by the GroupeSTAHL Sales Alliance
“I need to increase my customer base, how do I go about finding new customers to sell to?” We get asked this question all the time. The answer is simple really, potential customers are everywhere. Next door to you, down the road, some even come to your house every week! You might not realize it, but the fire and police departments you drive by every day on your way to work, the ice cream shop you take the kids to, the pizza guy that shows up every Thursday night, the bike club that rides down your street, they all have some type of heat applied decorated clothing and they’re all potential customers.
So, how do you reach them?
Some of you would qualify every person you talk to, find out what they need and then show them how they can benefit from using you. Others might play the numbers game. Contact 100 businesses and you’ll probably find that at least 10 of them could benefit from your services. This might sound like a lot of work for a little return, but just think of the money that 10 new customers could bring to your business.
The question then turns to: how can I contact all of these customers without spending a lot of money – and without spending an entire day cold calling or visiting them? Try sending them a post card. There are many websites that can produce custom post cards very inexpensively. A post card allows you to put a picture of your product right in the customer’s hand.
How much will this cost? A quick search online found numerous post card companies that offer 500 full-color post cards for about $20. Even with the addition of postage, this is still one of the most cost-effective ways of getting your products or services into the hands of prospective customers.
How do you determine who you send one of your shiny new post cards to? You can use online search tools such as anywho.com and yellowpages.com to find prospective businesses is your area. Typically, these sites list businesses by category, location and business type. They also provide you with the mailing address and phone number.
Of course this doesn’t guarantee new customers. Once you get the attention of the local business, you should show them samples of your work, the type of garments you offer and the various materials and colors they can choose from. If the product is high quality and you can deliver on time, you’ll gain their repeat business and will refer you to friends and family. This is definitely worth the cost of a postcard and stamp!
Helpful tip: Our Mini T-Shirts make great business cards, samples, gift certificates or coupons. They’re small enough to keep handy to show or give to potential customers.
Do you have any tips on how to get more customers? Please share by leaving a comment.
Thanks in advance!