There’s no secret to attracting and keeping new clients and customers. Here are eight key reminders to kick-start your new-business program!In a complex, connected world where your small-business competitors are proliferating with the speed of the Internet, you can’t afford not to pay better and closer attention to your customer base.And you can’t spend so much time and effort on getting much-needed new business in new niches and new markets, that you allow the loyal customers you already have to languish — and possibly drift away — for lack of your apt
attention.Because time is money, and money fuels your business, here are eight, quick reminders about how best to get more business for your small company … and how you can hang on to the business you’ve got:1. Keep in mind that the competition is super-tough and getting tougher.Researchers say there are at least 60 competitors for each sale made every day in any given business situation. Do you know who’s got their eyes on your customers? Know your competition, and keep updating that knowledge base regularly. 2. Targeting is a good way to fight the competition.Know what makes your company and your products (or services) stand out from the crowd, and zero in on those sales points. In a nutshell, that’s the secret of brand marketing. Find the niche message that appeals to your customers, and sell that “brand business” to your prospects.3. Avoid the Silicon Valley syndrome.Don’t fall for the media-hyped myth that technology is the answer to all your problems. There’s four times as much business in applications of existing technology to traditional products and services, than there is to applications of hyper-new technologies. You don’t have to be first on the block to try something new. 4. Emphasize the small and entrepreneurial.Bigger isn’t usually better. Most new business in this country is generated by small, new companies, so let them know you appreciate their business, however small it may be initially, and that you share their entrepreneurship values. 5. Retention is as important as attraction.
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