If there’s one thing that’s pretty much constantly on the mind of the vast majority of business owners, it’s bringing in new customers. Bringing in new customers is the thing that makes the difference between a business that is just about getting by and one that is constantly growing, developing and improving. But it can be difficult to know how to bring in new customers. Sure, there are plenty of marketing methods that can attract people to your business, but, for smaller businesses, it can reach the point where it feels like you’ve found all of the customers that there are to find. That’s when it’s time to start thinking about opening a new location. By taking your business to a new place then you open yourself up to previously untapped markets. A new location is one of the most effective ways of introducing your business to new customers and helping your business grow naturally. Here are just a few of the ways in which you can use a new location to attract new customers.
The wonderful thing about a new location is that it often means that you’ll be in a position to reach new and different demographics that you might not previously have had access to. A particular location is going to be tied to the town or city that it’s in. Because of that, it’s going to be tied to the kinds of people that spend their time in that place. By expanding to new places then your business is going to get the chance to interact with different types of people, increasing the number of demographics that it can connect with.
Become a part of the cityscape
People often connect with businesses in the towns and cities that they live because they become a part of the landscape around them. When you think of your hometown, you probably imagine many of the shops and businesses that line the streets. Because of this, you should make sure that your new location is a striking as possible. You might even want to hire a commercial construction company to make adjustments, or even build it from scratch so that it can really stand out. As long as it’s not a total eyesore, it’s likely that your new location will quickly become an integral part of whatever town or city it’s in.
Opening a new location is an exciting time, so you should try to spread that excitement to as many people around you as possible. Unlike starting a business from scratch, a new location comes with the built-in awareness from existing customers which will help generate even more buzz. Lean into this and use your existing location as marketing central. Let customers know that there’s a new location opening. Those who know people in whatever town or city the new location is going to be are very likely to let them know about it. Use the existing customer base that you have to drive awareness for your new location. And, of course, you can use your new location to create buzz for the original one as well.
If you’re running a store, then you should already know just how important a good base of regulars is. Without regulars, you’re constantly trying to find new ways to appeal to a target market that you don’t fully understand. Whereas with regulars, you get to learn their interests and wants a lot quicker, meaning you can shape the business better to fit the target market. But how do you make those regulars?
The one theme that’s going to run through all these points is emotional engagement. It might seem like a very small part of their day, but how customers are treated when they set foot inside your store is going to linger on their minds for quite some time. Teaching proper manners to your staff and how to handle customers is a start. But it’s even better with some genuine feeling about it. Create a positive work environment and treat your staff better if you want customers treated better. Even better, foster an idea of familiarity and building professional bonds. If staff remember customers and engage in conversation, it creates a positive social experience around the transaction.
Capitalize on impulse
Give people more reasons to stop by and you’re going to be making a lot more money. There are a lot of reasons people might stop in a store even if it’s not what you primarily provide. For instance, with machines from Honest Coffees, they might stop on their daily commute to get their morning coffee. If you have an ATM in the store, they might stop to use it. If you do scratch cards, they might stop for that. All these points give them more reason to stop by and while they’re doing that, you can capitalize on some impulse buys.
Create some incentive
You can get them to be more mindful about repeat shopping as well. The best way to do that is by creating a loyalty scheme. Offering discounts, exclusive deals, or even entries into a raffle or similar competitions can all be used as an incentive to convince people to keep coming back.
Be part of the community
People like supporting businesses in the community. If you hire mainly from the community you’re surrounded by, it’s a good way to start building those bridges. But you should look at partnerships you can make outside the business as well. Partner up with local businesses, for instance. Or you can go a step beyond and engage in some cause marketing. People care more and more about corporate social responsibility. If your business pairs up with a charity, it gives people even more reason to support the business. It creates emotional value to go along with the practical value of buying from you.
It’s simple. You have to keep giving people reasons to come back. The reasons should be emotional just as often as they should be rational. People shop at a place once because it’s a good decision. They keep shopping there because they have an attachment. Put that to practice.
An increasing number of people look at farming from a rather romantic viewpoint. There is something about working with the earth that is incredibly appealing in these modern, gadget-oriented times, even when you consider the hard toil involved.
But for anyone wanting to embrace a rural lifestyle and start a farming business, there are a few important things to understand first. The world, most definitely, needs you – but there is a long road ahead if you want to achieve success in agriculture. Here are some golden rules for getting started in the farming industry.
A lot of farms end up disappearing from existence because they are financed by debt. Borrowing money to start a business requires a steady income, as you have to pay the money back at regular intervals.
The trouble for newcomers to the farming industry is that it can take a long time to develop the experience you need to turn over regular profit. Focus on improving your experience as much as possible, and then borrow money – doing it the other way around is more likely to result in disaster.
Sure, there is a lot of capital involved in farming, and the cost of machinery and equipment such as tractors and industrial conveyors will set you back a significant amount of money. But if you take things slowly, invest when you have saved, and look to steady growth rather than explosive expansion, you will be much better placed to enjoy a thriving business for many years to come.
Never start a farm for the simple reason that you like the idea of milking cows or growing corn. There has to be a good reason for growing or raising those crops and livestock – it needs a place in the market.
You need to work out who is going to buy your produce, where you are going to sell it, and how you are going to offer an attractive price. Plus, of course, you will need to find a way of transporting your produce to your customers. And all this needs to be completed before you plant a single seed or visit a cattle sale.
It doesn’t matter whether you are considering a niche market or a huge, mainstream operation targeting the nation’s biggest grocery stores, you need a market -and the sales channels – to make sure your business has a future.
Everyone makes mistakes, but you shouldn’t fear failure. In fact, you should be embracing it in whatever you do in life, regardless of whatever industry you are working in.
For the farming industry, it’s important to remember that failure is inevitable. And not only that, it is incredibly important in the process of building up a successful and thriving agricultural lifestyle.
You can’t rely on the weather to remain clement enough to provide good crops every season. You can’t expect your livestock to go through cycle after cycle without contracting nasty, infectious diseases. And you never know when a plague of locusts or any other pest will turn up on your doorstep and destroy everything you have.
What failure can do, however, is teach you valuable lessons, make you think about where you have gone wrong, and ensure you never make the same mistake again.
Recent Comments