Mia Johnstone, Business Advisor at the Small Business Development Center Shares Tips on How to Increase Your Customer Reach

One of the bigger challenges for small business is how to increase their customer base without outputting a lot of resources. We all want to increase business with the smallest budget possible. Low and behold, we have a bounty of resources to get the word out when we are tight on dollars. With just an investment of time, you have so many ways to reach your target audience to build and reinforce those customer relationships.

Here are great marketing starting points that I review with clients who want to build their audience:

  1. Does your business pop up in a Google search? This is the most basic function where most people start when looking for services and goods. You do not need a website to be found on Google either. Not everyone has a lot of time to go after reviews. If you have an email list of even the last 10 customers you served, ask them to post a review. Being listed on Google is good. But having reviews is even better.

  2. Is your ideal customer on social media? Would they be hanging out on FB, Instagram or even SnapChat? Are you on any of these platforms? If you have no social media strategy, I usually suggest choosing the social media outlet that most of your customers use. Don’t start broad. Start small. If you can choose one platform and post consistently, this will serve better in the long term.

  3. Have you ever done a social media video or a FB Live? Video is extraordinary. It is such a fantastic way to share about you and your business. There are strategies to help make this an easier process. For instance, keep the video 1-2 minutes long, use good lighting (window), and write out the script if it’s your first time. And of course, practice. 10 years ago, most every business I know would have been vying for the video and audience we know have access to. People would have paid $1000s for the service. And now, it’s free (practically) and so readily available that we usually don’t capitalize on it.

  4. Email. Do you have Mailchimp, Constant Contact or a similar service? Email is noted as the #1 marketing tool by top entrepreneurs. It is the cheapest and most effective way to reach your current and prospective customers. Unlinke social media, you have way more control with your email list.

Even more, email is such a fantastic way to reach out to your customer base. A lot of business owners are afraid of being spammy. My response usually is, “Then don’t be spammy.” Write something useful or thoughtful for your audience. Most everyone loves a story. Talk about you and how you started off in business. Mix it up so it’s not just about your product and offerings.

Needing help with marketing? Want to create a plan you can work on? We can help. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) offers no cost business advising. We can help you understand your business cash flow, assist with acquiring business loans, aid with marketing and much more.

“Mia Johnstone came in and completely changed our marketing world view from marching into the fog to a sensible plan that we can take action on. It feels like we’ve been reenergized and see a viable path that is going to help us take our business to the next level.”

– An SBDC client

Mia Johnstone, Business Advisor, can be reached at mia.johnstone@wsbdc.org 360-538-2530. Her office is located at Grays Harbor College.