The number of challenges facing businesses are vast and varied. And the nature of these challenges continues to shift in line with societal changes and the evolving needs of the consumer. But there is one obstacle that will remain a constant – the need to attract new customers in order to survive.

Data from the House of Commons Library reveals there were 316,000 business deaths in 2020 – 11% of all active companies. So, how can you avoid becoming another statistic? Well, customer acquisition is a major step towards success. As well as increasing revenue, it can improve brand awareness and help to maintain your business when you experience more difficult periods.

All of which is a positive, but what practical steps can you take to grow your customer base? Here are a few tried and tested strategies.

Use Data To Shape Your Approach

In order to attract new customers, it helps to understand the ones you already have. That’s where data can play a huge role. It gives you an invaluable insight into your audience’s habits, including whether they visit your site through their desktop, mobile or another device.

It can also give you an idea of their demographic and location, which enables you to spot trends. Armed with this information, you can target more of the same type of audience as well as adapt your strategy to focus on areas where you’re missing opportunities.

Don’t Neglect Store Design And Experience

You only get one chance to make a first impression and most prospective customers will make a quick decision on whether to purchase when they see your website.

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So, it’s absolutely vital that you invest the appropriate time and resources into ensuring your site works smoothly and delivers a seamless shopping experience. It may be that you don’t possess the in-house capabilities to do this, in which case it is worth consulting those who specialize in eCommerce website design, development, integration and UX.

Invest In SEO

You might be offering a market-leading product but if nobody knows about it then you are unlikely to survive for long. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial marketing tool that can help to boost your visibility with the aim of ranking your pages among the top 10 results on search engines like Google.

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There are a number of factors that contribute to this – such as optimizing your content for key words and phrases related to your products, improving the technical structure of your site and building backlinks from other sites with high domain authority.

Harness The Power Of Social Media

The rise and continued popularity of platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok means there are huge opportunities to tap into a wider audience – especially the younger generation. They could represent the long-term future of your customer base, so it’s absolutely vital that you can reach them via mediums that they use multiple times a day.

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This was highlighted recently at Leeds Digital Festival, an event hosted by IDHL where Director of eCommerce Strategy Dan Conboy led a panel of experts to share their knowledge and insights. The panel included Paul Rogers, founder of Vervaunt, who discussed the emergence of TikTok in the fashion space plus Snapchat’s surging popularity in the Middle East.

Introduce Referral Programmes

One of the most effective tools in your arsenal is your existing customer base. After all, who better to extol the virtues of your company than those who regularly consume its products or services? If they enjoy a positive experience, they’re more likely to recommend your brand to a friend or family member.

All of which is good news, but why not incentivize them to do so? This could be in the form of a referral programme, where they receive rewards for any new customers they introduce to your business.

Include Product Reviews And FAQs

The average consumer wants to know more about the product before they commit to a purchase. So, you should aim to provide them with as much information as possible. A good example of this includes reviews, which offers an independent opinion and helps buyers make up their mind.

And you should think about what questions they are likely to ask. Have you answered them on your page? If not, a dedicated FAQ section can act as a valuable source of info and put their mind at ease.

Wondering how many new businesses started in 2021 & 2022? (Statistics)? read out our article about it to know more. Goodluck!