Finding New Customers

Ever wondered how to find new customers? We’ve done the hard work so you don’t have to. Find out how below

All businesses want to know where to find new customers. It’s a significant part of any marketing strategy. The problem is: where do you even start?

The Joy of Sales team is here with some key tips to follow to help you find new customers. Before we get started, it’s worth mentioning that the tips below work mainly for the B2B (business to business) sector. However, business to consumer (B2C) businesses can still benefit greatly from the information below (albeit with a few tweaks!).

So where do we begin?

Start with your current customers

The easiest way to find new customers is… to not even look for new customers at all. You’d be amazed how many businesses focus on pushing against the flow to find new customers, instead of going with the tide and selling to customers who have already converted. It makes sense: a customer who has already purchased from you has already put their trust into your product or service, so (provided they liked it) it’s likely they’ll buy from you again. Why not tap into the market you’ve already captured?

Finding brand new customers can be quite expensive, too. In fact, it can cost up to 5 – 25x as much to attract new customers as it does to sell to your existing ones! Why spend the money unnecessarily? Look at what you can offer your existing customers to build your brand, your customer loyalty and your service further. You’ll most likely find ways of getting more money out of new customers when you do find them, too.

Things to look at:

• Could you sell more to the same customer with either the same product or other products?
• Does your product have a shelf life and need replacements?
• Do they need support for that product that you could charge for?
• Could you offer training for that product?
• Could you create a subscription-based service that benefits the existing customer?

Making new products can be much simpler than you’d think, especially if they’re based on existing services or products that you sell. It’s easy to find a number of different things to sell to the same customer after just an hour or two of brainstorming.

Also remember to speak to friendly customers. They know your product best and can give you some incredibly valuable information which you can use to sell to other customers.

Aim at the people who know and trust you

Once you’re done focusing on your current customers, you should start approaching people you already know. Trust is a major part of selling in the B2B world; people who know you will trust you more than people who don’t know you. Targeting people who have used your products and services in the past but have moved on since are good leads.

Interestingly enough, this works for customers who have gone with a competitor or have had a problem with you in the past. If you can assure them that you’ve upgraded your product or service and that you’re willing to offer them an incentive in return for trying it again (like a discount or a free trial), you’re likely to capture their interest again.

Capture friends of your customers with incentives

Your existing customers will be trusted by their friends, coworkers and colleagues, so in the same way as above, actually incentivising your existing customers to bring you new customers is a positive step.

Ideas for incentives could be:

• Prizes
• Trips to events
• Competition entries
• Gadgets, such as smart-watches or phones
• Significant discounts or cashback prizes

Of course, it doesn’t have to be expensive, either! For example, you could offer a customer a free training guide or course in return for signing a few of their friends up. The possibilities are endless and the more value you can put into your free gift, the more likely it is for others to sign up their friends for the reward.

Use your website!

There’s also your website to consider. Your website should be the centrepiece of your outreach to both existing and new customers. While many of your potential customers will visit your site for information instead of a desire to buy, this is a perfect place to offer some of your best deals and offers to capture. These have to be worth more than the time your customers need to spend signing up, however, so make sure it’s attractive enough to be something they can’t miss. Free guides aren’t cutting it as much these days! Try offering money off or a gift instead.

If you use capture emails, make sure you send them regular (but not too regular) updates about your business. What you’ll be doing is building up a list of new customers, maintaining loyalty from existing customers and advertising at the same time.

Industry events

Industry events are a powerful place to build up your customer network, since your target market is in the exact location you are. Trade bodies normally have events and circulation lists, so becoming a speaker at one of these events is always a great move. You’re placing yourself as an expert in the area, while also building up trust. Your potential customers will assume you’re trustworthy if the trade body itself trusts you!

It’s also worth visiting competitor events every once in awhile, especially for competitors who are still getting ahead of you. It’s a great way to see what they’re doing and who they’re targeting — and you may even bump into interested customers. Make sure to be professional, however; asking difficult questions or putting your competitor on the spot is a good way to make people avoid you and the company you’re promoting!

Online forums

While not seen as the grand marketing strategy of large businesses, if you’re looking to grow your name as an expert in the industry, online forums are a great place to connect with your customers. You can answer their questions and be seen as an active business. If events are too expensive to visit, forums are your next best choice.

Shows and expos

Shows are something to think about very carefully. Shows can be quite expensive to attend; you have to buy the booth space, build the booth and hire chairs. Quite often, you also have to hire electricity, lighting, food — and even after all this, it’s very rare (in our experience) that you’ll get a customer right there and then.

Without a clear idea of what you’re trying to gain from the show, it’s also unlikely you’ll see much benefit from it as well. If you’re just looking for immediate customer sign-ups, shows might not be particularly useful, so it’s worth doing your homework on the show.

Advertising

Advertising is difficult to approach. What type of advertising do you use? Do you use PPC advertising online? Do you carry out cold calling outreach? Do you host online webinars? Who is your target market? How do you tailor your advertising to them?

Advertising is no small business decision. To get the most out of your advertising, you need to be targeting it directly to the people looking for you. Unfortunately, figuring out who you’re targeting often takes a while, so don’t expect immediate sales increases. If you’re looking for new customers quick, a more direct approach would be better.

JoS software!

At Joy of Sales, we know how difficult it can be to find new customers, which is why we’ve developed software that makes the most of every lead you get. All you have to do is close the sale! Check out our software now and sign up for your FREE 30-day trial.

Ultimately, what will work for your business will be different from the next; even your closest competitor will have their own strategy that is unique. Be creative, be smart, research and brainstorm some ideas of what may work for you. Remember: tap into the market you already have as much as the market you want!

If you’d like to discuss your strategy with us, or you’d like to see what our CRM software can do to help you find new customers, we’d be happy to talk! Get in touch with Joy of Sales, or find out for yourself.