5 Easy Tweaks You Can Make to Consistently Land New Customers People visit your website looking for what you offer. Making them feel welcome is step one to earning loyal new customers.
By Kimanzi Constable Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The lifeblood of any business is new business. If you want your company to grow, you have to do a good job attracting new customers. Repeat business is great, but to get there, they first have to become customers.
Related: Marketing Math: What's a New Customer Really Worth?
There are some very simple things you could do that would consistently bring in new business, and that wouldn't cost your business an arm, and a leg. There's a big danger in depending on any one thing to support your business. Constant growth from many sources is the key to operating a healthy business.
1. Get more personal. Customers buy from who they know, like and trust. The legendary Peter Drucker said, "People buy with their hearts, not their minds." If a visitor to your website or place of business doesn't feel that personal connection, chances are they're not going to buy from you.
One of the most visited pages on any website is your "about'' page. While we certainly want to list our accomplishments, we don't want to make people feel like we're talking to them from a pedestal. If they get that feeling, they're probably already gone.
Most people will know your about page is written by you, so it will seem odd when you're talking about yourself in the third person. Comedian Eden Danger does a hilarious job proving this point on her about page.
Every company website is different but simple things like talking about the founders and their efforts to start the business are more interesting than a list of accomplishments. Get more personal. Start that process of getting people to know, like and trust you.
2. Simplify your website. You've seen websites that have so much going on that you just don't know what to do. People get frustrated and leave when there are too many options on your website.
According to HubSpot research, we only have 10 seconds to capture someone's attention when they visit our website. That means it has to be simple and clear about what you are encouraging a new visitor to do.
Simplify as much as possible. A great example of this is the wildly popular website Zen Habits, which Time magazine listed as one of the 25 best websites in 2010. The website boasts more than a million readers. Visitors love it's simplicity.
Related: Better Conversion Rates Depend on Better Website
Not every website can be as simple as Leo's, but chances are there are ways to simplify your website. That will create a better user experience for potential new customers.
3. Don't sell too hard. This is your business. Naturally, you want it to make money but in that desire to increase profits you risk coming off as pushy. The soft sell usually works best for closing a new customer.
Let the new customer know what your business offers, show them the results they will get and offer testimonials from people satisfied with what they bought from you. That information does all the selling for you without coming off as pushy.
4. Have enough testimonials. People want unbiased opinions whether what you are selling is worth buying, so testimonials and reviews are the first things they look at on your site.
Ask customers for honest feedback in the form of a testimonial or review. Display them proudly. New customers will feel more comfortable making that decision to buy.
5. Have a marketing plan. A business lives or dies by it's marketing efforts. You need a plan in place to consistently market your business to potential new customers.
There are many services that you can use today to automate a lot of your marketing efforts. Use automation to set up marketing campaigns for your business on social media and through email. These sequences run 24/7, which means you can make money while you sleep.
We live in an exciting time when the Internet and social media have created a huge marketplace for new businesses. Landing new customers is crucial to growing your business. These simple tips will help you do just that. Take advantage of social media and the Internet to find the new customers who are waiting for you.
