CENTURY THETHREETHINGSYOUCAN DOTOGETCUSTOMERSNOW CORNELIUSBUTLER HOWTOGETMORE CUSTOMERSINTHE21ST
TableOfContents 01 INTRODUCTION 02 IDEALCLIENTIDENTIFICATION 03 TOOLSFORGAININGMORECUSTOMERS
Generally,therearetechniquesforaddingmorecustomers morelikeaprocesstofollowinaddingcustomers. Weshalldiscussthisprocess rstandthen;weshallproceedtoshowyousomemoderntoolsyoucanusefor aidingthisprocessSo,whatistheprocess?
IDEALCLIENTIDENTIFICATION
Customers! Youmust,therefore,know,asabusinessownerthatyourclientsareanimportantfactorinyourbusiness survival Onceyouhaveasteadyin owofnewcustomers,yourclientbasegrowsandyoucanbegintogrow yourbusinessgraduallyThesmallcustomerbaseyoucurrentlyhaveisagreatwaytobuildloyaltywithyour customerTheirfeedbackwouldallowyoutoworkonimprovement,adevelopmentthathelpsyoubecon dent aboutyourproductorservices.Butyoumustexpandtogrowyourbusiness,andthisiswhereattractingnew customerscomesin.
Lookingfornewcustomers,orjustcustomersisquite easier if you have a knowledge of who your ideal customersare.Itisabitdif culttoknowwhereto startthecustomeracquisitionprocessifyoudonot know who your ideal clients are Once you have identi ed the ideal customers’ identity, next is to think about the things that affect their emotions: what makes them happy? What makes them sad? Whatrelievesthem?Onceyouknowthese,youcan begin to think of what to do to affect their lives positively.Youmustrememberthatashumans,we aremoreofanemotionalbeingthanlogical.
Onceyousetupabusiness,afterhavingthetypeofproductorservicesyouwanttooffer,settingyourvision and mission and identifying your business processes and potential customer, the next thing is gaining customers.Wegointobusinesstomakepro tandthiscanonlybeguaranteedbyselling.Whodowesellto?
GAININGCUSTOMERINTHE21 CENTURYST INTRODUCTION
KnowWhereTheyLive UnderstandYourBusiness
Inmakingapurchasingdecision,weapplylessoflogic andmoreofemotion.Assuch,abusinessthatwould addvaluemustshowcareforitscustomers. Next, you have to align the focus of your clientsnarrowly.Thiswouldhelpyoutoavoid making your market statements broad. Knowingthemainfocusesofyouridealclient base helps you to tailor your market to be moreappealingtothesegroupsratherthan tryingtoappealtothegeneralpublic.When people feel that your market statement focusesmainlyonthem,theyregardyouasa businessthatregardsthemandcaresforthem.
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Someofyourcustomers,ifnotall,arealsoon differentonlineandsocialmediasites;inforums andpages,thoseyoumayownorthosebysimilar business. We would talk about this later. By attendingconventionsandconferencesalso,you cangettomeetcustomersoffline.
Onceyouhaveidenti edwhoyouridealcustomersare,thenexttaskisto ndoutwherethey live.Thisissimplyabout ndingoutplaceswhereyouarelikelyto ndthem,eitheronline,via media,o ineorthroughmails.Thenatureofthebusinessyouareintowoulddeterminethe areaswhereyouwouldlookforcustomers.
Itisimportantasabusinessownerthatyouhave athoroughunderstandingofyourbusinessand the industry in which you belong This entails havingindepthknowledgeandunderstandingof yourserviceorproductandlettingitshowinhow youaddvalues.
