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Attract More Customers to Your Business with These 7 Strategies

Date modified: January 26, 2024
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Want to up your customer acquisition efforts? Keep reading to learn the strategies to attract more customers to your business.
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The magic of the “Charli Cold Foam” at Dunkin’ swept the nation, creating a buzz with millions flocking to their nearest location, all eager to get a taste of TikTok star Charli D’Amelio’s favorite coffee concoction. This blend of cold brew coffee topped with sweet cold foam was nothing unusual, yet it stirred up a marketing frenzy.

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Dunkin’ reported a 20% rise in cold brew sales the day “Charli Cold Foam” was released and a 45% boost the following day. This marketing marvel wasn’t about reinventing the wheel but rather leveraging existing assets with a sprinkle of influencer magic to create buzz.

So, what made a simple cold coffee the talk of the town? Effective marketing. This Dunkin’-Charlie collaboration is a prime example of how leveraging current trends can boost your brand’s visibility and customer appeal. In the following sections, we’ll dive into effective marketing strategies and how to attract more customers to your business.

7 Strategies to Get New Clients

In the modern market, attracting new clients is an art form. Each strategy you employ is a puzzle piece that, when placed correctly, adds to the growth and success of your business.

The beauty of this puzzle is that there’s more than one way to complete it. Various strategies tailored to your business’s unique identity and market position can be game-changers. Below are some creative ways to attract more customers to your business.

Partner with Influencers and Other Businesses

In recent years, influencer marketing has become a strong force in the digital marketing arena. As of 2023, the industry is valued at a staggering $21.1 billion, marking a 29% increase from the previous year. This significant growth underscores the high return on investment that businesses are witnessing by tapping into influencers’ audiences to market their products or services.

Hand holding magnet to attract more customersThe essence of a fruitful collaboration lies in syncing with influencers whose values resonate with your brand. The Dunkin’-Charli case wasn’t solely about coffee but about synergizing with an influencer who mirrored Dunkin’s lively, youthful essence.

But why stop at influencers? Stretching your collaborative arms towards other businesses could also help attract more customers to your business. For instance, Spotify and Starbucks teamed up to bring a unique music ecosystem to customers, where they could access playlists through the Starbucks app.

The campaign was beyond selling more coffee and music, as it helped both brands reach newer heights in customer engagement and brand image. Customers could now relate to Starbucks not just as a coffee outlet but as a space intertwined with their music tastes. On the other side, Spotify benefited from the increased exposure to Starbucks’ vast customer base.

To harness the power of influencer marketing and business collaborations, start by pinpointing potential partners who echo your brand’s mission and audience. Craft a compelling, mutually beneficial pitch, and choose innovative collaboration forms, such as co-branded initiatives or joint promotions. Prioritize due diligence by evaluating potential collaborators for audience engagement, brand alignment, and authenticity to ensure they can truly embody and amplify your brand’s message.

Leverage Social Media Presence

Using your business’s presence on social media platforms is a cornerstone of scaling your business. It’s an avenue to build a community, engage with customers, and promote your brand creatively and engagingly.

Social media specialist working on laptop to attract customersThese are some of the tools social media offers to help attract more customers to your business:

  • Content Sharing: Be the go-to authority in your niche by sharing valuable content. It can range from educational articles and how-to guides to engaging infographics and interactive polls that spark conversation across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or TikTok.
  • Ads and Promotions: Social media advertising is cost-effective and highly targetable. These ads can be placed in users’ feeds, stories, or as sponsored content within the platform’s native environment. Offers in ads can range from discounts to early access to new products, which act as strong incentives for customer conversion. The cost of Instagram ads is quite affordable, ranging from $0.70 to $2 per click.
  • Hashtag Campaigns: Employing hashtag campaigns can amplify your reach, drive engagement, and foster a sense of community around your brand. By creating a unique, memorable hashtag, you encourage users to share their experiences with your products or services, just like Coca-Cola did with #ShareaCoke.
  • Analytics: Social media analytics can provide insights into audience behavior and campaign performance, enabling data-driven decisions. KPIs such as engagement rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, and return on ad spend measure the effectiveness of your social media efforts. For instance, you can view the gender balance and age group of your profile views and tailor your marketing strategies to appeal more to those demographics to boost sales.

