Getting Customers ninja style

We get into business for two things: the other one is to make money. The other one well, it’s up to the business owner. Others want to change the world and for others it may have been a childhood dream. Some may even have landed on a great business opportunity purely by accident. You have heard the stories alright. Today we are going to concentrate on the other reason, profitability: making money. We are going to explore how to get customers the ninja way. Please don’t sweat; there are no physical swords or fighting techniques required. However, what we are going to do is look at how we can make bank and get people to recognize our hard work that we call our “product”.

Lesson 1: Have a great product

Above all else, product quality should be top notch. Invest as much resources as you can into having a great product. What’s a great product? It’s usually the kind that’s just hard to ignore even if you hate its manufacturer. Feelings aside. Ensure that your team continuously improves your product/ service offering whilst listening to customer feedback. Accept all feedback and constructively use it to your advantage. Remember “customer is king”.

Lesson 2: Tryouts/ Beta Testers/ Focus groups

Before rolling out your product to the world, open it up to a few people and gather their sentiments. These people should not be part of the team that developed the product. Get regular people to test out your product (only after government approval hey if it’s edible or something that could potentially endanger lives) and let them tell you what they think. Ask them what they would love to see added to the product or what doesn’t go well with them when using the product. Do that my friend and you are a little bit closer to getting customers.

Lesson 3: Pricing

This is important. We want to have a lot of customers and make money whilst doing it. Our pricing strategies should reflect that. There is a possibility that our product is meant for a particular niche of people that we will charge a price they can afford. It’s also possible that our product caters for all segments at different pricing tiers for different product functionalities or versions. Nevertheless, the point is: be flexible in your pricing. The goal here is to get the product into the hands of many customers as possible. Instead of asking for the full price upfront to all customers, offer a facility to pay a certain amount then pay the rest later. To encourage people to pay in full upfront or take more of the product, you can then introduce incentives such as discounts or free delivery.

Lesson 4: Social Media

This makes the right noise, trust me. Social media is a superb way to get noticed and generate off the roof sales. Nowadays people communicate and engage businesses on social media. Invest in a good social media presence and frequently interact with potential customers on social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter are a great place to start your product marketing efforts.

Lesson 5: Have a Website

A website is essential for your business in this digital economy. After all the hype on social media one would want to visit the company website, read more about the product and even read the FAQs before deciding to purchase. Have a responsive website that caters for all website visitors whether they are viewing from a cellphone, tablet, desktop computer or laptop. Also ensure that online ordering functionality is present on your site to capture the online sales channel.

Lesson 6: Product accessibility

The customer should not struggle to get the product in their hands. Ensure you have the appropriate mechanisms and interventions to ensure the product lands at the customer’s doorstep as smooth as possible and in record time. Partner up with a delivery service or setup up your own delivery service within your company. Another important point to note is that the location of your product stores should be near the customer either a walking distance in the neighborhood or within town. The customer experience should not be ruined by having an inaccessible channel.

Lesson 7: Traditional Advertising

Last but not least, let’s not forget the time proven technique of traditional advertising. Traditional advertising includes print media (newspapers, magazines, flyers), radio and televisions. People still watch TV and some people still listen to the radio. Ensure that you got all your bases covered by making sure that this demographic of people used to traditional advertising get to know about your product.

Okay we have reached the end of your training. As your customer acquisition sensei allow me to bow and say “You have graduated with a black, no green , no yellow (which one is it?) okay a black belt.  Now go forth and make bank my ninjas!”