As your business grows, you may find the target market you fit with shift or you simply may need more clients to feed your growing ambition. Recruiting clients that align themselves with your core values can be complicated. So, here are five ways to find new clients that you can build long-term relationships with.
From Existing Clients
If you have clients that keep coming back, ask what makes them stay. This is a great tactic to implement during a contract review or wrap up meeting. Not only will this be great information to target your pitch, but it will also help prepare your client to make referrals on your behalf.
Once they’ve answered, give your clients an incentive to refer other businesses that could utilize your services. It is important to have your incentive planned out in advance, and consider the needs of your client to choose one they would find valuable and useful. Word of mouth referrals are still the No. 1 most powerful recruiting tool available to your business.
In Your Local Newspaper
Have you developed a new process to meet your clients’ needs? Did you perform particularly well last quarter? Do you have an upcoming event you would like covered? There are many ways to get your business in the headlines. A well-written press release and a good working relationship with a local reporter are the two best tools to get your name out there.
The stories that are most likely to be picked up are ones that affect the surrounding community or your industry. Then a good reporter will make sure to get some information about your business and its strengths that will have readers considering your services.
At a Networking Event
Though industry-specific networking events are great for refining your business and creating opportunities for collaboration, more generalized networking events will get you in touch with business leaders with a variety of backgrounds and needs you may be able to fill. Know your target market and follow them to events tailored to their needs for optimal exposure.
In Your Analytics Report
Sometimes a prospective client will take the time to peruse your website for a considerable amount of time and never fill out a contact form with the intention of contacting you at a later date. By looking at your unique visitors, you can catch these opportunities before they slip through the cracks and use the data to give your sales team more information to eliminate cold calls.
On Social Media
Good social media is a dynamic conversation between your business and its publics. Get to know your target market and them and other accounts they would follow. Then you have the ability to interact with them by posing great questions and building relationships that are all encompassing. By interacting with brands they love, you will appear in their feed and give one more opportunity for exposures that lead to decisions.
Recruiting new clients is an active process that can look different for every business based on their services and target market. Choosing and refining a method to find new clients is often arduous and never ending. For more information on how to select the best clients for your business, contact one of our inbound marketing specialists.
