Most of us have come to view the New Year as a time of reflection and setting personal goals for a fresh new start—but your goal-setting doesn’t need to be specific to your personal life. You can (and should) set goals for your business as well. And I’ve found that focusing on how to bring in more business is always a great place to start!
These are five of my favorite ways to get new customers at the start of a new year (or any time, really):
1. Partner with Other Businesses
One of the best ways to find new business is to partner with other businesses who aren’t competitive, but who have an audience similar to yours. By offering a special promotion (which is a good way to get new clients on its own!) with another business, you’re exposing your own business to an entirely new group of people who may have never heard of you—but will certainly benefit from your products or services.
2. Improve Your SEO
Basic search engine optimization (SEO) is fairly simple to learn with the aid of a quick Google search, but if you really want to attract new customers to your website and your business, up level your SEO expertise by reading a book, taking a class, or—best of all!—hiring an expert to help you. By making SEO a priority this year, you’ll ensure that your business gets in front of thousands of new eyeballs that have been searching for exactly what you provide!
3. Write Guest Blogs
You guys know how I feel about guest blogging. Just like partnering with other businesses, writing content for another website or media platform allows you to “borrow” their audience’s attention and open up your products and services to a whole new group of people! As I’ve mentioned before, be very strategic about the places you write, carefully picking those sites whose audience mirror your own, and write unique, valuable content that will bring interested new customers right back to you.
4. Offer a Freebie
One of the best ways to turn a potential customer from “potential” to “loyal fan” is to offer them something for free in exchange for a regular spot in their email inbox—or, in other words, regular, direct communication with them. Whether it’s free content (like an eBook) or a small gift (like a sample of your product), by giving people a small taste of what you have to offer—without asking for anything in return!—you’ll likely have a devoted customer for life.
5. Make It Personal
Show your customers that they’re not just another order in a database—make every experience personal; an experience that they’ll want to share with their friends and networks on social media. Continually ask your customers what they want and how you can serve them better—and actually put their suggestions into practice! Send birthday gifts or discount codes at random. Let them know that you see them and you’re thankful for them—not just as one of many nameless customers, but as a loyal friend of and advocate for your brand.
How will you be bringing in new customers—and keeping your current ones—in 2015? Let me know in the comments below!
