How to Reach New Customers Online

Finding customers when you have a business premise is difficult enough, even if you’re at just the right spot in town. So, finding customers with no premises, when you have only the internet to rely on, might feel a little daunting. There’s no shame in not knowing where to start, everyone is a beginner at some point! We’ve rounded up the best tips for ensuring that the right people find your business online. Pens and notepads at the ready, here’s your crash course in reaching brand new customers online.

An Offer They Can’t Refuse

One of the ways that customers most enjoy being contacted by companies is with a relevant offer. The online sports betting market is an area where this style of marketing is particularly prevalent. Offers like this FanDuel promo code are useful for those who are already interested in sports betting and that’s exactly who the company is targeting with it. If you’re considering using offers or promotions in your business, think about who will actually find it useful and come up with a way to make sure that only those people see it. It’s all very well giving out offers to everybody, but some people will receive them and think of it as nothing more than spam. If your target market is lower-income households, then sending them offers that require them to make a large payment in order to benefit is counter-productive. Really spend some time exploring your existing client base and find out what works for them. Offer it up to your mailing list and you might be surprised at the number of people that get back to you.

Be Socials Savvy

Social media is a brilliant tool for reaching customers, as long as it is used correctly. So often companies think posting super regularly is the key to success, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The most important thing to remember whenever your business or brand posts on social media are that it must be relevant. Whenever you post, you’re building your brand image, whether you like it or not, so make sure your posts reflect your business accurately. Create a social media marketing plan and stick to it. Don’t be afraid to miss several days of posts if the content isn’t good quality. People respond to beautiful images and well-thought-through captions; they don’t respond well to rushed posts that are hastily put up just for the sake of regularity. Keep your brand image in the forefront of your mind, create beautiful imagery, speak clearly to your customers, and the rest will follow.

SEO is Your Friend

So many of us freeze when we hear those three dreaded letters, SEO, but it’s not the wizardry that people would have you believe. Getting your company to the first page of the search results takes a bit of time, but it isn’t magic. Make sure you’re dedicating time every single day to updating a little bit of your website. Break down what needs to be accomplished into small tasks and chip away at it over time. You could start your first day by putting alternative text on all of your images, or even just your landing page images. Once you’ve ticked that job off, start on the next one. You could optimize all of your headings and make sure they’re correctly formatted with H1 and H2 tags. Sorting out your entire SEO strategy sounds like a monumental task, but when you break it down into manageable chunks you realize that it really is achievable.

Start a Mailing List

If you read through our offer advice and found yourself wondering how you’d reach your customers with that method, then you need a mailing list. This is the simplest and most direct way of reaching your customers and it can be your most valuable tool. Don’t abuse your power and send out emails all the time, however; as little as four times a year can be enough. Let your customers know what new directions your business is taking and remember to include a little something for them in each email that you send. There are lots of programs online that can help you to create engaging content for your mailing list. MailChimp is particularly popular, as it also streamlines sending emails. You can choose to group your customers, which can be helpful if you sell to varying target audiences. By grouping them you can choose to send them only the offers that will definitely be relevant.

Join a Selling Platform

Those that sell physical goods might struggle to generate the traffic necessary to their own website alone. If you’re just starting out or looking for another avenue to generate some money, then joining a large selling platform could be a good idea. If you make items by hand then sites like Folksy and Etsy will be able to show your products to a much larger audience than your own website could. Although they will take a cut of your sales, it’s not a huge amount and they don’t mind you including links to your own website to redirect returning customers. Those who don’t make it by hand but perhaps rely on volume to make a profit could try sites like Amazon and eBay. These sites also take a commission, though generally a much smaller one, and have automated shipping options that can speed up your sales process. 

Join Forces with Your Neighbours

Finally, if you’re lucky enough to have a physical presence on a high street or similar, then you could potentially have a great asset at your disposal. Just like you, the business owners on your street will always be looking for ways they can make a little extra money. It could be that you set up a local site, where people can buy locally made gifts. It could be that you take out advertising space together, to save on cost in a position that you couldn’t afford on your own. Getting onto the television with the backing of your locality, for example, is a lot easier than doing it on your own and you can all reap the rewards together.

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