flevyblog

Flevy Blog is an online business magazine covering Business Strategies, Business Theories, & Business Stories.
MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP STRATEGY, MARKETING, SALES OPERATIONS & SUPPLY CHAIN ORGANIZATION & CHANGE IT/MIS Other

Creative Ways to Drive Customers to Your Business

Editor's Note: Take a look at our featured best practice, Marketing Plan Development Framework (63-slide PowerPoint presentation). A marketing plan is a comprehensive blueprint, outlining an organization's overall marketing efforts. This PowerPoint presentation is a guide to developing a comprehensive marketing plan. Marketing Management topics include: * Marketing Management Process * Market Segmentation * Market [read more]

Also, if you are interested in becoming an expert on Strategy Development, take a look at Flevy's Strategy Development Frameworks offering here. This is a curated collection of best practice frameworks based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. By learning and applying these concepts, you can you stay ahead of the curve. Full details here.

* * * *

Whatever line of business you are in, you must drive customers to your company if you want to be successful. But with so much competitiveness in so many sectors and every company vying for space online, finding creative ways to target and attract customers can be a challenging task. That is especially true if you have a tight marketing budget. However, there are several excellent ways in which you can gain customers. Read on to find out more.

Offer Discounts or Free Promotional Items

Limited-time offers have been proven again and again to be excellent ways of driving new customers. But still, not enough companies make use of this excellent strategy. Give discounts on specific products or services, and you are sure to see new customers come your way. As well as offering monetary discounts, you can also provide free trials for something like a software package or a gym membership. You could even provide a product or service for free in exchange for a customer’s testimonial.

Another great idea is to give away free promotional products that are printed with your brand’s logo or name. They act as fantastic marketing methods and are inexpensive to purchase. It is best to give away useful items so that your brand will continually be noticed. Promotional tote bags are perfect. With a wide variety of colors, materials, and prices to choose from, you are sure to find one that is to your taste, style, and budget.

Place Online Ads That Target Your Ideal Customer

If you do not advertise, you cannot drive customers to your business. You could explore traditional advertising methods like leaflets and billboards, but it is vital you advertise online. However, finding the right platform to use can be challenging. There is no point in wasting your time and money on targeting people who do not fall into your customer demographics.

With Snapchat’s Footprints feature, you can gain access to the consumer behavior of the site’s most active users. For example, you can learn whether Snapchat-users frequent restaurants or gyms, or whether they like to travel. If your business falls into one of those categories, placing a Snapchat Ad is a sensible choice to make.

Run User-generated Campaigns

Using social media is a must for any business. But you must utilize it in the right way if you want to drive new customers. One way of getting creative with your social media channels is to run a user-generated campaign. For instance, you could run a competition in which you reward the best comments or photos for getting the most shares and likes.

UGCs are fun ways of getting existing and new customers involved with your brand. You will quickly get exposure for your business for little or no cost. You could also invest a bit more into your UGC by purchasing sponsored posts on sites like Facebook.

Get onto Google My Business

If you have a local business, like a store, a restaurant, or a beauty salon, you need to get your company onto Google My Business. Most people search for local products and services on Google, and studies have shown again and again that the majority of people who search for local businesses online end up visiting those businesses within the next 24 hours. So, getting your company onto Google My Business is vital.

Google tends to give local listings prime placements in its search results, so this option should be a no brainer. Furthermore, Google My Business allows you to post photos and offers to your profile page to show potential customers what makes your business unique.

71-page Word document
This 71-page template is a comprehensive template for a Strategic Marketing and Sales Plan. It is based on the Systems Thinking Approach, and guides the development of the strategic marketing and sales plan in the context of the bigger picture corporate strategies. Using this template will allow [read more]

Want to Achieve Excellence in Strategy Development?

Gain the knowledge and develop the expertise to become an expert in Strategy Development. Our frameworks are based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. Click here for full details.

"Strategy without Tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without Strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu

For effective Strategy Development and Strategic Planning, we must master both Strategy and Tactics. Our frameworks cover all phases of Strategy, from Strategy Design and Formulation to Strategy Deployment and Execution; as well as all levels of Strategy, from Corporate Strategy to Business Strategy to "Tactical" Strategy. Many of these methodologies are authored by global strategy consulting firms and have been successfully implemented at their Fortune 100 client organizations.

These frameworks include Porter's Five Forces, BCG Growth-Share Matrix, Greiner's Growth Model, Capabilities-driven Strategy (CDS), Business Model Innovation (BMI), Value Chain Analysis (VCA), Endgame Niche Strategies, Value Patterns, Integrated Strategy Model for Value Creation, Scenario Planning, to name a few.

Learn about our Strategy Development Best Practice Frameworks here.

Readers of This Article Are Interested in These Resources


722-slide PowerPoint presentation
Curated by McKinsey-trained Executives Introducing the Ultimate Marketing and Sales Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Toolkit--Your Comprehensive Guide to Streamlining Success. Unlock unparalleled efficiency and success in your marketing and sales operations with our [read more]


 
Excel workbook
 
 
160-slide PowerPoint presentation

About Shane Avron

Shane Avron is a freelance writer, specializing in business, general management, enterprise software, and digital technologies. In addition to Flevy, Shane's articles have appeared in Huffington Post, Forbes Magazine, among other business journals.