Becausetheyunderstand thatyoucareabouttheirutilityandemotion,theynotonlycomebackformorebutalsotellothersaboutyou. Otherwaysofbeingtheanswerarebyhostingwebinarstoteachpeopleabouttheservicesandproductsyou offer.Youcanalsoblog,guestblogandnetwork.Withaproperandwellstructuredsalesfunnel,youcanbegin toattractmorecustomersthroughallofthese
Consumersmayunderstandtheirneeds,butyouaretheexpert,youmust understandtheirneedsbetterthantheydo Then,youmustbeabletobridgethisknowledgegapbybeingable toarticulatetheirneedinsuchawaythattheyunderstanditbetterWhenyoudothissuccessfully,theydonot onlyseeaneedtobuyyourproductsorservices;theyalsobecomeloyalcustomers
BETHEANSWER
knowledgeofyourserviceorproducthelpsyoualotinattractingcustomers Whenpeople,especiallythosein yourcustomerbaseandthoseinterestedinwhatyouareoffering,seethatyouareknowledgeableaboutsuch servicesorproduct,theytendtopatronizeyoumore.Theyseeyouasanauthorityinsuchareaandhavethe beliefthatwhateverserviceorproductyouoffermustbeofahighstandard.Theywouldcomeforyour assistant,attendyourprogramsandbuyyourproductsorservices.Youmust,however,liveuptothesebeliefs; youdon’twanttoappearasthepersonwhosaysalotanddonothing;it’sbadforbusiness.
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Consumersalwayshaveeconomicproblems.Theyknowwhattheyneedorwant,ormoreaptly,theyknow whattobuy.Butthequestionis,iswhattheyknowtherightthingforthem?Thisiswhereyoumustposition yourself.Bethatpersonwhohelpsanycustomerhe/shecomesacrosstomakeabetter nancialandeconomic decisionbasedontheirneedsorwants Howdoyoudothis?Yougivethemagreatreasonwhytheyshould chooseyourservicesorproducts
DIRECTRESPONSEMARKETING
PARTNERSHIP
Thiscomeswithbeingtactical.Whileitisnotsomethingthatmostconsumerswouldbewillingtodo, gettingthemactuallytocompletesomespeci edactions,likeoptingintoyouremaillist,isawaytoadd valuetoyourcustomers.Onceyouhaveameansofbeinginconstanttouchwiththem,itisleftforyou todevelopcontentthatwouldvaluetoyourcustomersandsendittothemperiodically.Youmustbe careful,however,notto make the communication an everyday thing ortoo constantas this may constituteanuisanceOncetheystartperceivingyouasdisturbingthem,theymaybegintounsubscribe from your mailing list or other forums where you engage them. Basically, this works by offering somethingofvaluetoyourcustomersinorderforthemtojoinamailinglist,webinarsoronlineforum. Then,onceyouhavethemhere,youbegintoofferthemvaluesforfreetoenticethemtoyourpaid productsandservices.However,youmustlearnmoreaboutdirectresponsemarketingtounderstand howtodirectyoureffortongettingresults.Yourmessagestoyouridealclientsmustbecompelling, briefandclearShowthemareasonwhytheymustchooseyouandareasonwhytheywouldbelosing outfornotchoosingyou Letthemseethatyouunderstandtheirpainandthatyouhaveasolutionthat wouldtakeitallaway;asolutionthatisbothfastandcheap. Whodoyoupartnerwith?Simple:businessesthat offercomplementaryservicestoyourbusiness.Let’s take, for instance, that you offer search engine optimization and content developing services. It wouldbeverypro tableandproductivetogointoa partnership agreement with businesses that build websites Itisasymbioticrelationship;itmustbea winwinforbothbusinesses Forone,theycanoffer your service to their customers as a freebie to enhancingtheirvalueadditionbyintroducingyour servicetotheclientasatrustedprofessional Ifthey didagreatjobforsuchaclient,hewouldlistento them and hire you. You can also do this for your customers.
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FOLLOWINGUP GAININGCUSTOMERINTHE21 CENTURYST “Oh,Ihavereadyourrequestandunderstandthetypeofcontentyouwould need.Iunderstandthatyouwouldalsoneedtocreateawebsite.Oursister companyoffersveryeconomicalanduniquewebsitedesignservicesthatarevery reliableandtrusted.Ifyoudon’tmind,Icansetyouupwiththeirclientmanager formoreexplanation.” Ifthisisaclientthathasseenyouasanauthorityinyour eldandaproblemsolver,hewouldreadilylistento youThevaluehere,foryou,ishowmuchmorecustomertheyareabletodirecttoyoubuttogetthis,youmust alsotryanddirectclientstothem Thisiswhyyoumustbethoroughwithyourresearchinchoosingwhomto partnerwith Nurturingrelationship,eitherwithcustomersorotherbusinesses,wouldhelpyoutogrowyourclientbaseItis notjustaboutsellingtocustomers,offeringthemvaluewithoutaskingforasalealsoworks.Toputitbrie y, thefocusisforyoutofocushumanrelationshipasthedegreeofthestrengthofyourrelationshipwitha customerwoulddeterminethedegreeofthelikelinessofsuchacustomertellingothersaboutyourbusiness. Andiftherelationshipisstrong,itwouldnotbeameretellinginpassing;theywouldtellothersaboutyour businesspassionately.Thisiswhenyouhavesuccessfullymadesuchacustomeranindirectbrandambassador. Theideaisforyoutofollowuponclients,evenaftersalesandwhentheyarenolongerbuying.
