A common challenge I’ve seen over the past decade working with business owners is that you’re not getting customers.
Maybe you’ve been in business for many years already. Or perhaps you’re just starting out.
Perhaps things had been going great and now you’ve hit a snag. Or maybe you’ve been struggling since day one.
In any case, if you’re not getting customers, then you’re not making money. And if you’re not making money, your business isn’t going to survive.
But this, like most problems, has a solution!
Let’s first figure out why you’re not getting customers.
1. you’re trying to be in business for EVERYONE
You might be struggling with attracting customers because you are trying to appeal to everyone. As a result, you end up diluting your message.
It might sound like you are not solving any specific problem but instead trying to do a number of things. You are seen as a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none.
Your message therefore doesn’t reach your target audience and they will not take the desired action.
You absolutely cannot be in business for everyone.
With a clear understanding of your market and who your target audience is, you can begin working on how best to reach them.
This could mean a number of things. It might be understanding what channels to use to reach them or what language resonates best with them.
2. your solution might not fit the market
It might be that the solution you’re providing isn’t the right fit for the problem your customers are facing.
Examine the problem your customers are facing and compare that to the solution you are providing. This is also known as the Product-Market fit.
Are you providing a product or service that satisfies the market?
You know you don’t have a good product-market fit if the product or service isn’t generating as much interest as you’d hoped or expected. You aren’t closing as many sales and the sales cycle is taking far too long or the feedback from your customers isn’t great.
If this is the case, it might be time for you to review your product-market fit.
This might require that you carry out customer surveys to get a better idea about what problems they are facing.
Through these surveys, you can also get a better understanding about what challenges they are facing with your current product or solution. This information will be useful especially if you need to tweak your product or service in any way to better serve your market,
3. your communication isn’t that good
I have spoken before about the importance of storytelling or communication to a business. You might have your ideal customer and may even have the product they want.
But, if you don’t effectively communicate how what you have will benefit them, they may not buy from you.
Alternatively, your customers might not even know that you exist because you are not putting yourself out there. This might be because you’re not very confident in talking about what you do.
I have also spoken about the importance of confidently talking about your business here. Remember, no one knows what you do better than you do. As such, no one can talk about it with as much conviction or passion as you can.
Practice as much as you need to, by yourself or with family or friends you trust. If necessary, have a script of what exactly you will say in different scenarios.
4. you’re not following up
You may not be getting customers because there’s no follow up with potential customers.
The sales cycle for every business is slightly different, but it typically takes 8-15 follow ups before you can close a sale. And those were statistics from when the economy was better.
In times like these, people are being much more cautious about what they’re spending on. You must do more customer outreach.
Think about it… how often are you really following up with potential customers? I’m willing to bet that you drop off after (at most) the 3rd time.
You have to do more follow ups and engage people more on a one-to-one basis to close sales.
Yes, it’s time consuming. Yes, you’ll face rejection and ghosting sometimes. But you will absolutely also close more sales.
5. your customer service could be better
Maybe you are getting customers.
But you’re just not doing a good enough job at delivering your solution to them.
If you’re not providing a great experience, not only will your existing customers refuse to return, but they won’t give good feedback to any of their friends.
So, what can you do to get your customers to come back?
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and be really critical about their experience:
- What details would you like to experience when interacting with your product or service?
- Are there things that would make you think twice about coming back?
- Which processes that are far too long for you that you would give up along the way?
Don’t keep things the same just because that’s how you’ve always done it. Be open to change and design the type of experience you would like to have.
ready to get more customers?
In Q4, I have space to work with only 2 VIP clients in a one-to-one experience that will transform your business. If you’re ready to get more customers and really make your business work, book a consultation today.
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