Refine Your Brand Image

Your brand’s image is not just a logo – it’s a narrative that reflects your values and the unique essence that sets you apart. Small businesses can create a brand image that fosters a genuine connection with their clientele – a trait modern consumers genuinely value. Here’s how your brand logo and image can help attract more customers:

  • Create a compelling narrative that reflects your values and mission, and share this story on your website and social media.
  • Engage with your audience on social media platforms to showcase your brand’s personality and values.
  • Respond promptly to messages, share user-generated content, and create interactive posts to foster a two-way conversation.
  • Hosting Q&A sessions, live streams, and contests can also boost engagement and build your brand image.

Offer Discounts to New Customers

Offering discounts to new customers is a tried-and-true method to boost sales and attract a fresh audience. How often have you browsed an online store, and a window popped up offering a “20% discount on your first order”? Enticing, right?

Email discount promotionIt’s a win-win – customers save money on desired products while you enhance your customer base and generate buzz around your brand. More than 38% of shoppers admitted to spending more than they originally planned because they found a discount. So, here are a few strategies to implement discounts effectively:

  • Limited-Time Offers: Create a sense of urgency by offering discounts for a few days. This encourages quick decision-making and increases the likelihood of sales.
  • Percentage Discounts: Offer a percentage off on the total purchase price, a familiar and appreciated discount model.
  • Dollar-Value Discounts: Alternatively, you can offer a specific dollar amount off the purchase, such as “$10 off your first order.” This may seem like real money-saving to some customers.
  • Bundle Discounts: Encourage larger purchases by offering discounts on bundled items.

Include Referral Programs

If you’re looking to broaden your customer base by leveraging existing customers, referral programs are a potent method. The first step in creating an effective referral program is to offer attractive incentives. Make sure the rewards are compelling for both the referrer and the referee. For instance, Dropbox offers extra storage space for both the referrer and the referred, which has propelled the company’s user base growth by 60%.

Offer compelling incentives like discounts or store credits to both the referrer and referee to encourage participation. Promote the program on your social media channels, paid ads, and website to maximize visibility and participation. Referral programs can lower customer acquisition costs and build trust around your brand, as new customers often trust recommendations from individuals they know.

Build a Customer Loyalty Program

Creating a customer loyalty program is a strategic move to encourage repeat business and foster a committed customer base. Promoting your loyalty program across various channels – your website, social media, and in-store – increases its visibility and participation. Over 83% of customers say belonging to a loyalty program impacts their decision to buy again from a brand.

Here are some targeted loyalty programs to consider:

  • Paid Program: Customers pay a one-time or recurring fee to join and gain access to exclusive benefits. For example, Amazon Prime – a paid loyalty program – continues to thrive by offering a range of benefits, including free shipping, access to exclusive deals, and a vast library of movies and music.
  • Points System: Customers can earn points for purchases, which can be redeemed for awards. Sephora’s Beauty Insider program rewards customers with points for every dollar spent, which can be exchanged for a variety of products and beauty experiences.
  • Tiered Program: Based on the customer’s spending over time, different levels of rewards can be unlocked. For instance, Delta Air Lines’ SkyMiles program offers Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond tiers, each with increasing benefits like complimentary upgrades and priority boarding.
  • Partner Program: Collaborate with related businesses to provide all-inclusive offers. For example, the Walgreens Balance Rewards program partners with fitness apps to allow members to earn points for healthy activities, which can be redeemed for discounts.

Strengthen Your Website

A robust online presence can be highly beneficial for your business – it serves as a digital storefront, providing a platform for potential customers to interact with your brand.

