How to Get More Customers
To get more customers for your business, start by identifying a target audience for your product or service. Then, launch a marketing campaign to reach this group, such as by building a social media presence to attract younger customers. If you're focused on an elderly audience, consider taking out ads in a local newspaper. To back up your ad campaign, hand out free samples of your product or promotional items for your service, like t-shirts with your company's name on them.
Perfect your product. Focus on quality instead of quantity. You need to offer your customers a high-quality product or service that will completely satisfy them. Rather than fixating on how many customers come through your door, make sure that those who do pass through are thoroughly happy with what they walked away with. Interact with your current customers. A personal touch can go a long way. Whether you have a small business or a larger one, you need to make your customers believe that you are looking at them as individual human beings instead of impersonal sales figures. If you have "regular" customers, get to know them by name. Talk to your customers as though you were carrying out a conversation with a friend, rather than a person you are simply trying to sell something to. If you use social media professionally, reply to any comments directed at your business. Listen to your customers. Get as much feedback from your customers as possible. Some customers will offer it whether you ask them to or not, while others may need a bit of prodding. Either way, once you get feedback, you need to implement policies and ideas to let your customers know that their collective voice is being heard. If you really want to know what your customer base is interested in, you could gather the information using surveys, focus groups, and Web forms, among other things. Look for a general consensus. Odds are, if your current customers share the same opinion about something, future customers will have that opinion, too. Offer specials. Many people like the feeling of buying something for a bargain. Always keep your prices fair, but every so often, offer temporary sales and specials to generate excitement among your current customers. These customers may even tell their friends and families about your specials, and these potential new customers are more likely to try your company out when they believe prices to be at their lowest. Clue your customers in. Keep your customers updated about any changes coming up. You should also be completely transparent about your product or service so that your customers feel comfortable about supporting your business. You need to let your customers know about both good and bad changes on the horizon. Price changes are the most common bit of information you'll need to pass along, but if the materials or ingredients you use to make a product change significantly, you should also tell customers about that, as well. Learn to use transparent wording. For instance, if you own a coffee shop, do not simply list the names of mochas and lattes without explaining what goes in them. If you want to be even more transparent, you should also be willing to share information about where you get your ingredients. Stand for something. Often times, customers like to support businesses who share a similar set of values. You do not need to get into specifics, but letting your customers know that you are genuinely dedicated to some moral code will at least assure them that yours is an honest company. This is usually when a good mission statement comes in. Let your customers know what your business is dedicated to providing and what its goals are. Additionally, you should also demonstrate your value system through your actions as a business. Follow up on promises you make, offer excellent customer service, express your gratitude, and keep in mind that "the customer is always right." Encourage customers to pass along referrals. Some customers will refer their friends and family to you without having any particular motivation for doing so. You can encourage a larger number of customers to make referrals if you offer rewards for it. The exact nature of these rewards will vary depending on the type of business you have, but even a small token of appreciation can give customers a gentle push. If your business provides a costly service, like window replacement, the incentive you provide for referrals will need to be of significant value. For instance, something like a $50 to $100 discount or free inspection/evaluation would usually suffice. On the other hand, if your business sells affordable products, setting up an incentive program for referrals can be a bit more difficult. You could try something as simple as a $5 coupon on the customer's next visit, though, or a free sample size product. Referral rewards are only given once the person who has been referred to your business actually visits and makes a purchase. You must then contact the customer who did the referring via phone or e-mail to provide his or her reward. Reward customer loyalty. If you want your business to survive in a long-term capacity, you need to get customers and keep them. Encourage customers to remain loyal using whatever reward system seems practical for your business. Customer loyalty cards, for instance, are usually a great option. Loyalty cards are stamped every time a customer makes a purchase or purchases over a certain amount. Once a certain number of stamps have been collected, the customer gets a free or discounted product or service. Identify your target audience. If you have not already done so, specifically narrow down the field of potential customers to a specific demographic who can benefit from your product or service most. While broad-range advertisements can draw in people from all walks of life, a more focused marketing