Whether you’re offering a specialized service to local consumers, or a broader offer for remote clients around the globe, attracting paying customers can be challenging. This is particularly true if you’re a freelancer just starting out.
Communicate well
While it’s obvious that you must communicate with your customers-to-be, it’s not always easy to know what to say or how to say it.
- Be active on social media (but not all platforms)
New businesses often feel like they need to be on every social network, from Facebook and Instagram to TikTok and YouTube. This is usually not the case. First, as a small business or freelancer, there aren’t enough hours in the day to be omnipresent, and second, you need to work out whether your customers are even using these platforms.
You also need to consider the type of content you’re producing. Focus on bringing value into the life of your customers. People dislike those who only care about getting a sale out of them. Aim to improve your customer’s life and focus on addressing your customers needs.
People don’t care about your solution, it’s all about their relief. Act as a mentor with great expertise in your field of operation. If you are the point of contact for potential customers, they will also trust your judgment and solutions to their problems.
Post daily, whether you’re promoting something, spreading industry news, or sharing customer testimonials. Create a social media calendar so you know when important dates specific to your industry are happening or when a summer sale will start.
Respond to questions in a timely fashion. In this modern, always-on world, people expect answers to their inquiries, and the faster you can attend to their needs, the more positive their brand experience will be.
Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups can allow you to connect with truly interested people. It’s easy to spot new customers asking questions and offer them help and advice, giving a great impression of how you would be in business.
- Send relevant emails
Keep your leads in purchase-mode by following up via email or phone calls.
This is a great way to quickly convert them into a customer before too much time passes. All of the leads you generate should be contacted immediately and followed up with a couple of days later. You want to make sure they are as successful as possible with the product and all their questions are answered.
According to Statista, it is estimated that over 376.4 billion emails will be sent and received each day, and the number of global users will reach a total of 4.6 billion by 2025. In other words, email marketing is here to stay. So how do you stay relevant to potential customers in an overcrowded inbox?
One way to connect with your customers through email is to set up welcome auto-responders so that when they sign up to your mailing list, they will automatically be sent a message. You can personalize the message as they will likely have signed up with their name. It’s also an excellent opportunity to include a money-off promo code or alert them to any sales you have running.
Make them feel cared for. If your client fills out a form asking questions about your service, make sure that an automated reply is set up to tell them when they’re likely to get a response. This shows them you’re thinking about their needs and helps manage expectations.
Do your research. What do your customers want to learn about? Create educational emails to share new services, industry news, and content that will make them realize that you understand them and their needs. Before you hit send, read the email back. If you’re bored by it, your customers will be too.
- Conduct prospect surveys
A great place to start is with a prospect survey. Utilizing prospect surveys among target non-customers is beneficial before taking the plunge into a new demographic, geography, or industry.
They are also helpful in widening the net of people who are already a part of your target audience but have not converted to a paying customer or client.
Chances are your business has aspirations to expand its footprint and reach new customers as it grows. This doesn’t necessarily mean everyone wants to become a global leader in their industry, but they likely want to bring their goods and services to fresh faces at some point.
Don’t send a survey for the sake of it. Perhaps you want to know what features people expect to see or pricing. Once you have your reason, it’s easier to shape your questions.
Use multiple-choice surveys and give people a chance to answer open-ended questions. Let your potential customers ramble on about a great or terrible experience they had with other companies. You’ll get a much-needed glimpse into their feelings.
percent of a candy bar
Reward customers
People like to feel special, and rewards can help with that. Whether nibbling a chocolate sample in the supermarket or receiving a money-off coupon for that lawn mower you’re obsessing over, rewards make us light up and think more favorably about the company that’s giving them.
- Offer deals
Whether you’re offering a coupon, discount, or a free product, deals are a time-honored way to make people feel valued. Everything must be planned. How long are you running the deal for? Will it be a regular sale? Your offer should have a purpose, whether it’s shifting old stock or highlighting a new service.
Send out emails and schedule social media posts to alert everyone about your deal. Give them a warning, tell them when it’s started, and remind them when there are 24 hours left. You can’t expect them to stumble upon your sale without being told it exists.
If you don’t mention any time or date for your offer then it may create misconceptions among the visitors. They can imagine that the offer might be available for the next day or week. It opposes the main concept of Limited Time Offer.
In that case, you can trigger a sense of urgency by including strict deadlines in your campaign. In contrast, when you allow your audience time to think, they’ll delay in making a decision. And if this delay takes a long time they might not make a purchase at all!
A large British supermarket- Sainsbury used this principle to boost their sales. They announced a discount but also emphasized the ending date with bright colors. So, customers can feel the urgency to get a 33% discount, they have to buy soon.
- Provide helpful content
Positive experiences with your brand promote a deeper connection. One of the ways you can improve the impression potential clients have of your brand is to deliver valuable content they can digest.
Let’s imagine you’re a freelance cycling journalist. Sure, you may share screenshots of your best articles, but if your website offers recommended printable cycling routes through France, or monthly tire maintenance tips via email, you’re offering something extra that customers will love.
- Your audience will stick around longer.
Great content is an important asset. It has the ability to create positive experiences for your potential customers and compel them to come back for more. It’s your ticket to capturing your audience’s attention and continually reinforcing a positive brand impression. - You’ll have better traction on social media.
