Tools for Expanding Customer Base

With the boom in information technology, there has been quite a bit of creativity in ways that firms sell their products. Entrepreneurs are increasingly looking for new and innovative methods through which they may expand their customer base and consequently gain higher revenues. The objective is to make sure that businesses keep evolving and adapting to changing environments, all the while increasing the number of customers. Below are a few tools that can be employed to market products in a way that leads to higher sales, customer retention and subsequently an expansion in the target market.

 

 

Referrals and Advertising:

The first lesson in customer service is gaining the customer’s confidence. A customer who believes in your business and is loyal to your cause can be a huge asset. He may talk about your products with people he knows and this word-of-mouth could lead to hype, which always has a positive impact. With the social media explosion over the last few years, positive feedback has a way of reaping in huge rewards for businesses online. Tweets and even reviews on Facebook can go a long way in attracting potential customers to the business. Hence referrals are tantamount to the success and expansion of a company’s target market. Businesses are taking advantage of this social media explosion and now use Facebook, Twitter, Google plus etc to generate buzz regarding their products. However, old fashioned techniques such as fliers and billboards are still quite important to the success of a business and should not be ignored.

Free Samples and Trials:

With the launch of new and improved online applications and products every week, businesses are becoming concerned about ways in which they may stay ahead of their competitors. For example, it isn’t enough to just launch an app, marketing and subsequently luring people in to buy from you is the key here. This is why online entrepreneurs are taking up the old school free sample method and revamping it in ways to meet their virtual needs. Several businesses offer free trials for up to a month to potential customers in order to maximize their sales and also garner interest in their products. For instance quite a few software and applications allow customers free trials.

Similarly, many companies such as makeup brands also send out free samples of their new products to customers as a means of not only marketing their products but also to attract more customers into purchasing from them. This is also evident at several stores where you can test and try the products. For most businesses, try before you buy is a great idea to attract more customers.

Loyalty Cards:

Customer retention goes a long way in harnessing and ensuring market expansion. Businesses are coming up with ways to ensure loyalty by introducing offers such as loyalty cards for their valued customers. The essence of this is that customers may get hold of the cards by buying products worth a particular amount of money. Holders of the card get discounts on all products, inevitably meaning more sales and thus profits. This situation is inarguably win-win.

Companies must embrace criticism and be open to new ideas and suggestions for improvement. Having an open outlook can take businesses a long way in securing their place firmly in the hearts of existing customers and reaching out to new ones.