Whether you’ve been in business one year, several years or for decades, there’s always something new to learn, especially when it comes to attracting new customers. The marketplace is constantly changing, and it seems every day a new approach is needed to keep up with the demands of well informed and discerning consumers.

Sometimes all that’s needed is to keep doing what’s working for you, while implementing fresh ideas that will bring new customers through your doors and revive your business.

Here are a few ways to help you re-think your approach to attracting new customers while evolving your skills as a business leader.

Get your marketing working for you

When it comes to marketing, it can often feel like a catch 22. You need to spend money on marketing so you can attract customers but you need new customers so you can afford the marketing!

Gone are the days when simply having an excellent product or service, great staff, a good reputation, and positive word of mouth was enough to build a successful business. Sure, you still need every one of those, but you also need a whole new collection of tools in your marketing toolkit. Even a fancy website may not be enough to do the job!

Depending on your type of business, you’ll need some social media presence. The trick is to find where your customers spend their time – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok – and meet them there. You might also invest in regular blogs, email campaigns, newsletters, or events. Direct mail or a letterbox drop with time-sensitive offers, discounts, or bonuses can work too.

Using your trade dollars through Bartercard to invest in marketing will keep cash in your business. Through the Bartercard community, you can connect with website designers, social media marketing experts, content creators, blog writers, printers, event organisers and more. Saving cash by spending trade dollars on your marketing will allow you to invest that cash back into other areas of your business.

Invest in the right marketing

You’ve no doubt had many silver-tongued advertising reps come knocking on your door wanting you to buy a space in whatever form of media they are selling. It’s easy to get hooked into their spiel and before you know it, you’re locked into a hefty ad campaign – with no guarantees of any new business.

The problem with this approach is you’re playing a passive role and letting someone ‘sell’ you something you might not need. Buying a whole bunch of advertising without doing your market research or having a marketing plan is called a scattergun approach. You throw a lot of money at it and hope something will work. Sure, a small percentage might, but the rest will be wasted and can cost your business a lot of hard-earned cash.

If you’re like most business people and know a little about advertising, but not a lot, then it could be wise to invest in an advertising and marketing specialist, someone who can help you plan a campaign that will give you the greatest return for your money – or trade dollar! There are Bartercard members who offer consulting services that can help bring new customers through your door. As well, you’ll find many forms of media such as radio, newspaper, and magazines where you can use your trade dollars to advertise your products and services using trade dollars instead of cash.

Build your business network

Along with marketing and advertising, networking is another great tool for attracting new customers and growing your business. Today, there are more ways to grow your business networks – sometimes without even stepping foot inside a business networking event or exchanging a single business card!

Networking through social media can help raise the profile of your business, put you in front of potential clients and lead to referrals and testimonials. Once again, do a little research and find out which platform is used by your potential clients. You might need the services of a specialist to help build the profile of your business by networking with other business owners.

Being a Bartercard member gives you immediate access to the world’s largest business-to-business trade exchange and the opportunity to network with over 22,000 cardholders in Australia alone. Several large B2B networking organisations are also members of Bartercard. You can pay your membership using your trade dollars and network with potential customers in both the cash and trade economy.

Bringing new customers to your business

There are many more ways to re-think your approach to bringing new customers into your business.  Contact us today and find out how.