1. Leverage your existing customers.
The first thing you should do when determining how to expand your customer base is to reach out to your happiest customers and ask for reviews, testimonials and referrals. When someone is considering investing in a product or service, they’ll likely begin their search in one of two ways: asking a friend or performing a search online. If you can transform your best clients into brand advocates, you can make sure that whether someone asks a peer for a recommendation or begins comparing reviews online, your brand’s reputation will stand out ahead of your competitors.
2. Hire wisely.
To fuel growth and innovation, you need to make sure you’re hiring the best employees possible. While employees of small businesses often wear many hats, they also usually have a greater opportunity to make a direct impact than someone may have at a larger organization with several hundred or several thousand people. Take time to carefully review resumes and properly vet candidates to ensure you’re only hiring professionals who will provide lasting value to your company.
3. Grow your online footprint.
From prospective customers to potential new hires, everyone who interacts with your business will likely take time to review your online presence. From your website and social media accounts to your job postings, make sure you’re managing all aspects of your online presence and reputation. By making it easy for prospects to find the up-to-date information they need about your company online, the more professional your business will appear and the more likely people will want to purchase your product or service – or work for you.
4. Turn your employees into brand ambassadors.
Each of your employees has an opportunity to help you grow your business – not just by performing their job duties each day, but also by how they talk about the company outside of work. The happier your workforce, the more likely they will be to speak highly of your company and provide a high-quality customer service experience. Make sure you’re meeting your employees’ needs and striving to make your workplace somewhere people enjoy. Positive and fulfilled employees will not only attract more great talent, but they’ll also help engage new customers, too.
5. Find your niche.
One of the best ways to grow your business is to choose a niche and saturate that market. Look to your current customer base and identify commonalities among your best clients. If you’re on the B2B (business to business) side, consider whether the majority of your clients are from a specific region, industry or company size. If you’re on the B2C (business to consumer) side, look for trends in buyers’ demographics. Then, tailor your efforts directly to other potential customers that meet the same criteria.
Keep in mind that explosive growth doesn’t usually happen overnight. However, by using these strategies, you can begin making progress toward your goals, assemble a winning team and continue to achieve success.
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