It’s one thing to increase your social media followers across channels, but it’s quite another to create trendy content. If you’re one of those businesses that doesn’t see much traction despite having a huge following, it’s time to use content marketing to your advantage. Quality content can help your business gain traction on social media.
Track the performance of your content campaigns using HubSpot’s analytics software.
- Your audience will trust you.
Creating content helps your business build a relationship with your audience. You can answer their questions and interact with customers. When you create value without taking anything in return, your audience is more likely to trust your advice and recommendations.
Ultimately, when your content shows up at the right place and at the right time with the right audience, it’ll improve your brand’s reputation. The more quality content customers see, the more likely they will have a positive association with your company.
- You’ll generate more and better leads.
Content marketing can also generate leads. When your audience views your content, they’re more likely to purchase from you in the future. Additionally, calls-to-action (CTA) placed directly in your content can generate new leads for your sales team.
So, how can content generate leads?
According to Lindsay Kolowich, the team manager of the HubSpot Academy Acquisition Content Team, “content is a great way to guide users to a landing page. Typically, you create content to provide visitors with useful, free information. You can include CTAs anywhere in your content — inline, bottom-of-post, in the hero, or even on the side panel. The more delighted a visitor is with your content, the more likely they are to click your call-to-action and move onto your landing page.”
- Original content can improve conversions.
The content you post influences conversions. It helps your audience connect with you and gives them the information needed to make educated purchases.
Even more, if you’re using blog content to bring in traffic, consider using original graphics rather than stock photos, as marketers report the former as least effective in helping them meet their goals.
Additionally, your content should always include a CTA and guide your reader on what they should do next.
- Start a loyalty program
Although they take some planning, loyalty programs are a great way to make a prospect feel special. They can help you increase sales and brand engagement — and are a valuable way to gain insight into your customers’ shopping habits. So, how do you get started?
When you think of a loyalty program, you may have a favorite. Try to think about why. Do you receive personalized offers? Are you offered early access to a new product? Is a freebie up for grabs when you’ve spent a certain amount?
A good customer loyalty program can generate significant gains in recurring revenue for your business by improving the return on your marketing and sales budget. Here are some facts: Keeping an existing customer costs up to five times less than winning a new one. It’s easier to persuade a customer who already knows you to buy again and/or buy more from you. 20% of customers are typically …
Cool hedgehog in dark glasses
Be authentic
If you want to charm a potential client, it’s crucial to be your true self. Stackla reports that 88% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support. Authenticity means trust — and trust improves loyalty and, in the future, advocacy.
- Build your brand
Branding can be powerful and sometimes last a lifetime. It’s a business identity and is achieved by research, developing a brand personality, and keeping your message consistent through your design, copy, and communication touch points.
You may be loyal to a particular brand of trainers or only buy a specific brand of coffee from a specific store. Why? Is it how the brand makes you feel, or does their way of thinking align with your way of thinking? Branding is how you present yourself, and a strong brand is a successful brand.
- Network
Connections are vital if you want to succeed in business. Whether that’s finding like-minded people who make you feel inspired or a shoulder to lean on when you feel stuck for ideas, networking helps you create business relationships and can improve your reputation in your industry.
The people you meet may have heard of your business — but meeting you in person may lead them to search online for your service and make that first purchase.
Conferences can seem overwhelming at first. Do research, and don’t be afraid to ask for help on Twitter or LinkedIn. People love to share advice if they’ve been attending them for many years. Look out for apps that include a list of attendees, and keep a note of businesses you want to speak with.
- Show social proof
We know that group influence is powerful. That’s why review sites like Trustpilot exist. Stories from other people matter to us — we want to feel accepted, so we do what everybody else does.
One of the ways you can do this is to share testimonials on your website. Show that your customers are real by using genuine photos. Case studies are long-form social proof and can help customers understand how other customers interact with your product.
What Is Social Proof?
Social proof is the idea that consumers will adapt their behavior according to what other people are doing. It makes sense, right? When we see a line of customers waiting to eat at a restaurant or a photo of a celebrity drinking a certain brand of coffee, it lends an air of gravitas and quality to the product, doesn’t it?
But there’s more to it than that. In fact, according to business coach Bailey Richert, there are as many as a dozen different types of social proof, with some logical overlap among them. Here’s how social proof can manifest itself:
- Expert’s Stamp of Approval
Expert social proof is when an industry thought leader or influencer approves of your product. This could take the form of them blogging, posting on social media, or being quoted or photographed as a product user. - Celebrity Endorsement
Celebrity social proof typically takes the form of a celebrity using a product and promoting it on social media or in public. This form of social proof is especially meaningful if the endorsement is unpaid. - User Testimonials
There’s a reason businesses create case studies about the successes their customers have had using their product: It’s a vote of confidence in the product’s value. All kinds of testimonials can have the same impact. Whether it’s a customer review on the business’s website, a review on a third-party website, a star-based rating, or a full-blown case study, this content creates positive feedback from actual users. - Business Credentials
While user testimonials can add value to a product, business credentials can add trust to the product. Businesses can promote credentials like how many customers it has, what well-known businesses are their customers, or the awards and certifications it has received. Sole proprietorships might even use their education or degree as a credential their customers should care about.
Go forth and get your customers
Hopefully, by now, you feel inspired and excited to get started turning your prospects into buyers. Above all, it’s about creating a positive brand experience that your customers-to-be will love. Remember to listen to them, whether that’s on social channels, feedback emails, and surveys. To listen is to understand!