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By Rayanne Morriss

Growing your business takes some time and a lot of effort. You have to be intentional about growing your business. There are many steps that you can take to expand the reach of your business to get more customers. It does not have to be time-consuming nor complicated.

Identifying your customers

You will want to identify who the ideal customer for your business is. This will help you to understand how to market your business. Specifying your target market can help you to create a marketing strategy that reaches them. When your business grows, you may find that your target market changes. Just remember this, and it will help you to change to your growing business.

Online rating and review sites

You will want to make sure that you are using online review and rating sites for your business. Many customers will look online for reviews of your business. If they cannot find them, they will be less likely to purchase from your business. It is easy to get started on online reviews. You can do this by asking your customers in person, or sending out an email. You can also post a sign in your business asking your customers to review you online. A good idea is to take some of these reviews and add them directly to your website. That lets a potential customer see how happy an existing customer is with your product or work.

Creating a successful marketing strategy

Marketing your business is highly important. Coming up with a detailed marketing strategy is important for any business. Writing down this plan will help to keep you on track and organized. For your marketing strategy, you will want to create a budget. You will want to allocate enough to reach your target market. You should include in your plan, things like SEO marketing, internet marketing, and more. If you need help with your SEO, you can always get SEO services from a reputable company that specializes in search engine optimization. Since this field has changed some over the years, it can be hard to determine what works best. A company that specializes in this form of marketing can help you greatly.

Building partnerships

A good idea to help you to gain more customers is to find a business that is in a complementary field to yours and then offer to promote them in exchange for promoting you. This will help you to attract customers that may not know about your business. It is a good idea to find a business that has a similar target market to yours. Make sure that the partnership is mutually beneficial, and allows you to build a great relationship. It is also a good idea to get a lawyer to make sure that your partnership is legal and binding.

Participating in community events

As a business, you will want to do all that you can to reach your local customer base. Going to local community events is a great way to reach people. For example, if there is a local festival, you can set up at that festival to reach customers. You will want to have plenty of promotional material about your business out like business cards and flyers. The more people see you involved with your community, the more likely they will be to support your business. Remember, to take things slow and be honest about your business. Never be pushy as this can drive customers away. To find local events in your area, contact your local Chamber of Commerce.

Giving out swag

Everyone loves getting free things, and if you offer some business swag, it will help your business. Doing things like giving away free magnets, pencils, pens, little flashlights, or a notepad to your customers can help them to reach other customers. For example, if one of your customers takes home a magnet, a family member may come over and see it. If they need your product or services, they will now have your contact information. You can also consider giving out free swag at other locations. For example, if you go to a community event, consider putting out free pencils or magazines.

Conclusion

Increasing your customer base will help you increase sales and customer loyalty. Consider doing a few or all of the tips above to help your business grow.

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Rayanne Morriss is currently working towards her BA from Oregon State University. She loves to write, read, travel, and paint. She enjoys finding new coffee shops with friends and expanding her cooking skills with her husband.