How Do You Attract Customers

When I ask that question to most business owners, the most common replies are ‘word of mouth’ and ‘random inquiries’. Let’s break these 2 down.

First, ‘word of mouth’ is what we in the marketing world call ‘passive’ referrals. Those work like this. Let’s use a restaurant example, but this pertains to literally any business. 

After dining out and eating a meal, a restaurant will take your payment figuring you’re happy with your meal and their service, and they hope you’ll tell your friends. That’s a passive approach. Now, those who dined may or may not tell anyone. Life goes on, and the next day they don’t even remember that meal. So, there’s really nothing solid or consistent going on there.

And ‘random’ inquiries are a combination of things like, “they drove past our place and saw us; they were already shopping in the same plaza and walked in; they saw another ad for a similar product and did a search and you pop up; etc.”  There’s nothing strategic happening here.

So, what are you, the business owner, supposed to do? You know you deliver a great product or service. (If you don’t, you’ll need to start with that). You may believe that since you do such a great job with your deliverable, that the public will eventually hear about it and beat a path to your door.

For this article, I’m going to start at the beginning. And that is to ask you to tell me about your ideal customer. Who are they? What are they like? What is their average age? Are they typically married or single? What would you say is their economic status? Are they very comfortable financially, or do they feel the squeeze of things like inflation? Are they more concerned with saving money, or with getting the absolute best product or service, or both? What’s their pain point or major desire when they contact you?

Let’s start there. Here’s the crucial point. The better you know your customer, the more effective your marketing or advertising efforts will be. Knowing what your typical customer is like will help with your messaging. And I can’t overstate how important your ‘messaging’ is. What you say and how you say it can very powerfully attract your exact customer to you.

This is one of the first places I start with a client when we begin transforming your business. Whether we work one-on-one, or in a small group. Defining your perfect customer paves the way for ‘what’ you’ll say in your messaging.

This leads directly to the creation and uncovering of your business ‘dominating position’ in the marketplace. This is where we craft a powerful and compelling description of your business, that you’ll stand head and shoulders over your competition. You can end up being the clear and obvious choice for them.

The ‘dominating position’ is the absolute foundation of any business. And what’s amazing is that most businesses don’t have one, nor do they know what it is. Or what it could be.

Once you have yours, you’ll have the powerful message that goes everywhere you are: business cards, brochures, window signage, ads, articles, website, emails, letterhead, sales presentations, handouts…and so on. 

It’s what you’ll be known for or what you stand for. It’s what separates you from all the other choices the public has. This is a huge advantage. Other businesses are saying things like: quality, service, dependability. Well who says or implies they don’t have good service, quality or dependability? It’s laughable. Those are all just meaningless platitudes. 

Your messaging will speak ‘directly’ to what your ideal customer wants and needs. Advantage: YOU!