How Startups Can Increase their Online Customer Base?
With the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, businesses have begun to understand the need and importance of having a strong online presence. While it is easier for established business organizations, startups often have meager budgets when it comes to marketing their products. The internet provides them with a cost efficient medium to advertise their products and engage with prospective customers. Let’s have a look at some of the ways through which startups can gain more customers online.
Build and Manage an Online Presence
The internet has proved to be a powerful medium which allows businesses, especially new ones, to be more accessible to customers. According to a report published by Bain and Company, online customer engagement can lead to 20% to 40% increase in sales. Besides having a user friendly and attractive website, businesses need to have a prominent presence on different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Choosing a medium largely depends on the kind of products or services a company is providing. With the right kind of content on the company website and social media pages, startups can attract and engage prospective customers in order to grow the company. Businesses can use different online mediums to identify the needs of their customers by interacting with them.
Be Creative in Engaging with Followers
Different customers prefer to be engaged in different ways. An understanding of the needs of the customers is important while interacting with them. For example, speaking formally to a person who is more inclined to have a casual chat would make for an uncomfortable conversation.
Social media is a great way to reach customers and prospective clients so it is essential to create engaging and interesting content for them. A study revealed that positive experiences on social media can make it 3 times more likely that people would recommend that brand. Create hype about the products/services you offer by creating online campaigns, quizzes, promotions, discount sales, etc. People like to win prizes and creating scenarios where such a feat is possible will certainly increase engagement.
Get in Touch with Customers through Live Chat
Live chat is a popular tool which allows companies to talk to existing and new customers online. Providing live chat service on the business website or Facebook page can be extremely beneficial as it can help the company in building a strong relationship with customers. When a customer visits a website, it is usually to get information and if there is a representative waiting to assist him/her the customer would leave happy and satisfied. Live chat can help businesses evaluate the needs and expectations of its customers by conversing with them.
Offer Rewards and Incentives
Even though startups cannot afford to give away expensive prizes, they can still make their customers feel valued by offering free samples, business merchandise, discount coupons, etc. Rewards have always been popular, especially when it comes to boosting sales. People would eventually invest in a product they like so the rewards system ultimately benefits the business. You can also incentivize your current customers by offering them discounts on your products for every new customer that they bring in. You can run an online campaign on your website or social media page stating the ‘customer of the month’ and give free samples or loyalty card to him/her. Surprise you customers regularly, take notice of people who comment the most, participate actively in campaigns, are always willing to give suggestions and reward them.