Team discussing website designConsider these elements when designing your website:

  • User Experience: Ensure your website is easy to navigate, with a clean design and clear call-to-action buttons. Aesthetic appeal and user-friendly design impact first impressions and user engagement.
  • Design and Aesthetics: Make sure your design and images are as clear as possible and that your content is accessible to your target audience. High-quality images and a cohesive color scheme offer visual consistency to help make your website memorable and encourage visitors to engage with your content. 94% of first impressions are design-related.
  • Speed: Optimize your website to load quickly. Most users expect a webpage to load within two seconds. If there’s a delay, 79% of them are less likely to return.
  • SEO: Enhance your website’s SEO by researching and integrating relevant keywords, optimizing meta tags and descriptions, and producing quality content that addresses your audience’s search queries. Regularly update your site with fresh content and build a network of backlinks from reputable sites. A strong SEO strategy establishes your credibility and authority in your field, making customers more likely to trust and choose your business over competitors.
  • Content: Populate your website with a variety of content that reflects your services or products. This includes blog posts, case studies, podcasts featuring product demos, and customer testimonials that exhibit your industry knowledge and experience. This content provides evidence of the effectiveness and value of your products or services, which can influence purchase decisions.
  • Mobile Optimization: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, as a significant portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices. This involves a responsive design that adjusts smoothly to different screen sizes, ensuring that navigation menus, images, and content are easily viewable and accessible on smartphones and tablets.
  • Social Media Integration: Include links to your social media profiles and options to share content easily, fostering cross-platform engagement.
  • Contact Information: Make it easy for visitors to contact you by prominently displaying your contact information at the bottom of landing pages or including a simple contact form.

Measure Your Customer Acquisition Cost

Navigating the competitive business landscape requires more than just a keen eye on your revenue. To attract more customers to your business, you must have a deep understanding of the costs involved in winning over those customers.

The Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is a metric that calculates how much it costs you to acquire each new customer. The formula to measure the customer acquisition cost is straightforward:

CAC = Total Cost of Acquisition / Number of Customers Acquired

This means you divide the total cost spent on acquiring new customers (including marketing and advertising expenses) by the number of customers you gained within a particular period.

For example, if you spend $1,000 on marketing in a month and acquire 100 new customers, your CAC would be:

CAC = $1,000 / 100 = $10

This means it costs $10 to attract a new customer. Knowing this number can help you in various areas of finding new customers and increase sales. Here are some of them:

  • Budget Allocation: By assessing the CAC, business owners can identify which marketing channels are most cost-effective and allocate their budget accordingly. This helps in maximizing the reach and engagement with potential customers without overspending.
  • Efficiency Analysis: CAC provides a quantifiable measure of the efficiency of marketing efforts. By analyzing the cost incurred to acquire each customer, you can fine-tune your marketing strategies to improve effectiveness and come up with innovative ways to reach and attract more customers to your business.
  • Performance Benchmarking: Understanding CAC allows businesses to benchmark their performance against industry standards or competitors. This benchmarking can highlight areas of improvement and provide insights into attracting new customers to your store or restaurant business.
  • Customer Relationship Enhancement: A lower CAC may enable you to invest more in customer satisfaction and retention activities. Happy customers are more likely to refer others, creating a cycle of lower acquisition costs and higher customer growth.
  • Profitability Analysis: The CAC can also help you identify profitability by aligning with the customer lifetime value (CLV). A healthy business model requires that the CLV surpasses the investment made to attract them. For instance, if you’re spending $10 to acquire a customer, their purchases need to yield enough profit to cover this cost and contribute to your business’s overall profitability.

Sum Up

The journey of getting clients can be exciting, much like the buzz Dunkin’ and Charli D’Amelio created. Every tactic employed, whether it’s joining forces with influencers or harnessing social media, is a stepping stone toward growth. And here’s the kicker: in a bustling market, innovation and genuine connection with your audience are your trump cards.

So, with the range of strategies discussed ready to use, leap. And who knows? The next big marketing hit that gets everyone talking could be yours.

Ethan James   Lead Writer
Ethan James is an experienced Financial Writer at Lendza with over a decade of experience.