Launching a startup is a fashion trend that has continued to grow over the past years. Some people don’t like working in companies. They want to realize their skills and knowledge independently of big managers and famous brands. Someone succeeds in realizing a dream, and someone does not. For the successful development of a startup, it is necessary to take into account many factors and overcome new challenges and difficulties. One of the key criteria for development is the ability to attract and retain customers. How to do it correctly?
Why are new customers so important?
For experienced entrepreneurs, such a question may seem trivial. But for novice startups, this is not the case. Statistics show that many startups devote a lot of time to technical issues and project development, without paying due attention to customers. As a result, they have a unique, well-implemented idea, but no one uses it. What result awaits such a leader? Most likely, the failure and closure of the project.
What is the difference between the development of a startup and another business? A startup doesn’t have much time to enter the market and start making a profit. Otherwise, the probability of success is greatly reduced due to a lack of resources for functioning. Lack of funding is the main reason for the failures of most projects. It doesn’t matter how innovative a startup’s idea is. No customers, no profit. No profit – no resources for functioning and growth. These are important rules that every startup creator should know well!
Clients are important for any business, especially for a young project. It is very important to analyze the target audience at the planning level and develop a marketing strategy. It will also include issues of attracting and retaining customers. Is it difficult? Not if you do everything, right and use effective methods to attract customers!
Working methods of attracting new customers
A startup needs to attract new and retain regular customers. The work and development of the project depend on it. More new customers mean more resources, which means you can cope without attracting third–party financing! Let’s look at some effective methods that you should use when developing your business. We won’t consider banal recommendations about high-quality advertising and promotion on social networks. Let’s consider other effective methods of attracting customers. They do not require large resources.
Increase the level of communication and interaction with customers
Communication with customers plays a crucial role. The better you demonstrate the loyalty and usefulness of your service/product, the higher the chances that the customer will want to use it. In marketing, there are separate directions for proper communication with potential customers. Take the time, study the necessary material, and make up communication patterns. Be sure to use IT services to communicate with customers.
IT services are necessary not only for interaction with customers. With their help, for example, Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Trello, you can manage a project, optimize teamwork, automate workflows, and much more. Are you working in a single Slack workspace? You probably understand corporate platforms and use only the best solutions! Don’t forget about the advantages of a business phone! With the help of Twilio Slack, you will get everything you need to communicate and interact with customers. Process their requests, answer questions, conduct mass mailings, collect feedback, and much more! IT services provide a powerful boost for a startup!
Study the features of your competitors
Try to become their potential customers and develop several schemes of possible interaction. During the purchase process, learn ways to attract customers or techniques to work out objections. Highlight interesting ideas and try to use them taking into account the nuances of your startup. There is nothing wrong with using the strengths of competitors for your business.
Strengthen interaction with regular customers
Loyal customers not only make repeat purchases but also often bring other buyers (work colleagues, friends, or relatives). Strengthen contacts with regular customers by mailing useful materials. Offer them favorable discounts, develop loyalty programs and invite them to participate in profitable promotions. Try to stand out from the competition by offering new and cool offers!
Encourage distinguished employees
This event can be an effective way to increase motivation for those who work with clients. Show that you appreciate their work. Reward a distinguished employee to increase the motivation of others. This may be some bonus or a promotion. You can encourage an employee with additional days off. In general, there are many options for encouragement. The main thing is to highlight a distinguished team member and show that you see his work!
Develop a user-friendly application
The application is great for a new startup. You are unlikely to have the resources to develop your own application if you have just recently launched a project. However, you should keep this in mind. If you motivate the user to install the application, most likely, the client will constantly bring you profit. Everything is simple here. If a person has installed a program on a smartphone, he is going to use it. He becomes a regular customer. The user-friendly experience becomes an effective retention factor.
Use personal recommendations
Personalization is a great method for customer retention. Personal recommendations show the customer that the seller knows about his needs, which increases loyalty. You can generate personal recommendations automatically using IT services.
Constantly improve your service or product
Service improvement is a universal way to retain customers. If your service is constantly developing and acquiring new features, it becomes better, which increases user loyalty and encourages them to use your product.
