Successful businesses get most of their revenue from a loyal group of customers that buy often and refer them to other customers. This group of customers is called a client base.
The larger your client base, the more your expected revenue. You can also get more monetary value from your client base through upselling and offering them more products or services.
Whether you are a new business or an established business, growing your client base should always be a priority. This is because it takes a lot of time to have a large list of clients. So the longer you work on your client list the better for you.
Read on for important tips on how to build a client base for your business.
Know Your Target Market
The first tip for how to build a client base is to know who your target market is. Starting with knowledge of your target market will enable you to build the right strategies. This will help with attracting them, retaining them and getting them to refer your business to other potential clients.
Targeting a particular group of clients also helps you to tailor your products or services to meet their needs.
Be Approachable
Gone are the days when companies had to be cold and formal. Nowadays companies that can be easily approached and engaged with tend to have more loyal customer bases. Make your company approachable by telling a great story on your about page about why and how your company was formed. You can also include photos and biographies of your key staff on your website
You should also have multiple channels of communication with your clients such as email, social media and by phone. Customers shouldn’t have to struggle to communicate with you. On the other hand, you should also find the best medium you should use to speak to your customers.
Get Feedback
Another tip for how to build a client base is to get feedback from your target market about your company and your service delivery. Knowing what works and what doesn’t work can help you to attract and retain more customers and therefore increase your client base.
Marketing surveys are also very important as they can give you insight into your target customers’ needs and how your company can meet their needs.
Maintain Great Customer Service and Client Support
In today’s business environment, the quickest way to lose a customer is to deliver bad customer service. Customers know that they have a lot of options and won’t accept paying for bad treatment or bad customer service.
Customers can now go online and make a viral post about your terrible service which would cost you a lot of business. On the other hand, customers that get great customer service will provide repeat business and refer you to other customers.
Have a Great Online Presence
A company that doesn’t have a positive online presence will find it hard to attract and retain a large customer base. 81% of customers go online to check out a business and read up reviews on it before deciding whether or not to buy from them. This is why you need to ensure that your company features positively on the internet.
To maintain a great online reputation, you should regularly publish SEO optimized website content and social media posts. Another important tip for maintaining a positive online reputation is to register your company on Google business and ask satisfied customers to give you 5-star reviews on your page.
Having an active Google business page could help your company show up on the first page of results for relevant Google searches. This could lead to increased traffic. Additionally, potential clients will check how others have rated your business before they decide whether or not to buy from you.
In case you don’t have the time or knowledge on how to do online marketing then hiring an SEO agency could be a great solution.
Offer a Free Newsletter
For your customers to remain loyal to you, they have to get a lot of value from your business. One of the best ways to consistently provide value is to have a free newsletter that your clients will find useful.
Newsletters attract potential clients because they initially sign up to get free information. However, with time they start purchasing your products as they develop trust in your company and get more exposure to your products or services.
Sending newsletters can also be a great way to increase the value of your customer base as you can advertise and sell more of your products and services through the mailings.
Give out Free Samples of Your Product or Service
Sharing your products or services with your target market is a great strategy for how to build a client base. For example, if you run a practice as a lawyer you could arrange to give a free talk to your local church or local rotary club. Doing so will benefit your community and establish you as an expert in your area. The next time those that were in attendance need legal services, you will be the first person they think of.
Product companies can also give free samples to increase their customer base. This is why you sometimes see companies giving out free samples of their product at supermarkets. If the clients like the product, they will buy it the next time they visit the supermarket.
Learn How to Build a Client Base
Figuring out how to build a client base makes business sense because it is often cheaper to retain a client than to acquire a new one. It is also easier to sell to an existing client than to a new client.
The best way to create a large customer base is to know who your target market is and provide them with the best customer experience that you can come up with. Happy customers will become loyal customers and will champion your brand to other people.
for more tips and advice, check out our blog.