Have you been running your business for a while now, but are you still struggling to connect with customers? Then you’re not alone. Going from a startup to a profitable business has never been easy – and for many people, finding the right audience and catching their attention just doesn’t happen for the longest time.
Luckily, there are many things you can do to solve this problem. Below, we’ve gathered some of the areas in which businesses with low sales numbers typically lack – and how you improve them to establish a positive, lasting relationship with customers.
Is Your Product Meeting Their Needs?
First, try to troubleshoot your sales process from beginning to end – starting with the product or service itself. Is what you’re selling something people would realistically buy? If yes, are too many other businesses offering the same service, perhaps at a better price or in a higher quality? Is the demand there, but in a different demographic than what you’re aiming for?
Have consumers’ lives changed financially, socially, or otherwise since you started? Depending on the flaw, you might either need to rethink your product, how you’re selling it, or your target audience. It’s all about changing and adjusting to the needs of your potential customers.
Up Your Branding Game
If you have your product in an order, you might just be branding it wrong. Say, for instance, you’re selling comfortable, sustainable yoga clothing for women – but your logo and color scheme look cold and corporate, your business name is so ambiguous that it’s hard to decode what you’re selling, and you’re not using enough keywords in your copy to rank high on relevant Google searches.
In this case, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and rebrand. Determine your company’s values and go online to get ideas for startup names that encapsulate what you’re all about. For your visual identity, look for shapes, fonts, and colors that are commonly associated with your identity – and communicate in a language your target audience connects with.
Spread The Word: Give Your Marketing A Boost
When you’re offering a great product at a reasonable price, know exactly who should be interested in it, and have built a solid brand and identity – it’s most likely due to poor marketing if you’re failing to reach your audience anyway.
Even the greatest product or service is worth nothing if no one knows about it, which is why you need to invest in marketing tactics that have been proven to work. What those are of course depends on your target audience. For instance, smart, active social media marketing is key to reaching younger demographics – while older people might respond better to newspaper ads, free samples being handed out in their area, flyers, etc.
Give Customers An Exceptional Experience
Are you generally successful in getting people to visit your store or website, browse and maybe even make a few purchases – but have trouble converting them into returning customers? Then you need to take a look at the experience you’re offering.
If you’re running an online store, users distrust companies they feel trick them into clicking on things they don’t want to, hide fees during checkout, make it difficult to unsubscribe from newsletters, etc. When visiting stores, people won’t stay long if they find them cold and uninviting, feel uncomfortable using changing rooms, find the staff rude or prices aren’t clearly stated – and if potential clients feel pressured into committing before you’re even finished pitching your services, they’ll instinctively distrust you.
Create an enjoyable, honest experience for potential customers – and the chances of them returning will greatly increase