Increase Clients
Are you looking to increase clients? Consumers rely more and more on advice from those they trust to make purchasing decisions. Both online and offline, consumers look for reviews and interviews to better judge entrepreneurs before taking a chance on their products and services. Of course, if you don?t have many customers yet, it might be hard to get either one.
For me, it took 18 months and a lot of leg work to get my first client. With the help of this post and a little work, you won’t have to wait as long to increase clients.
Let’s look at 3 Ways to Increase Clients
Old Fashioned Marketing
Consumers have relied on word of mouth recommendations for centuries. While they may look for recommendations online now too, it’s still technically word of mouth. It’s a proven technique for introducing yourself to new customers and consistently increasing your client base.
Getting Interviews
Whether you are local or online based, interviews offer you a personalized chance to introduce yourself to your audience. The purpose of the interview is to help potential customers learn more about you, your business practices, what you sell or do, what makes you different and why they should shop now.
Getting interviews isn’t as hard as you might think. You have several options to choose from, including:
- Newspapers
- Local news
- Websites
- Social media
- Podcasts
- YouTube
Obviously, the first two are best for local entrepreneurs. Whether you are local or not, you can benefit from the other four. Don’t be afraid to contact editors and site owners to ask if they’d be willing to interview you. Some will likely say no. If you choose your outlet carefully, they’re more likely to say yes. For best results, only contact people who have a history of doing interviews with entrepreneurs or small business owners.
A couple fabulous examples in the online world? Ali Brown of course! She does a fabulous job with interviews. Her Glambition Radio has been a great success and she has leveraged her knowledge and success and focused on promoting women entrepreneurs. Another great example would be Marie Forleo. Her format is edgy, entertaining, fast-paced, but so on target.
Getting Reviews
If a customer has to choose between you and the competition, they will choose the one who has the most positive reviews. If you don’t have any and your competitor has a dozen, they will choose the competition and likely recommend them to friends. To successfully keep new customers coming in, you need reviews.
Customers often post reviews on the site they purchase a product or service from. If you are selling something online, make sure you have a place for reviews. They also post reviews on business directories such as Yelp. This is especially true for local businesses. Make sure you have your business listed on any applicable business directories so users can leave reviews.
Whenever a user makes a purchase, leave a note on their receipt, on the order page or as a follow-up email asking them to review their purchase. To quickly build reviews, offer a discount to anyone who leaves an honest review. If you do receive a negative review, try to reach out to the person and find a solution. This shows you care about customers which leads to more valuable word of mouth marketing.
Using a combination of both interviews and reviews helps you grow your business. It may take a little time to build up reviews, but it is worth the effort. It provides consistent marketing to introduce you to new customers.
Would you like to see my company reviews? Check them out here.