7 Ways to Attract and Retain Customers in Your Small Business in 2024

We live in a world where conducting business is getting more difficult since nobody wants to be sold to. Business owners must devise ways to be at the top of their game, or their competition will swallow them alive. Some businesses offer gifts to eventually gain clients, particularly in the case of professional service businesses.

Below are a few suggestions on how to attract and retain customers in small businesses.

1. Attract Customers by Building a Positive Relationship

When cultivating a relationship with potential clients, you should begin by trying to be helpful. Before you try to sell anything, try offering helpful material, interacting with people to establish a relationship, listening well, and establishing yourself as a reliable resource.

2. Attract Customers by Knowing Your Customer’s Perspective

Before starting operations, you should ask yourself some questions to help you view your business from the customer’s perspective. How will your business benefit your customers? What is the Unique Value Proposition (UVP) that the business offers? How does your business assist and resolve the issues of your clients?

3. Attract Customers by Knowing Your Customer

Ensure you create a detailed profile of your clientele by answering some questions. Who is the clientele you serve? How is his financial situation? Is she a single working professional, or is she married with kids? Does your product target the Millennials or the Baby Boomers? Answering these questions will help you create a mental picture of your customers, ensuring your content and marketing messaging are directed exclusively towards them. Remember, products that target a diverse client group are hard to sell.

4. Attract Customers by Focusing on The Targeted Customer

Once you have a profile of your ideal client, determine the best way to contact them. The effectiveness of various marketing strategies will vary depending on your target audience. The more narrowly focused your business is in the marketplace, the easier it is to reach your market. For example, if you use social media advertising, list your top four to six keywords first. Keywords are important in directing traffic to your ads because customers often use specific words when looking for your goods and services online.

5. Attract and Retain Customers by Choosing a Marketing Approach

The marketing strategy that you employ will be determined by the specific target that your business serves. To reach your target customer, try a few of these ideas.

• Create an outstanding website that showcases your products or that directly sells your products, just like an e-commerce website.
• Use blog and content marketing to inform potential customers about your products and services.
• Use pay-per-click advertisements, displaying your products as ads on popular websites.
• Use direct mails to remind past customers about your services and products and upcoming services and products.
• Use vehicle wrapping services, where vehicles are branded with company logos and products.
• Flyers and billboards
• Newspapers and magazines

6. Attract and Retain Customers by Leveraging on Referrals

Use your happy clients as an unpaid sales force for your company. Offer discounts and exclusive deals to your clients to encourage them to tell their friends about your business. Look for original approaches to thank and honour your most devoted clients. Organise a thank-you party or acknowledge them on social media. Everyone enjoys being recognised.

7. Retain Customers by Not Losing Your Customers

It is cheaper and far easier to maintain a customer than to seek out new ones. Upselling to current clients is your best chance to increase your sales revenue. One of the most effective strategies for upselling is maintaining contact with clients.

You can use these strategies to keep in touch with your customers.

• Get in touch with the customer seven to ten days after a sale.

• Send out a customer service survey online to get their feedback on satisfaction levels and areas for improvement.

• Send out your email newsletter at least once a month (weekly is recommended)

• Encourage your clients to post reviews on your website, LinkedIn, and other sites that offer review services.

• Send holiday cards, e.g., on Valentine’s Day and Christmas.

• Send birthday cards.

• Get comments on Facebook and Twitter

Though this list is not exhaustive, your business will become more sustainable if you apply these and other marketing and sales strategies and observe a spike in the number of returning customers. Note that someone might only purchase from you once; therefore, you must establish a rapport if you want them to do so repeatedly.