Most successful businesses thrive because of their large customer bases. The number of customers you have, to a large extent, determines your sales, Okechukwu Nnodim writes
Many small business owners find it tough to get customers who will patronise their services. There is no need to despair if you fall in this category. Analysts say the best thing to do is to learn how to generate new sales lead, as this is an essential skill for an entrepreneur.
They note that even if you don't consider yourself a salesperson, you need to understand that the possibilities for finding new customers range from cold calling names from the phone book to buying lists of potential customers. You can also use newer Internet techniques like search engine optimisation to drive new business to your website.
A Senior Resource Person, Lagos Business School and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Universal Anchor Limited, Mr. Sesan Awonoiki, says sales and marketing are the engines of entrepreneurship. According to him, if you are an entrepreneur, you must have those skills. He notes that having the skills is not enough, but you have to be an expert in the ability to sell and market your products, especially if they are intangibles. He says, "One of the most powerful attribute of a very good sales and marketing guru is the understanding of human psychology. You must understand the intricate functioning of the human. i.e. what is making them happy, sad or arousing their passion." Awonoiki notes that when you master human psychology, by default you master sales and marketing. This is because you must master the human behavioural pattern and what makes them do what they do, because selling is an art.
Meanwhile, experts say it is important to conduct market research to understand your target audience and their needs. Also, you need to know how to determine which lead generation techniques are best to broaden your sales horizons, and how to increase sales by following several strategies to sell additional products and/or services to existing customers. Below are simple tips on how to find more customers and boost sales, according to experts:
•Know your target customers
Professionals say before you can find new customers and increase sales, you need to understand who your customer is, what value proposition you offer to customers, and what your competition is currently offering in the market. You need to also know where there are gaps for a new entrant in your line of business. In other words, you need to do some market research, whether that means hiring an outside firm to do the legwork or trying to do it yourself. There's an underlying disconnect between your motivation to increase sales and your customer's motivation to solve their problems. These are things which you must know at first in your bid to increase sales and attract more customers to patronise your business. Experts say attracting more customers is really about listening to their needs, not being a solution looking for a problem. They explain that there are many existing problems out there that need to be solved which customers are willing to pay for nowadays.
•Identify your regular customers
Small business experts say this is important because it helps you in developing a marketing plan to reach new customers. When developing a marketing plan, you need to better understand who you are already selling to. When trying to expand sales, you have to find out who your existing customers are, what are their demographics, and what do they look like? Now to achieve this, it means you have to carry out market research.
Market research runs the gamut from very simple qualitative research to in-depth quantitative analysis. It can be done very quickly and inexpensively by sending surveys to your existing customers using one of the many online survey tools. But depending on the questions you are trying to answer and your research budget, your market research can involve more extensive interviews with customers and qualitative studies on how target customers feel about your business, its products and services. This will help your business a great deal when successfully implemented.
•Define the market for your services
To achieve this, you can use the information about your existing customers to develop a target audience for your business in its drive to win new customers and increase sales. Experts say while there are core customers you are trying to reach, often there are other markets that are also important to address. They note that you should make sure you know who the gatekeepers and influencers are, because they will affect the decision makers and you will most likely need to sell to them differently than to the end user. For example, parents might be the gatekeepers for products targeted to children or technology managers might hold influence over a company's decision to invest in new software.
You should determine which key messages, features and benefits matter to each potential market. Tell these customers how your business can help them solve their problems. In order to have a customer go to your online shop, you have to find a reason why these customers want to come to you, experts say. The value proposition has to be spelled out clearly before any customer will visit your online site. Next, you need to figure out where to reach these customers and whether there should be a marketing or advertising plan that goes along with that outreach. This is vital in business. We shall continue next week.
