Tips for Attracting and Keeping New Customers

The idea of marketing your business can be intimidating. After all, big companies have entire marketing departments, while you might be on your own or run such a lean organization that the marketing person is just not in the budget. Instead of worrying about “marketing,” here are three tips for getting people to speak positively about your company and help to bring in new customers.

1. Pick your strengths: The first thing you’ll want to do is figure out what your business does well. Do you have the best selection around? The lowest amount of ordering issues? The highest customer satisfaction? Pick out a few things that you can brag about to future customers. These talking points need to be accurate to keep customers’ trust, and if you can back it up with numbers, even better. If you’re not sure what your strengths are, take a step back to evaluate. Ask your customers why they like doing business with you and what sets you apart from the competition. Find out what that strength is and build on it.

2. Find your wording: Once you’ve determined your strengths, break them down into a simple, clear, and concise message. For example, if one of your strengths is that you have an excellent return policy, you could phrase that as “Home of the NO hassle return,” or if you pride yourself on having one of just about everything, you could phrase it so say, “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.” Even if you’re not great with words, have fun and try to phrase the idea as if you were having a quick conversation.

3. Share your strengths: Now that you have these strengths laid out, you’ll want to share them. But where do you do that? Start by thinking of ways you interact with new people professionally. Do you go to trade shows? Do you attend your local rotary club? Are you active on any social media accounts? Does your shop have a website? Start in one of these settings and begin promoting your strengths. On your website, you could update your “About Us” section. On social media, you can work on these strengths in your posts. When talking in person, use the message to create positive talking points about your shop. Just be sure it sounds natural and don’t overdo it. As you get more confident with these strengths, you will use them more frequently in conversations. As more people hear about your shop, they’ll be more inclined to work with you because they know, specifically, why your shop deserves their business.

Conclusion: Marketing doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking leading up to an expensive event or ad. At its core, marketing is simply letting prospects know you exist and what you do, so congratulations! You’ve made your first marketing plan. All of your hard work will begin to pay off through new customers and prospects.