Customer acquisition is among the biggest challenges faced by businesses irrespective of industry or geography. Customers are often lured towards anything that’s new, more convenient or recommended by family or friends. It takes a lot of effort, patience, and foresight to create a loyal customer base.
Here are 5 things you can do on your own, to acquire more customers and drive repeat purchases.
1. Reach out to your customers for reviews
Anyone who searches for businesses on Google would agree that reviews are one of the most important influencers in online decision making. Reviews not only facilitate word of mouth marketing by providing credibility to your business, they also used as an important ranking factor by Google, thus helping your business rank higher in search results.
Let’s take an example. When you Google top restaurants in the US, Google searched and picked up the top restaurants in Google rating. You can see the star rating of each restaurant. The top-rated restaurant Alinea has 939 Google reviews
On the other hand, while Highlands Bar & Grill has 305 Google reviews and Benu has 246 Google reviews.
2. Get your customers email ids
Capture user emails lead to increase conversions. Once a customer subscribes, nurture the relationship by providing useful and valuable content that will influence customers to seek more information, thereby driving conversions. One should also note that once the customer gets converted, email marketing can be used in the form of newsletters to drive repeat purchases and increase customer loyalty.
An interesting thing to note is that emails allow businesses to take advantage of geo-targeting. Businesses can share relevant content specific to the location of the subscribers. Getting the customer’s email address will also increase your brand awareness when your customers share your brand across different social media accounts, getting new customers, in return.
3. Claim and complete your business listing on Google
Business listings are an excellent way to promote your business globally. A business listing acts as an advertisement for your business. There are several search engines where one can update the business listing like Google, Bing, Yahoo and local directories like Yellow Pages, BBB, Yelp which promote the visibility of local businesses.
A business listing expands online visibility. Listings deliver your business information to search engines and increase the chances of improving the ranking of your business in search results. They also help to drive traffic to your website.
4. Ensure your business is accurately listed on the major directories
A business listing should be as accurate as possible. A slight mistake might lead to losing a potential lead. There are details which should never be mentioned inaccurately on the business listing.
- Missing hours of operation – In a study conducted by the data aggregator, Localeze, hours of operations were noted as the most helpful feature in the listing. Imagine a potential customer walking up to your store on a day, only to find it closed.
- Incorrect Address – A wrong street address or a town means a customer will not be able to find you. A business address should be USPS verified. If the business is not verifiable by the USPS, the business owner should contact USPS and get it verified and added to their online database.
- Mobile Friendliness – According to Localeze, nearly 75% of the searches are initiated from mobile devices. Hence the listing should be created in a way that is supported by mobile phones and tablets.
- Business Website – Website should be accurate and should be linked to the business listing.
5. Engage with your customers on Google My Business
Customers search online to seek specific information like directions, photos, business comparison, etc. Google My Business is an easy and effective way to reach out to your customers. Choose to read and respond directly on the reviews posted by your customers. Draw more customers with photos of your products; Answer messages and questions; Convey what makes you unique and keep your profile updated so new customers can find you.
We hope this post will help you to gain and retain new customers. Follow these effective techniques to bolster your brand and to get an edge over the competition. If you have any questions at all or if you want to know more about our services, click here.
Do you have any other ideas for improving customer engagement and retention? Post your comments below and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
