In case you have the product which people want, there is no need for you to spend the $100,000 marketing budget for acquiring customers. Wondering: How to acquire new customers? Don’t worry as there are plenty of ways of acquiring them without having to spend a single penny. In terms of running a successful business, nothing that is worthwhile will come conveniently, and all of us are aware of that. Needless to say, there are a limited number of resources in the new start-up. In case you have the employees, there are procedures for putting in place, salaries to pay, and development work for getting done etc. At times, the budget is not sufficient for covering the paid marketing campaigns on channels such as Facebook or Google search.
Have a look at the 8 proven ways for growing the customer base without having to spend a penny on your Marketing budget –
- Leveraging others’ audience – Leveraging another business owner’s audience and selecting a smart partnership can be a powerful and successful way to grow your own business. Also you have to keep in mind that you are the leader and you always have to take the smart move and identify some questions about the brand like, why do you wish to start the company? What makes you stand apart from others? and what type of audience you wish to target ?Etc.
For making sure to achieve success without the need for a Marketing budget, it is relevant for reaching out to the right people. And to reach out to the right people you should:
A) Promote your website by publishing content on guest blogging websites.
B)Engage with a large audience by participating in various events and building strong relationships and deliver a lot of value for audiences.
C)Get social and build a strong social media connection.
- Offer it for free – YouTubers, the famous forum users, Bloggers, and journalists in your niche all can be useful for the betterment of your business. These are the sorts of people you should look for since they have a closer relationship with their target audience. Also, they operate across a variety of channels. At times, giving the product away to the influencers in return for the permanent mention can be effective for your new business. Please note that they are not influencers with thousands of followers or visitors but these are the micro-influencers.
Furthermore, the metrics you utilize for determining whether somebody is the influencer will be different as per the firm. Always remember that micro-influencer marketing works perfectly when you can produce the echo chamber.
- Form partnerships – When it happens, 2 companies come together as well as produce a mutually beneficial relationship. One organization promotes the services and products in the return for the cut of the revenue. Or, they refer customers back and forth. This is up to you for determining how you wish to set up the channel partnership agents. As far as maintaining a good relationship with your customers is concerned, live chat outsourcingalso plays a significant role as they interact with clients and help them in removing any doubts about your company.
It depends on what types of services and products the company offers. Before you begin looking for the channel partners, give it a thought about what your company can offer as well as what you wish to gain. Have you signed up for any service as well as during onboarding flow, they suggest other products to check out? Those are often called preferred partners.
- Make the most of Guest Posting – You should make a few good friends in the market. Conferences, a few important LinkedIn connections, and meet-ups will assist you in that direction. Also, you can ask good friends in the market for hosting one of the articles on their blog. In exchange, they can write the guest post for the blog of your company and earn the backlink. Through backlinks, you can enhance a source’s authority since they display that it is being trusted by the external contributors and writers as well.
There is no denying the fact that for effective Customer acquisition, besides being brilliant at networking, you should also be good when it comes to content creation. These types of programs guide digital marketers in terms of link building and influencer outreach. So in case you have not already, you must jump-start the guest posting right now. Do not forget that each blog post which you publish, attempt to look for 2, 7, or 10 people who will backlink to the blog.
- Begin with who you know – You would be surprised at how the network of your company can extend and Customer acquisition can take place once you put yourself out there. To start, ensure the fact that your friends and family know about your business. Be direct and open, tell them that you are searching for new clients and inquire if they know about anybody who might be a great fit for the services of your company.
For instance, your uncle might not be the ideal customer, however, there is a high probability that his hairstylist or accountant knows somebody who is. You will never know until you ask them and that is why you must not skip this important and obvious step. Always remember that, at times, your family members and friends wish to guide you however just do not know how to begin with. So, ensure the fact that you have a nice LinkedIn profile or website they can conveniently point the people to, or you can also leave some additional business cards for them to give in case of any opportunity.
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- Be active in niche communities – To make sure that your company offers exceptional Customer service, you have to be on your toes all the time. Regarding the same, there is a community for about any nice possible. Furthermore, niche communities can be a perfect way of building lasting relations, establishing authority, creating advocates while utilized properly, and finding your first customers.
There are some common places where you can find average niche communities like,
- Reddit – There is a Subreddit for about anything, however, it is notoriously tough for marketing yourself. In case you have decided to try, make it a point to understand what type of content is downvoted and what type of content is appreciated as well as hang out for some time to know rules.
- Quora – It has a topic for most of the niches. Make sure to optimize the profile of your company.
7. Write comments below your articles – This might not be a sustainable and scalable way of growing your company, however, it is a good way for keeping your firm on top of the mind of people. Do not forget to choose the original piece of feedback each time, make sure to not write 1-word comments as these look forced and spammy. Rather, taking out time for crafting the comment which is spot-on as well as gathers upvotes and approval by the other users is the best option to climb up the ladder of effective Customer service.
Look for bloggers, influencers, and relevant blogs as well as leave the comments below their most impressive articles. Set up the account as well as switch the profile image for your business logo or the very characteristic image of yours. Go through some articles, as well as utilize the right tool to view which ranks higher as well as leave a few positive feedback or share some of the thoughts.
8. Target the right customer segment – Join the right LinkedIn and Facebook groups as per your target customer segment. Whether your company serves cooking enthusiasts, brides-to-be, local entrepreneurs, or outdoorsy types, ask yourself, “what are your customers’ interests, as well as which online groups could they be part of?”And “where do they hang out online most of the time?” Look for those LinkedIn and Facebook groups that are built around the interests of your target customer segment, as well as make sure that they are a good fit for both your company offerings as well as your personality.
While joining the group, take out some time for gauging its overall atmosphere and activity level, how are the people conversing with each other? Once you are done with a bit of observing, introduce yourself as well as what you do for the living. Regularly check in with your group for responding to the requests of people for recommendations, help, and advice, specifically in case they are around your expertise area.
Conclusion:
Turn the marketing game around along with a lot of creativity as well as without the budget. Follow the above-mentioned tips to the Target customer and achieve effective customer service for increasing effectiveness. Put in a bit of extra work for getting things moving, while keeping the budget is intact.
