You’ve got your business, employees and cash flow all set up. You then start thinking where your next sale is coming from and how to get more customers.

This is a question that many small business owners have asked at some point on their journey. Sales are essential to business and without sales, you can be certain that you will fail. In order for your business to be successful, you have to find what works for making sales and boosts to revenue.

How to get more business

Most small businesses find it hard to sell their products and services on a tight budget. It is a challenge to increase sales and get more customers while keeping marketing and advertising dollars under control. So, how do you drive more sales to your business with little budget?

Below are a few low to zero cost ideas on how to get more customers and create more sales.

Existing customers

Existing customers should be your first port of call. Upselling is far easier with someone who is familiar with your business. Suggest more of your products or services and try to enhance your relationship. A simple bookkeeping software is key to this process. An easy system to track your existing customer’s purchases and feedback is essential. This will provide detailed insights into how you can provide better personalised products to sell to them and keep them happy.

Plus, increasing customer retention rates by as little as five per cent could actually increase your profit from 25 per cent to 95 per cent, according to Harvard Business Review.

A profitable database

A key to success in small business is accurate administration, documentation and record keeping. Any marketing or salesperson will tell you that it’s vital to record all potential customers or clients somewhere. Even if they are not interested in buying from you now, there is a high chance they will be in the future.

Implementing a good quality and easy to use customer relationship management (CRM), will save you hours of time and frustration when you are ready to boost sales because you will have a ready made database from people you come across or whose details are in your possession.

As the name suggests, this starts the relationship process early on and you can start building a rapport with that customer, well before they are ready to buy. So when they are, you are top of mind and will be a natural and logical choice.

You’ll also be able to free up some thinking power to focus on doing what you do best in your business, whether that is running it or taking a break to recharge and spend time with the family!

Customer feedback

There are few marketing devices more effective than feedback and reviews from past customers. If a potential customer sees that can solve a problem for someone else, there is a greater likelihood of conversion.

Using social proof via testimonials and reviews is a powerful way to market to new customers. At least eighty per cent of customers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.

‘Using social proof via testimonials and reviews is a powerful way to market to new customers.’

Social media

You can promote your products and services on social media, even if you have a small following online. Announcing your product offerings on social media is a great way to boost customer awareness and make sales. Customer testimonials can help spark interest in your offerings and are the perfect conversion tool you need to turn potential customers into paying customers.

Social media is a great way to disseminate interesting industry information and establish a clear line of communication between you and your customers.

Take a look at our tips on How to show your small business customers some love in the digital age.

Create product and service bundles

If your business provides more than one product or service, you can try bundling similar offers together. For example, if you are a hairdresser, you might like to package up a cut, colour and style as a separate offer with a small discount to encourage an upsell.

Research has shown that most customers equate a product or service bundle with savings; this makes it much easier to sell. Remember to keep your bundles as flexible as possible, potential customers may reject a bundle if they feel that most of the products or services it contains doesn’t apply to them.

Partner up

Your small business can establish connections with other complementary providers, so you can refer new business to one another. For example, an interior designer could benefit from establishing a relationship with plumbers, painters and builders.

We recommend that you don’t try to implement all of the above ideas at once, but instead pick one and focus on doing it well. Be sure to let us know which tip you chose and how effective it was at attracting customers to your business.

Not sure which business software you need? Get in touch today.