Complimentary Business Training Guides


Many companies develop robust strategies, but struggle with operationalizing their strategies into implementable steps. This presentation from flevy introduces 12 powerful business frameworks spanning both Strategy Development and Strategy Execution. [Learn more]

  This 48-page whitepaper, authored by consultancy Envisioning, provides the frameworks, tools, and insights needed to manage serious Change—under the backdrop of the business lifecycle. These lifecycle stages are each marked by distinct attributes, challenges, and behaviors. [Learn more]

We've developed a very comprehensive collection of Strategy & Transformation PowerPoint templates for you to use in your own business presentations, spanning topics from Growth Strategy to Brand Development to Innovation to Customer Experience to Strategic Management. [Learn more]

  We have compiled a collection of 10 Lean Six Sigma templates (Excel) and Operational Excellence guides (PowerPoint) by a multitude of LSS experts. These tools cover topics including 8 Disciplines (8D), 5 Why's, 7 Wastes, Value Stream Mapping (VSM), and DMAIC. [Learn more]
Recent Articles by Corporate Function

  

  

  

  

  

The Flevy Business Blog (https://flevy.com/blog) is a leading source of information on business strategies, business theories, and business stories. Most of our articles are authored by management consultants and industry executives with over 20 years of experience.

Flevy (https://flevy.com) is the marketplace for business best practices, such as management frameworks, presentation templates, and financial models. Our best practice documents are of the same caliber as those produced by top-tier consulting firms (like McKinsey, Bain, Accenture, BCG, and Deloitte) and used by Fortune 100 organizations. Learn more about Flevy here.
  


OUR CORE OFFERINGS
Flevy Marketplace: Top 100
· Strategy & Transformation
· Digital Transformation
· Operational Excellence
· Organization & Change
· Financial Models
· Consulting Frameworks
· PowerPoint Templates
FlevyPro (Subscription Service)
KPI Library
Streams (Functional Bundles)
Flevy Executive Learning (FEL)
PowerPoint Services

FREE Resources

About Flevy
Management Topics
Marcus (AI-Powered Consultant)
Partner Program
LinkedIn Influencer Marketing
FAQ / Terms / Privacy / Blog
Contact Us: support@flevy.com



CONNECT WITH US!
       
TOP 100 TRENDING TOPICS
Acquisition Strategy
Agile
Analytics
Artificial Intelligence
Balanced Scorecard
Best Practices
Big Data
Breakout Strategy
Business Continuity Planning
Business Plan Financial Model
Business Transformation
CMMI
COBIT
Change Management
Cloud
Communications Strategy
Company Financial Model
Competitive Advantage
Competitive Analysis
Consulting Frameworks
Continuous Improvement
Core Competencies
Corporate Culture
Cost Reduction Assessment
Customer Experience

BROWSE BY FUNCTION
Strategy, Transformation, & Innovation
Digital Transformation
Operational Excellence and LSS
Organization, Change, & HR
Management Consulting

Customer Journey
Customer Service
Cyber Security
Data Privacy
Decision Making
Digital Marketing Strategy
Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation Strategy
Due Diligence
ESG
Employee Engagement
Employee Training
Enterprise Architecture
Growth Strategy
HR Strategy
Hiring
Hoshin Kanri
ISO 27001
ITIL
Information Technology
Innovation Management
Integrated Financial Model
Kaizen
Kanban
Key Performance Indicators

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Business Strategy Frameworks
Case Studies
Consulting Training Guides
COVID-19 Trend Data
Digital Transformation
Financial Advising Services (FAS)

Knowledge Management
Leadership
Lean
Lean Manufacturing
Logistics
M&A (Mergers & Acquisitions)
Manufacturing
Market Research
Marketing Plan Development
Maturity Model
McKinsey PowerPoint
McKinsey Templates
Operational Excellence
Organizational Change
Organizational Design
Performance Management
Post-merger Integration
Pricing Strategy
Process Improvement
Process Maps
Procurement Strategy
Product Launch Strategy
Product Strategy
Project Management
Quality Management


Free Resources
KPI Library
Lean Management
Lean Six Sigma Training Guides
Marcus Insights
Operational Excellence

Real Estate
Remote Work
Restructuring
Risk Management
Robotic Process Automation
SWOT
SaaS
Sales
Scrum
Service Design
Six Sigma Project
Social Media Strategy
Strategic Planning
Strategic Thinking
Strategy Development
Supply Chain Analysis
Sustainability
Target Operating Model
Team Management
Total Productive Maintenance
Value Chain Analysis
Value Creation
Value Stream Mapping
Visual Workplace
Workplace Safety


Product Strategy
Small Business Owner
Startup Resources
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning Process
Value Innovation Strategy


© 2012-2024 Copyright. Flevy LLC. All Rights Reserved.