A business without customers is, well, a sinking ship. Customers are the heart of a business, without which, income isn’t pumped in. But you need to market your product in order to establish a customer base.
Think of your favourite shop, your favourite entertainer, or your favourite restaurant. How did you find out about it/them? Was it a television advert, a picture in a magazine, or even the name above the outlet? Not to suggest that you immediately pay through the roof for a national television advert, but it gives you an idea of how important marketing is to reeling in the customers. When setting up your business or going self-employed, you will need to establish a customer base. You have already determined you target demographic, courtesy of your market research. Now you need to find them. The demographic you have highlighted will help you to determine how you will market your service. For example, your business is mobile hairdressing, and your market research has shown that students have expressed a particular interest in your affordable and accessible (let’s face it, time walking to the hairdresser’s is time not being spent at the pub) service.
Finding Customers
You therefore need to think about how to effectively reach a large group of students, making them aware of your business. Social media is an effective way of marketing your product, especially to the ‘Facebook generation’, and is also cost and time-effective. Advertising in university newsletters or magazine’s could provide a more expensive option, but have a wide circulation, and ensure your target market is being reached. The content of your marketing should focus on the benefits of your product, with your advert casting out the line, and the perks offered reeling in the customers. Don’t discard the value of direct marketing, as customers like to put a face to the business. Attending student fairs and exhibitions would therefore present an excellent opportunity to spread word of your product, and give an in-depth description of your service. Of course, your method of marketing will vary depending on your target market, however print media, online marketing, and business fairs provide wide-reaching marketing tools.
As for online marketing, designing a website can give your service an air of professionalism, whilst spreading word of your service with a visual accompaniment. You could even set-up an ecommerce service and sell your product online, which admittedly would be difficult for the above-mentioned hairdressing example, unless technology advances rapidly! The internet also enables you to email potential and existing customers regarding your product, along with details of any offers or deals you may be promoting.
Although marketing when starting up your business is essential as a way of finding immediate custom, continued marketing is vital to keeping your product at the forefront of the public’s attention. Whilst you should continually search for new customers, tightening your grasp on the market, you mustn’t forget existing clients, and offering loyalty incentives is an effective way of avoiding losing their custom to the competition.