In this day and age, many competing interests battle for a customer’s attention. With so many ads, businesses, and friendly faces on social media, our attention spans shrink by the minute.
What’s even trickier than getting customers' attention, is keeping it. What’s going to stop them from trying the same product or service elsewhere? What makes you special?
Most of what I do in day-to-day life is helping other businesses succeed. I help run multiple fix-figure businesses in Hawaii, and I teach people all over the world how to do the same thing. When local businesses win, everybody wins.
The first thing I teach people, even though it sounds counterintuitive, is to go offline. You might be wondering… what does that mean? We mean seek out local businesses or individuals with zero to no web-presence, help them boost their revenue, and set them up to succeed in the digital marketplace.
We do this using tactics that most people consider “old-school” and “no longer relevant,” like door-to-door sales, mass mailers, and cold calls. While everyone else is fighting for attention online, we’re getting people’s attention right outside their front door. And it’s working.
The best part? It’s free. It doesn’t take thousands of dollars in google ads, boosting posts, or Facebook campaigns. Nothing beats that… except for helping your clients do the same. We believe there’s nothing more noble than helping others, so let us help you!
Below I’m sharing with you my influencer secrets on how to keep your local clients happy.
Stay Consistent
Consistency is key when it comes to any business. If you post a blog every Sunday, post it every Sunday. If you send emails on Tuesday, send them on Tuesday. The point is that it builds credibility, and people will start to trust you. The more consistent you are, the more loyal people will feel to your content or services.
Consistency is also the central factor to building your business. Consistency and persistence get results like nothing else. Being consistent will begin to bring you more clients, more attention, and more support. How do you expect people to find you, or more importantly trust you, if you can’t even commit to your own business?
People are more likely to continue looking for your resources if they know you post every Wednesday, as opposed to the last blog on your page being from 2 months ago, and the one before that being 3 years ago. You look inactive and noncommittal, and who wants their clients to think that?
Stay with it, and your clients will stay with you!
Listen to Your Customer
If you pay attention, your target audience will tell you exactly what they want. Too many business owners make it hard for themselves by trying to reinvent the wheel. Whereas if you just listened to your client, they’d hand you the solution for free.
The most successful businesses have a consumer-driven marketplace. This means that they listen to their customers' needs, complaints, and struggles, and offer them a solution. They don’t try to “guess” what their client wants, they ask. They get nerdy about the joys and pains of their target customers.
This not only will bring you more credibility with clients, but it’ll show future clients that you care about them. You’re not just in this for the money, you’re in this to help people. The easiest way to get feedback is to do polls, conduct interviews, get reviews, or ask your clients about their struggles.
This information is valuable to you, so make it worthwhile for your clients to share freely. One way to do this is to offer a discount or free service in exchange for them completing a survey or review. Most people won’t think twice!
Listening to your customer will save you years of misdirection and struggle. You don’t have to try 100 times before you get it right if you pay attention. Pay attention to your clients’ needs and they’ll share your services with everyone else.
Offer Free Services
Offering free services is the most effective way to make a sale. You’re probably thinking, “But Nick, how am I going to make any money if I give my services away for free?” The answer is simple: if you provide a GREAT product or service, something that makes a lasting impression, the client will keep coming back. The hardest sale is the first one, so give them an offer they can’t refuse. At that point, all you have to do is show them why you’re worth it.
If your service is truly as great as you think it is, the client will probably think so, too. They’ll also be over-the-moon feeling like they got a steal. The last thing you want is for clients to feel like it “wasn’t worth it.”
You see this strategy frequently: offering discounts for their first purchase, a money back guarantee, getting your first product free. That’s because it works. Trying a new product or service is always a gamble. Make it feel like less of a risk for your client by giving them an offer they can’t turn down.
That’s why in my digital marketing business, I offer FREE competitor analysis and FREE audits of their web presence. If they decide that’s enough and don’t want to go further with me, that’s alright; enough people decide to buy my other services that it’s well worth it.
Perseverance, perseverance, perseverance!
Frankly, building a clientele takes time. It can feel defeating when your first client is your mom and your second one takes 3 months to get—believe me, I’ve been there! The most important thing to remember is to persevere. Without perseverance, you’ll never reap the benefits of the seeds you planted. It takes time.
As you continue to grow, your customers and clients will see the work you did to get there, and they’ll appreciate your commitment. People want to see you enjoy helping them, even if it feels like a struggle at first.
Most people don’t find a lot of nobility in a business that was handed over with no hard work. Perseverance gains people’s respect, support, and loyalty. Keep working hard and not only will you grow your business exponentially, but you’ll build the respect and dedication from your clients as well.
If your product or service is truly helpful, people will begin to ask about your services organically. Building a good reputation is all you really need to start momentum. Just don’t forget to reach out to the ones who didn’t when the time comes!
After adopting these strategies, you’ll naturally become a local influencer. The businesses you help in the beginning will become happy clients and will bring you more happy clients as time goes by.
And all you have to do is overdeliver!
Further reading: How to Gain and Retain SEO Clients