Five simple ways to expand your customer base
You have established a customer base. Half the battle won, right? NO!
Successful growth of your customer base is essential for business survival in the current
economic climate. Surviving the storm or ‘plague’ of distressed markets, economic meltdowns,
industry slumps as well as other domestic and global challenges is largely dependent on a
LOYAL and GROWING customer base. Be it retail, wholesale or a service-oriented business,
there are certain general principles better known as “customer best practices” which apply to
all enterprises.
Below are 5 which can be applied to expand your customer base and establish a sustainable
business in South Africa:
1. Create strategic brand awareness
No matter how advanced mankind becomes, the power of “Word of Mouth” makes loyal
customers your best marketing campaign. Apart from knowledge and information
dissemination about your goods and services you need to create an ‘emotional drive’, a
passion and energy that surround your brand and business. Think of “Coca Cola” who have
managed to make a classic example of this through their well-developed brand identity. Use
cost-effective avenues such as social-media, content marketing, targeted advertising,
milestone PR announcements and quality control systems to create and maintain the right
brand reputation.
2. Focus on building customers rather than making sales
Simply making a sale is not the point – it’s about developing a holistic connection with the
individual. Direct necessary focus on operational efficiency, staffing, quality production and
CUSTOMER SERVICE to grow a loyal client base. Building a healthy relationship with your
customers in the virtual and offline marketplace is essential. Indeed prioritising a marketing
plan, without an effective customer care plan, will cost you dearly in today’s competitive world
of business.
3. Offer your customers an experience…that they WILL remember
Much of McDonalds’ success globally has been attributed to its low prices and fast service.
Even the richest customer values time as a precious commodity. Everyone is “Lovin it” at
McDonalds because they leave you with money in your pocket, time on your hands and
therefore peace in your heart. This is a classic example of an “unforgettable customer
experience” and you too can come up with creative ways of offering your customers a
memorable experience.
4. Who can forget Social Media?
Using social media is all about establishing a social presence and participating in the modern
business landscape. People will work with businesses they feel comfortable and are familiar
with. Your company can only address the customers’ needs if you know where their virtual
‘gathering spots’ are. Consumers are influenced by their peers’ opinions about products and
services, so creating the right online image will go a long way to growing your customer base.
5. Create a Powerful Customer-focused Value Proposition
A value proposition describes a company’s knowledge of the customer’s expectations, and
their ability to meet, and even exceed it. This is achieved by explaining the nature of your
product or service and highlighting the ways in which your product would solve the problems
and, or improve the life of the customer.
At the heart of all these principles is the simple truth that you need to build relationships with
your customers in order to increase your customer base. Man is a ‘social animal’ and every
customer is an island waiting to connect with vehicles of knowledge and opinion to get them to
the mainland of VALUABLE BUSINESS PRODUCTS.
Brought to you by