Bloggingallowsyourpotentialcustomerto nd your site, especially when you use industry keywords in your blog posts. Lastly, you don’t reallyhavetobeawritertoexpressyourthought; you can record an audio le and send it to a freelancewritertodevelopforyou,makingsure heusesindustry-relatedkeywords.Agoodblog postshouldendwithacalltoaction;usuallyalink toaserviceorproductthatyourcompanyoffers
BLOGS TOOLSFORGAININGMORECUSTOMERS
Remember the part where we discussed about havingastructuredsalesfunnel?Yeah,thisisthe partwherewediscussthat.Inthetwenty rst century,gainingcustomerisalongchainofinter twinedsocialmediatools.Whatarethesesocial mediatools?Thesearethesocialmediaplatform thatyoucandeploytocreateanintegratedfunnel forattractingandretainingcustomers So,how doesthiswork?Wewouldcometothat Butso thatyouknow,usingthistoolisverycheap.Let’s diverightin.
Youcanusebloggingintwoways,eitherasablogownerorasablogguestwriter.Eitherway, discussingvaluabletopicstoconsumersonblogshelpthemtonoticeyouasaproblemsolver.For moreview,youcansharethelinktoyourblogpostonothermediasuchasFacebook,LinkedIn andInstagram.Thereareotherwaysofdrivingtraffictoyoursite;wewouldgettothemlater.
Bloggingispartofawholetermofinboundmarketing,whichisatermforarespectivewayof creatingawarenesstoyourcustomerwithoutconstitutinganuisance,beittheyarecurrentclient, currentprospectorfutureclient.Blogginghelpsyoutoaddressthefrequentlyaskedquestionsof yourindustry.Evenifthetopicyoudiscussedisn’tinclusiveofaproductorservicethatyouo er,it stilldrivestraffictoyourwebsiteandimprovesyourbrandrecognition.
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TreatingPinterestlikeasearchenginecanhelpyoutodrivemoretraf ctoyourblogandimproveyourbrand awarenessUseindustryrelatedkeywordsinyourpinandboarddescriptionsmakeyourposttoshowupmore toyourtargetedcustomerwhentheyquerysuchwords Don’tusekeywordsrelatingtoanindustryinan unrelatedpinasdoingthismightmakepeoplestartignoringyourlinks
GAININGCUSTOMERINTHE21 CENTURYST PINTEREST
Thenextthingistooptimizeyourpro le.Youcandothisbyputtingacalltoactionwithinthedescription.Ifyou dofreevalueaddingmailing,putthelinktosuchmailinyourdescription.Inthedescriptionalso,youcaninput relevantkeywordsthatyouridealclientsmightusewhentheysearchonPinterest.Inchoosingyourcover image,ensurethatimagerepresentsyourbrandidentity.Payattentiontocolorsandfonts,andensureitis uniformforallyourbusinesspostanywhereonline Groupboards,likenormalPinterestboard,arealsohelpful.Jointherelevantonestoyourlineofbusiness.This wouldhelpyoutoputyourpinsbeforeawideraudience.Ensurethatthegroupsyoujoinhaveverymany followingsfromyourtargetedaudience.Nextistoensurethatyourbusinessblogpostsarepinnedtheright way.UseenticingheadlineswhencreatingshareableblogpostimageforyourPinterestalsohelps.However, youmustensurethatyourpostsareshareworthybystickingtoyourbrandidentity,usingverticalimages (735pxby1102px)andmakingyourpostsareeasytoread;usinglegiblefontsandsizes,sincemostPinterest trafficsarefrommobilephonesLastly,don’tforgettopromoteyourpins
CREATECONTEST:Onceyouhaveadecentaudienceonyourchannel,youarebetteroffcreatinga contestHowever,readInstagram'spromotionguidelines,communityandguidelinesandplatformpolicy beforeyoucreateacontest
NosocialmediahasbeatenFacebook’sInstagramintermsofengagement,withover800millionactiveusers everymonth.Howcanyouutilizethisplatformforreachingyouridealclients?
