You’ve done it. You’ve fought odds, convinced people, made collaborations, and started your business. What you need now is a plan to win the first 100 customers for your business. Everything is centered around people. Understanding people means you understand what will ultimately sway and direct your business. Knowing their pain points, and understanding their needs as minutely as you can. Once you are able to reach out to people and acquire them in the right way, your business gains lead.
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8 Tips To Get Your First 100 Customers
Startup success depends heavily on validating customer and market needs first because every new customer serves as a doorway to another customer. Implement these tactics right away to give to generate your first 100 customers and takes your business that stepping stone to success. Your sales and marketing teams will greatly benefit from the below tips to acquire new customers.
- Address Pain Points
- Paid Ads
- Network Marketing With Your Existing Connections
- Provide Top-Notch Service To Your Initial Customers
- Social Media And Content
- Freebies And Discounts
- Influencer Marketing
- A Sales Team That Is On The Go
Address Pain Points
You need to define the problem that your target customers are posed with. Once they are sufficiently aware of it, you present your product to solve the problem. Identifying the pain points clarify to the customer the value of your product.
Paid Ads
A paid ad is the fastest way to direct traffic to your website. To get to the top ranking in Google means that you cannot solely rely on organic traffic. A paid ad gives you the top ranking in search engines and increases the chances of a viewer visiting your website.
These could be in the form of either search ads that rank when you browse after entering keywords, or display ads that you see as you scroll and browse through pages, based on your demographic data. The media space for these ads can be purchased not just on search engines but also on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The content on these ads should be optimized so that the value proposition is clear and direct which will definitely help you find potential customers.
Network Marketing With Your Existing Connections
The first step is to use your contacts to spread awareness about your products and get people to give you a try. Network marketing whether it is a personal or professional network is one of the best marketing strategies for small businesses that help to engage with potential clients. Make sure to use social media to reach out to all your contacts and market yourself. Target hangout groups, associations, and platforms where you can locate a chunk of your target clientele. Ask to be recommended in their circles.
Listen to Santosh Katti, Founder, and CEO, of Graphene AI on learning from objections when launching a new product.
Provide Top-Notch Service To Your Initial Customers
Make sure you serve your initial customers very well so that they recommend you to others. This is one of the most effective ways to generate leads. Good solutions and good customer service get you in their good books. Get their feedback and implement it, and use their data for your research and design for instant improvisation. Collect their testimonials for your brand authenticity.
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Social Media And Content
Content marketing is effective both in the long and short term. Relevant and concise content in the form of blog articles, creatives, infographics, and even product copy can be very effective in both catching attention and retaining interest. A perfect example would be Cred’s snarky video ads that scrollers and video watchers wouldn’t mind watching despite it being an advertisement. These types of results can be achieved with the help of a social media content calendar.
The important role that long-form content such as articles, videos, and podcasts play is to set the context which tells the audience about their pain points, the gaps, and the kind of solution that is necessary. This is useful and relevant to an audience, even if it does advertise one’s product.
Another very useful type of content to use for cold networking is email marketing. Emails and newsletters are effective ways of engaging with potential clients in a way that is not too intrusive. Email marketing over time with the right content can generate the right leads. This type of content marketing is a cocktail of infographics, headliners, product copy, testimonials, etc.
Engagement on social media is not merely about posting content across a company’s handles. The key word here is engaging. It’s important for social media account handlers to participate in relevant conversations and discussions on online communities such as Quora, Redditt, Medium, etc. Also, you should respond where you are tagged, and acknowledge comments and reactions to the content you post. This is the best way to establish one’s social media presence and win a reputation for being responsive and therefore more reliable.
Freebies And Discounts
Free trials, limited period discounts, and freebies are undoubtedly the foolproof ways to get your startup its first 100 customers on board. There is also the advantage of your website being circulated by those customers who may want their close circle to avail of these. You can combine a freebie or discount with signing up to take a survey or answer questions. This will provide data that is vital for your research, and also add to your database of contacts.
Influencer Marketing
Another aspect of social media marketing, and usually one of the fastest ways to generate leads, is to use an influencer. An influencer on social media has a large following and acts as your brand ambassador which helps to acquire new customers. They also enable you to have maximum reach for your product given their large following.
A Sales Team That Is On The Go
For a new business, having a mobile and active sales team is a must. The amount of trust that is built over a face-to-face conversation cannot be understated. They also help in nurturing leads to drive maximum sales conversion. Maintaining a professional relationship with clients has great advantages and may turn out to be a perpetual source of income.
Undoubtedly there are lots of tactics to generate your initial customers but by following these tips, you are sure to make a sizable impact on your goal to win your first 100 customers and simultaneously create a good base with which to further expand your growth and customer base. Do you know any other secret methods for winning and growing your business? If yes, tell us in the comments below!
