google Adwords instead of paid promos on social media. You'll end up paying less and still have access to a large audience of relevant people.
Test Different Channels For Best Results
When it comes to finding new customers, one channel is not necessarily better than another. Some businesses might succeed with a specific channel (say, social media marketing), while others have mediocre results. Regardless of what tactic you choose, you must stay focused on your target market.
By testing different channels over time, you'll figure out which ones are most beneficial for your business and most appealing to your target audience.
Reach Out To Influencers Who Promote Products Like Yours
Influencers with large followings, also known as ambassadors, can help you connect with customers and clients. Their word-of-mouth referrals are a great way to promote your business—and it doesn't cost you anything but time.
You have to reach out to influencers who already like what you sell and ask if they'd be willing to mention your product in future content. It may sound like a lot of work, but it doesn't take much time or effort. And if someone mentions your brand in their content, they'll have some of their audience visiting your website.
Listen To Your Customers' Feedback
Your customers are a goldmine of information that can help you decide what types of new products and services you should create. The only problem is, most entrepreneurs don't listen to their customers enough. When you hear negative feedback from customers, don't get defensive; it's not personal.
Instead, use that feedback as inspiration for your next round of product development. You never know what direction your business will take until you allow your customers to guide you in it—so listen up.
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