Of course, there should be more than 10 ways to find customers in Enugu. But we serve the following as basic for business owner-managers looking for tools to increase sales in 2022.
Happy New Year. Every analysis we saw pointed to a very tough year for businesses. Sure, there are businesses that will experience a boom in 2022. Afterall, it’s an election year; a lot of money will be pumped into the system. But the question remains: how many can get in on the act and attract some of the electioneering funds to their business ? Only a few, comparatively. For the others, there will be a struggle to improve on the bottom-line. Finding new customers is the key to the business . But the question is how do we attract new customers in this year 2022?
Here is our 10 best ways to find new customers in the Coal City.
Tip #1. Go online
If your business is not online it is safe to say that you are losing potential customers. Millions of people are online right now searching for things. They search for specific information. This could be what to buy, where to go, businesses to connect with. Running a brick and mortar business is akin to shutting down shop when more customers have come out to shop. There are two major ways to go online and find new customers if you do not want to waste your time updating content to a social media or website real estate – through search engines and local directories.
Tip #2. Register your business in Google.
The easiest way for people to find your business online is to register it with Google. By the way, Google is not the only search engine popular in Nigeria. The two others include Bing and Yahoo. We however recommend Google simply because more than 90% of those searching for things in Nigeria use the search engine. Registering with Google makes your product, service and organisation available to billions of people at the click of a button.
Tip #3. List business in local directories
A similar way to show up on Google search engine is to list your business in a local directory. The process for registering with Google can sometimes be cumbersome. For one thing, you have to wait for validation certificate from abroad. Using a local business directory is like killing two birds with a stone. People can find you on the directory. Similarly, search engines pick up your information and display it exactly the way the local directories packaged it. There a number of local directories in Enugu, including the Enugu Metro City Directory.
Tip #4. Customers are good for Referrals.
This is a time-tested way to get new customers. It involves asking your current customers to refer people to your business. It’s really a very simple and straight-forward process . But you have to ask only customers who are satisfied with your product or service. If you don’t ask, you don’t get more. It’s that simple.
Tip #5. Networking is an important tool.
If you manage a business, you really must be up and about meeting new people and cultivating relationships. That is social networking, a great way to strike friendships that result in more sales for your business. Note, however, that the best networkers are those who go about it with the mindset of looking for who to help. Not looking for who can help you. Chances are that if you provide some value for someone you meet at an event, you have a customer in that person.
Tip #6. Do promos and discounts.
You can attract new customers by running promos or offering discounts especially for businesses that want to offload their stock. This can be done using traditional marketing (billboards, flyers, and word-of-mouth) or through digital marketing. Many information websites now have options for retailers to advertise their goods, free of charge in some cases. The Enugu Metro Shopping Mart is a typical example of free classified advertising for Enugu businesses.
Tip #7. Partner with local businesses.
Have you heard of Enugu Metro Business Partnership programme? The programme brings together business owners from the same location to target each other’s customers. Members are automatically exposed to 326 new customers from the same neighborhood to buy from – and sell to. Chat with us to find out how the Enugu Metro Business Partnership programme works and how to join.
Tip #8. Exhibit your products and service.
Find opportunities in your neighborhood to sponsor meetings and events for an opportunity to showcase your products and services. Event organizers are always eager to tell advertising space in their brochures. The cheapest adverts can be found in church brochures. Depending on the church, your advert can reach tens of thousands through pass-on readership.
Tip #9. Be a good neighbor.
There are things that you can do to solve community problems and endear yourself to the community. These good deeds will gain you tremendous goodwill. And the goodwill will translate into new customers for the business. What sort of things? Find out things that have become challenges to the community and team up with other friends or businesses to solve them. Charity is one. Sponsorship of local events is another.
Tip #10. Join online communities:
Apart from the option of listing in google and local directories, there are four online tools that we recommended. These include your own website and digital marketing. Here is our recommendation and how to set about the task.
Conclusion
In business, as in every other business of living, only the fittest survive. These days, fitness is not enough; a business must be able to survey the environment and bring creativity and innovation into it to enjoy an advantage. It is the first step as you implement these 10 steps to find new customers in 2022.
