How Do I Get More Clients for My Business?
From capitalizing on referrals to networking with other industry leaders, here are 16 answers to the question, “How do I get more clients for my business?”
- Use Referral Systems
- Build Your Internal SEO
- Be Proactive With Client Relations
- Consider Co-Marketing
- Offer Promotions and Discounts
- Focus on Content Marketing
- Perfect Your Current Client Relationship Process
- Take Advantage of AI
- Expand Your Network
- Leverage Online Reviews
- Grow Your Brand With TikTok
- Talk With Peers on LinkedIn
- Approach People With a Service Mindset
- Prove Your Expertise
- Trade in Electronics for Shoe Leather
- Network With Other Business Owners in the Same Industry
Use Referral Systems
Create an active referral system for your business. You want to reward satisfied customers to reach out to others they know and send them your way. Simply waiting for people to naturally refer to others can be a real trial of patience with slow and far-between returns.
Build your referral system into the actual process of your service or purchase of your product. You might offer bonuses for referrals if you’re a service model business, or discounts to new customers who are referred to you, for example. Whatever you choose, at the end of the day, what’s important is to not be too passive for your referral program. Make a system of rewarding and actively engaging referrals, and you’ll have an easier time finding new customers for your business.
Max Schwartzapfel, CMO, Schwartzapfel Lawyers
Build Your Internal SEO
This is a crucial task since it will lay the foundation for your website and give Google information about your business, including the type, location, and business name. For instance, if you are an automotive company, you would not want to appear in landscaping or chiropractic searches.
Having lots of useful and relevant website content can help boost your search engine ranking because Google favors content-rich websites as it provides users with something to engage with and also enhances the user’s experience.
Tristan Harris, Demand Generation Sr. Marketing Manager, Thrive Agency
Be Proactive With Client Relations
After one year, check in with your clients to see how their business is going and if there is anything else you can help them with. This is a great way to stay connected and build relationships with your existing clients, and it can lead to more work for your business.
Nicholas Robb, Founder, Design Hero
Consider Co-Marketing
New customer acquisition is the most strenuous task for companies, and co-marketing is among the best methods to get more clients for businesses, mostly with the same target audience. With this marketing strategy, because of common marketing/promotional interests, we can expect improved visibility of business with combined marketing campaigns that resultantly help onboard new customers, gain market share, and differentiate from competitors.
We have practically analyzed two of our recent co-marketing campaigns and know that over 70% of consumers are attracted to co-marketing because they find it with diversified product or service options that resolve their pain points.
And that is why, in 2023, with a more competitive business scenario and tough financial conditions due to inflation and recession, co-marketing is a perfectly relevant and low-cost strategy to get more customers, especially for SMBs to mid-sized companies.
Yoav Morder, Director of SEO, Sonary
Focus on Content Marketing
Although most think advertising is the only way to get more clients for your business, content marketing is an incredibly powerful strategy. Content marketing involves creating useful, helpful content for your target audience and then sharing it online. This could be writing blog posts, creating videos, or even giving presentations.
These pieces of content will help establish you as an authority in your field and make it easier for potential customers to find information about your business. As a result, they’ll be more likely to contact you when they need your services. Content marketing will also help build relationships with existing and potential customers, which can further increase your customer base.
Burak Özdemir, Founder, Online Alarm Kur
Perfect Your Current Client Relationship Process
Improving the relationships you have with your current clients is one of the best ways to receive more referrals in the future. Perfecting client workflow with things like email response time and an increase in genuine empathy are two of the best ways to improve client satisfaction.
When you make it a priority to shorten the time to respond to client emails and actively listen to any concerns or problems they might have, you’ll instantly increase your chances of getting more positive referrals.
When you’re a business owner, it’s important to remember that your company exists to solve a current problem. As you set aside time to evaluate how you interact with your present clientele and work on enhancing any areas in which you can improve, you will create a more client-focused business that is sure to receive the recognition it deserves.
Henry Butler, Director of Digital PR, Scorpion
Take Advantage of AI
From machine learning to process automation, AI solutions hold a lot of promise for businesses looking to grow their clientele. This could look like using social media for data mining and upgrading your marketing efforts or using predictive analytics to shortlist a promising target audience to concentrate on.
