By Anh-Minh Le
So with Breezeworks, you’ve successfully established a roster of regular customers, and are doing a great job of keeping them happy. But now you’re ready to grow new business. You might be wondering: How do I reach new customers? Thankfully, there are a number of fast, easy, and affordable ways for you to get the word out about your services.
- Since personal referrals are often heavily valued by customers looking for new service providers, good ol’ word-of-mouth is always beneficial. Maybe offer existing customers incentives, like a discount on their next service, if they refer you to someone who ends up using your services, too.
- Community forums are often filled with folks looking for referrals, and perhaps some of your best customers would be open to mentioning your business to those who post on these forums.
- Similarly, ask customers if they wouldn’t mind submitting a review on Yelp, which helps connect people to local businesses. With millions of users, it can be an effective way to market yourself. It’s free to create a Yelp business page, where you can upload images of your work and write a description of your services.
- Creating an account with Thumbtack can also generate new business. When customers visit Thumbtack and request a pro in your field, Thumbtack reviews the request and, if it’s a good fit, passes the request on to you. Then you can decide whether or not to provide the customer with a quote. (Only when you give a quote does Thumbtack require payment; there’s no commission for the work itself.)
- If you work in the home improvement industry, consider signing up with HomeAdvisor—which matches homeowners with professionals who can handle whatever job they need done around the house. HomeAdvisor’s fee varies, depending on the type of work you do and where you’re located.
- Angie’s List can help pair you with new customers at no charge to you. Getting an account can happen either by: 1) one of your customers adding/reviewing you, or 2) you creating a free profile on the site. Angie’s List charges consumers (or “members”) a fee in order to access its reviews. Note: Anyone can offer a review of your business on the site, not just members.
