By Viresh Harduth, Vice President, Small Business, Sage Africa & Middle East
Whether you have just started your new business or have been in business for a while, the goal is to attract and retain clients through effective and lasting methods.
If you ask reputable brands “what is the secret to attracting clients and maintaining a good reputation”, they will tell you it’s not one thing or a once-off effort. In fact, it’s a collection of things that attribute to the success of a business.
Learning how to attract clients for your business is crucial to its success. Here are 10 ways to attract new clients to your business.
1. Network
This is the “old school” way of telling everyone about your business and forte in the industry, and there is no better way to gain new business or attract new clients than through socialising at network events. It also allows you to keep abreast of the latest happenings. Industry events are a great place to meet new prospects, gain referrals and develop relationships.
2. Define and target your market
Knowing your ideal client will help you understand what they want and how to attract them. Having a niche means that you can market your business with a clear, strong message about what it does and who it can help.
3. Create a strong website presence
Your company’s website should be crisp, professional, user-friendly, and furnished with all the relevant information clients will need to do business with you. You must include contact details, information about your products or services and business hours. To enjoy a higher rank on the search results, ensure your website is SEO-compliant with clear calls-to-action.
4. Invite the public to company events and promotions
A networking event on a smaller scale for fellow service providers or a company introduction for start-ups – what better way to attract potential and existing clients? Be sure to invite key role players and industry captains for launches or promotional events.
5. Ask existing and new clients for referrals
After completing a successful campaign or service offering, ask clients for referrals on your social media platforms or company website. You want to attract clients, so how about getting some help from others by encouraging satisfied clients to refer their friends and family to your business? You can offer incentives such as discounts or rewards for successful referrals.
6. Build your influence from influencers
We are in the influencer era and why not capitalise on this growing digital trend. Partner with social media influencers to reach a large and engaged audience. You can choose influencers who resonate with your target audience and brand, and offer them incentives such as exclusive promotions or free products.
7. Content marketing
Create engaging and informative content that will appeal to your target audience. Work with community and corporate media houses for media campaigns and publicity. This will enable a stronger brand presence in the wider media space. Moreover, if you consistently create and share quality business content or company profile features, you will establish your business as an authority in your industry and will attract clients.
8. Have a clean and strong social media presence
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or even X (formerly Twitter) allow businesses to reach a wider audience and boost company morale. You can start by creating a business page and posting regular updates, promotions and new developments. Post regularly and answer business queries. You can also implement paid media campaigns.
9. Partner with other businesses in the industry
Team up with businesses that have a similar client base but aren’t directly a rival or competitive business. You can strategise service campaigns and how to drive new business, while not spending much.
10. Re-establish relations with old clients
Go back to your business’s client contact list and market to former clients who haven’t done business with you for a while. Reach out via a direct email, courtesy phone call or schedule a personal visit to re-establish old working relations.
For more advice, contact Sage here.
* Viresh Harduth is Vice President for Small Business at Sage Africa & Middle East