Even in the overall marketing structure, AI helps you make quick marketing decisions, enabling your teams to latch onto promising trends and, therefore, more customers. Moreover, in addition to helping you maximize your resources, AI tools also streamline your processes so that you can retain the clients you win.
Brendan McGreevy, Head of Strategy, Affinda
Expand Your Network
Network expansion is a great way to draw more clients into your business. While relying on your current customer network can be a great way to expand your client outreach, you may eventually run out of new leads.
If you really want to get your name out there, you need to actively pursue opportunities that allow you to meet new people and put your best foot forward. Networking events and community outreach programs are two great ways to expand your network. Each time you attend a networking event or take part in a community outreach program, you are giving yourself the opportunity to form collaborative partnerships with people in your field of work and connect with people in your community who need your expertise.
As you consistently devote time to expanding your network, you’ll effectively step outside of your comfort zone and build invaluable social connections that will help your business grow.
Shane McClelland, Founder, Law Office of Shane McClelland
Leverage Online Reviews
Integrate customer feedback to establish credibility and trust with your existing and potential customers. Make the most of your reviews by cultivating them. Promote Google reviews (or wherever the reviews are) on your website and in-store signage to encourage people to do so. New clients are more likely to try your business if they see others praising it since the social proof is so persuasive.
Jason Moss, President & Co-Founder, Moss Technologies
Grow Your Brand With TikTok
TikTok has changed the game with social media. Most social platforms show your content to people who already follow you, but TikTok pushes your content to people who don’t already follow you—which means that your business gets exposure to new people with every video you create.
When you get extremely clear on your target audience, it will be that much easier to create TikTok content that will be valuable to them. Think about the problems they might experience in their everyday lives, and how you can offer a solution to them.
Because TikTok is a video-based app, you’ll be able to build trust with your audience much faster than with graphics or photos. The person consuming your content will see your face, hear your voice, and watch your mannerisms. Showing up as the face of your brand shows the audience that there’s a real, live human being behind the camera.
Megan Gersch, Owner & CEO, Megan Gersch
Talk With Peers on LinkedIn
One great way to get more clients for your business is through LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to easily build relationships with potential customers, as well as keep up-to-date on industry news and trends.
By optimizing your profile, engaging with relevant conversations, and building a professional network, you can find more clients who need what your business offers. LinkedIn offers several tools to identify and target potential customers, as well as the ability to create targeted ads that can help you reach your desired audience.
Mark McShane, Marketing Director, Birmingham First Aid Courses
Approach People With a Service Mindset
Take part in networking groups and events that apply to your market and your clients to generate some good old-fashioned word of mouth. Don’t approach networking with a “what’s in it for me” mentality; instead, ask yourself, “How can I help others?” By considering how you may be of service, you can create connections that bring in new clients.
David Cohen, CEO, Flower Station
Prove Your Expertise
Before you get clients for a business, you need to prove that you can provide the services that you claim to provide. Many people talk about starting a business and jump straight into marketing. Marketing is important, but if you say you’re a software developer in your advertisement and do not know how to code, your business is dead on arrival.
Build a website and feature a portfolio with visual proof you are a capable service provider. Once you show your capabilities, it is time to market your brand. In the beginning, leverage your network, job boards, and paid ads. Once you have built a small book of business, warm leads will follow. As your business scales, you will have more resources to tap into other marketing channels and grow your business further.
Nick Varga, Chief Riding Officer, ERide Journal
Trade in Electronics for Shoe Leather
In today’s world of Google ads, social media, and email, we often think the path to riches is sitting at a computer and typing/clicking our way to the top.
STOP! Ditch the computer and go visit your top customers and prospects. Thank them for their business. Ask what more you can do to help them. Ask for their referrals. These face-to-face engagements are so much more powerful, yet few businesses attempt to leave the office, hit the streets, and burn some shoe leather.
Ben Lawrence, Founder, Wolf Heart Sales
Network With Other Business Owners in the Same Industry
Once you make acquaintances with other business owners, you can refer to each other to clients. For example, if you own an SEO agency, you could seek to make friends with web design business owners. This way, they can refer web design clients that need SEO. In return, you’ll be able to refer SEO clients that need a new web design. It’s a win-win!
Joe Davies, CEO, Fatjoe
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