Whatarethethingsapromotionalcontestshouldhave?Brandedhashtags, amazingmedia(photoorvideo),publicinvolvement,timebound,easytojoinandhasarelevantpriceto bewon.Acontestwouldboostyourbrandwithorganictrafficandalsoyourreach.
IMPROVEDRESPONSERATE:Ensurethatyourresponserateisfastenoughwhenpeoplecommentto requestsomethingonyourpostThefasteryoureply,themoreimportantyoumakethemfeel
CATCHYIMAGES:Picturescanpassathousandwordsatjustaglanceandiftheydo,theviewercanwait andreadtheimagemoreintently.Makesureyourimagescatchattentionandareofhighquality,nobody looksatanordinarypicturetwice
CUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPMANAGEMENT:Don’tjustcareaboutlikesandcomments;createposts thathelpyoutoengageyourcustomers.Youcanwriteacalltoactionandattractivecaptionsthat encourageyourfollowerstoengageyourbrand.Also,itisimportanttorespondtocommentsasthis wouldmakethecustomersfeelappreciated.Don’tforgettosaythankstocustomersthatuseyour products,commentonyourpostsandparticipateinyourcontests
GET CLOSE TO INFLUENCERS: Building rapport with in uencers is like building a partnership In uencershavemassivefollowership Theseareorganicclientbaseforyoutoreachto,allyouneedto doisseekpermissiontotagin uencersinyourpostandgetthemtocomment,althoughthesemightcost youabit.
BecauseTwitterdoesnotpermittheuseoftoomuchwordperpost,mostpeopleoftenthinkitisnotagreat placetoattractcustomers.Thisisnottrue.Allyouneedtopassalongmessageontwitteriscreateathread, whichissimplycreatingapostandcommentingtherestofyourmessageunderthispost,inmultipleposts. In creating a thread, ensure that the rst post is detailedbutshort,catchyenoughtomakethereader wanttoreadtherest.Attheendofthe rstpost, create a short sentence showing the reader that thereismoreinthecomment.Somethinglike,‘It’sa thread!’Orjust,‘#thread’.Ensurethatyoukeepall yourpostshortandvalue lledenoughforpeopleto willingly follow you so that they can read more valuablepostsfromyou Oftentimes,mostpeople whofeelthevalueinyourpostwouldretweetitto reach even a wider audience. When people follow you,alwaysmakesureyoufollowback.Youcanalso putupsingleposttweetstointroduceaproductor serviceorconcepts.