campaign will give you more bang for your buck. Launch a new product. If your business has already been around a while, the spotlight has probably been directed elsewhere for a long time. Get that spotlight back on your company by offering something new. Build up as much hype as possible about your new product or service, both before the launch and during it. Have a digital presence. Nowadays, a business will not attract much attention if it does not have a presence online. At minimum, you should at least create a website for your business. You should also consider going above and beyond by creating social media accounts and a blog. Social media accounts, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, make it easier for you to interact with potential customers in the digital realm. Websites should provide all the basic information potential customers would need. Blogs can be used to keep customers updated on news about your business, but if done right, you can also write blog entries that are only indirectly related to your business. For example, you might write a post about cleaning jewelry even though your business sells jewelry and does not clean it. SEO keywords and other search engine tools can lead potential customers to these entries, which, in turn, will cause them to find out about your company. Get on the phone. Depending on the nature of your business, you might want to consider placing phone calls around your area to catch the attention of potential customers. Note that you will need to draw a line somewhere, though, to prevent people from viewing your company as being too pushy. Instead of blinding calling everyone in the phone book, do a little research and target specific customers. If you offer a service that certain businesses could benefit from, call up businesses of that nature. If you sell a product aimed at a specific target audience, find a list of people who subscribe to blogs or other content aligned with that product. Use the press. Print media, radio, and television are all valuable advertising mediums you should look into. Print media tends to be the most affordable, while television is the most expensive. Figure out what you can afford and make use of it to the best of your ability. Newspapers are especially helpful when your target audience consists of the elderly, since many members of the older generations still turn to print media instead of digital media. When buying television and radio ad time, make sure that your commercial lines up with networks or programs that target your primary audience. Print and distribute your own fliers. Informative brochures and attention-grabbing fliers are invaluable. When used effectively, they can catch the eye of potential customers when they aren't even intending to look. Moreover, since most of the work will be done by you, this type of advertisement can be one of the more affordable options. Post fliers in a public place, like the library or at a coffee shop bulletin board. Hand out leaflets on a busy street. Send brochures in the mail, or drop one off at every door in the neighborhood. Make sure that there are no local laws or regulations preventing you from passing out advertising materials in certain manners. Offer free samples. This may not be a practical option for your business depending on the nature of your product or service, but if there is anything you could offer as a sample for a free or reduced cost, it can encourage people to try it who may not otherwise give you a shot. This works best with certain products, like food, perfume, or cosmetics. You can pass out small samples of food served on a platter to passersby, or offer a small vial of perfume or nail polish to people willing to come into the store. Similarly, if you sell a service, you could pass out free promotional products like hats, travel mugs, or t-shirts with your business name on them. Look for other businesses that share your target audience. Do some digging and find out which other local businesses target the same customer base you target. Make sure that you look for places who are not direct competitors, though. In other words, the businesses you team up with should not offer the same exact product or service that you offer. Advertise through each other. For instance, ask the other business to keep a stack of your sales fliers in store and offer to do the same for them. Since your customer base is so similar, you can ensure that customers from your target audience will hear about you. Aside from passing out fliers in others' shops, you could also attach a gift voucher, coupon, or similar discount offer to that company's newsletter. Approach potential partners with a clear offer. When you do find a business you want to partner with, go to the owner with a clear vision and plan. Make sure that your offer will benefit the other business as much as it will benefit yours. If you need to give yourself a stronger bargaining point, you could offer to pay the other business a fee for advertising with them or offer them a commission based on sales made with the voucher the pass out. Form a long-term alliance. If you can establish a good relationship with one of your business partners and your short-term arrangements have proven beneficial, talk to the owner about forming a long-term alliance of a similar nature. 
Perfect your product. Interact with your current customers. Listen to your customers. Offer specials. Clue your customers in. Stand for something. Encourage customers to pass along referrals. Reward customer loyalty. Identify your target audience. Launch a new product. Have a digital presence. Get on the phone. Use the press. Print and distribute your own fliers. Offer free samples. Look for other businesses that share your target audience. Advertise through each other. Approach potential partners with a clear offer. Form a long-term alliance. 