Sound harsh?
It’s supposed to. And what I have to tell you could save your business. But first, a story…A friend shared the story of deciding to change the oil in his car for himself. He pulled the oil plug, drained the old oil, and added new oil. After adding the new oil, he checked the dipstick only to find that the levels were still low and added more oil, with the same result. He was frustrated until he finally realized that he hadn’t put the oil plug back in, and as fast as he was adding oil, it was coming out the bottom.
Your customers flow through your business in the same way, except you have multiple holes that you lose customers through. The biggest one is inattentiveness.
If you aren’t doing everything you can to create satisfied customers, offering value for their money, and communicating regularly with them, current customers, the ones who already know and like you, will forget about you or get lured by other businesses.
Let’s assume that you are doing those things and customer retention rate is high. There are other holes you can’t plug – customers move away, die, divorce, have lifestyle changes, get lured by the competition, and many other reasons to stop coming to you that are out of your control.
Not to mention that we are all distracted and bombarded with the amount of messaging that surrounds us daily – on social media, television, billboards, the radio, podcasts, and print media – the barrage is endless. It is a huge battle to stand out among all the options available to potential customers and all the other “busy-ness” of their lives.
That means you need to make a concerted effort to have a slow and steady stream of new customers, like your best customers, finding their way to you regularly so that you can turn into loyal, frequent customers.
But new customer acquisition is expensive and a huge challenge. It’s difficult and costly to convince a person who has never heard of you. Ones who:
- Don’t know where you are.
- Don’t know what you do.
- Or don’t recognize that they want or need what you are offering.
Or, if they do want or need what you are offering, how do you find them and convince them that you are the right choice?
If you’re not actively working to attract potential new customers, you’ll miss out on maintaining current sales levels and DON’T EVEN THINK about growing them.
On average, businesses lose up to 25 percent of their customer base yearly, leaving you needing new customer acquisition to stay afloat. While customer loyalty and satisfaction should be priorities, constantly finding replacements for lost customers is equally important, so your business continues to grow and succeed.
Your Customer Base Will Dwindle Over Time
Without new customers, existing customers will eventually move on, leaving your business in jeopardy. That’s why it is important to always have a flow of new customers coming through the door. Doing this requires strategic marketing and various channels to reach new prospects.
These should include the following:
- search engine optimization,
- content marketing
- an effective website
- social media campaigns
- email outreach
- referral programs
- online review management and more.
Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it?
There is NOT A SINGLE solution. It ain’t like the good ole days when we would send a fax and get a bunch of business because that’s all there was. Other than print, of course. But faxing was the new “marketing crack” of its time.
While each channel nowadays needs its own approach, when put together, they form an efficient method to attract new customers that can keep your business thriving for years to come.
Where Do New Customers Come From, And How Do You Find Them?
One of your best resources for new customers is your existing ones. That’s why building long-term customer relationships and prioritizing customer relationships, and connections in your business operations are essential. Then you can create a referral program rewarding your best customers for bringing their friends to you.
Another strategy is to find new potential customers through online review sites. Sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, Google, and Facebook offer an excellent platform for customers to find businesses that match their needs.
A priority needs to be your online reputation management, ensuring that all those searching for your type of business in your town are impressed with what they see about your business. Your listings need to be claimed, you need to rank high in the listings (at least on the first page of rankings), and you need to respond to positive and negative reviews regularly.
For more on reputation management, see our blog, “How NOT To Get A New Customer.”
Ads on social media site websites and smart search engine optimization also offer an opportunity to target customers in more specific segments. And once a customer has found you, ensure they have an easy path to find the information they need from your website.
Ultimately, finding new customers requires you to think big and be strategic. Invest in researching the best methods for finding and engaging with potential customers. Build trust with those who find you by offering them sincere value.
Use A Multi-Faceted Attack.
Small businesses need to constantly expand customer bases to be successful. The key is understanding who your best customers are and creating systems to find new customers just like them.
One great way to do this is through online advertising, which can be tailored to target specific audiences more easily than print ads. Social media plays a massive role in helping companies discover customers, with platforms like Google, Instagram, and Facebook providing valuable tools. Print marketing can also be effective because it typically gets a higher response rate as people tend to read it. Both can be highly effective in bringing in new customers.
Your strategy needs to combine multiple methods to keep your business booming by consistently reaching out to old and new customers.
Plugging The Holes In Your Leaky Customer Bucket
As a small business owner, it’s important to remember that if you don’t have a constant flow of new customers, chances are your company will stagnate quickly. Without fresh faces coming through the doors, any business may struggle.
However, the challenge of where existing customers go and how new customers find you can be daunting – what do you do when your reliable base starts to dwindle? The answer is simple: Make sure your business isn’t disappearing into the background and create systems to ensure more customers can discover you.
Whether that’s by actively seeking out referrals, investing in marketing campaigns, or simply engaging with people online – there are plenty of ways to help attract potential customers back into the fold. Don’t let your business become a victim of stagnation – keep a steady stream of new customers flowing in and reap the rewards!
Michael Thibault
Known as “The Done For You Marketing Guy for Restaurants.” International Speaker on Restaurant Marketing. Published contributing author of 4 Marketing Books. Industry expert on Google Searches and Review Sites. Recovering Independent Restaurant Owner and Caterer of over 21 years. And, all-around good guy.