YOUTUBECHANNEL
Ifwritingisnotyourthingandappearinginavideodoesn’tbotheryou,welcometoYouTubeIfyoucandowell withanimation,youdon’tevenneedtoshowyourfacetoengageyourcustomers.CreatingaYouTubechannel isallyouneed.Then,periodically,sayeveryweek,createshortvalueaddingvideosandputthemonyour YouTube channel. In the comment, you may put a link to your website or blog, and even your contact information.Makesureyourpostsarerelatedtoyourbusinessandconsistent.Attheendofyourvideo,inputa calltoactionthatencouragesthemtosubscribetoyourchannel.Bydoingthis,theywouldgetnoti edevery timeyouputupanewpost.Inputtingupanewpost,ensureyourvideosareclearandthattheaudioisaudible withoutanybackgroundnoiseAlso,whenyounameyourpost,ensuretoinputindustryrelatedkeywordsthat youridealclientmightuseinaYouTubesearch
GAININGCUSTOMERINTHE21 CENTURYST
Ensuretoputalinktoallyoursocialmediaforuminthe
commentofyourvideos
Whenyousolvepeopleproblemsonthesegroupsbyeither answeringtheirquestionorpostinginsightfulcomments,theywouldnaturallyasktobeyourfriend
BIOLINK:Inyourbiolinkisashortparagraphforyoutopitchyourself,useitwisely Makesurethe descriptionherematchesyourcoverimageandshowcaseswhatyoudo Ensureyourepeatthiselevate pitchthroughoutyourentirepro le,howbeitindifferentforms.Here,youcanaddalinktoyourblogora privategroup,whereyougiveawayfreevalues.IntheABOUTYOUsection,youcaninformationsuchas yourlocation,businesslinks,pagelinks,sociallinksandcoursesyouhavetakenpartin.Theinformation youarewillingtoshareheredependsonyoubutthemoreinformationyou,thebetteryouaudiencecan buildarelationshipwithyou. There are which is thatcontainaudiencesinyourbusinessline
two ways to reach a maximum of 5000 friends,
GAININGCUSTOMERINTHE21 CENTURYST FACEBOOK
Facebookistheplatformthatunitesallotherplatformsincreatingastructuredsalesfunnel.Weshalldiscuss bytakingtheavailableoptionsonebyone.Noteitthatnootherplatformoffersyouenoughopportunityto brandyourselfandyourbusinessasmuchasFacebook.
ADDFRIENDS:
PROFILE:Yourpro lede neswhoyouareanditisherethatyoucancreateamagneticappearancefor youridealcustomers Whateveryoudowithyouraudience,ensureyouareeithercreatingsomethingof valueorendorsingsomethingofvalue.Don’tlikeorcommentonpoststhatdonotaddvalue.Whenyou commentanywhere,ensureyouaresolvingtheproblemsofthepeopleonthatpostorpage.Ensurethat youprovidevalueingroupswhereyourtargetedaudiencegather.Ensurethatyourpro leimageisclean andshowcasewhatyouareabout.Ensureitisanimagewherepeoplecanseeyourfaceclearly,like makingeyecontactwithyou.
the maximum Facebookpermit The rstistoaddatleasta100friendeveryday,althoughthenumbermayvary dependingonhowsoonyouwantthefunneltobereadyTheotherwayistogivevaluesinallthegroups
SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY AND FUNNEL
GAININGCUSTOMERINTHE21 CENTURYST
GROUPS:Likeearlierdiscussed,peoplewould notice you more when you are a problem solver or value propagator. But how do you ndgroupsthatarerelatedtoyour eld?All youhavetodoistosearchforkeywordsfrom theindustryyouareinandjointhegroups By yourvalueaddingactivitiesonthesegroups, people would start visiting your pro le to knowyou.Becauseyouhavealreadypitched yourselfonyourpro le,theyasktobeyour friend and hold you in high regard. Because youhavealinktoyourprivategroupthere, theyjoinyourgroup.
OUT:Nowthatyouhavegottenpeopletoyour privategroups,itistimeforyoutokeepthem engage by offering them free values. But in doing so, you make sales. How? When you createanengagingpost,alwaysenditwitha freeoffer.Supposeyouwereexplainingabout howtoloseweightwithoutstoppingwhatyou loveeating Intheend,youcantellthemto watchafreevideoorreadablogpostonwhat todoandtheninfusealinktoyourYouTube channelorblogpost.However,fromtheblog postorYouTubechannel,youalreadyhavea calltoactionthataskthemtoeithersubmit theiremailforafreeeBookortakesthemto page where you display your products and services. Boom! You would start converting your followership to customers And because you keep engaging them while offering topnotch services, you are able to retainthemascustomer
FACEBOOKADS:Finally,thisiswhereyouhavetospendalittle.Bynow,youwouldhavealonglistof fansonyourFacebookfanpageandprivategroup.AllyouneedtodoisuploadthislisttoFacebook’s algorithm.Lookalikeaudience analgorithmthatFacebookusesto ndyouanaudienceofsimilar pro leasyourlist Thatis,Facebookwoulddisplayyouradstopeoplewhoareverylikelytopurchase yourgoodsorserviceNow,theywouldvisityourpageorwebsiteforasinglepurchase,butbecauseyou haveuploadedsomuchvalueandcreatearichcommunity,theywouldstayandbecomepermanent members
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