The cheapest way to build your customer base

Small businesses need their loyal fans.

Local patrons who relate to the business message, beliefs and feel a personal connection with the establishment, its people, or the offering.

It’s loyal followers that talk about recommend places, promote your business, tweet about the local events, or check in at the establishment which alerts their social circle’s news feed.

Small business are special

What makes small businesses special is that their customers can easily identify with the company and its owners because they probably see them. I can not stress enough the power that personal connections have in getting people to care. After all, wouldn’t you support a business a friend is associated with?

It’s the big thing’s like addressing customer concerns promptly, being accessible and approachable.It’s the small touches like remembering someone’s name, or favorite drink or engaging in idle chit-chat during a slow hour that can help develop these connections and turn customers into loyal fans and ambassadors for the store.

The F-Factor

And in the new age of social media it has become a company’s F-factor , tapping into friends, fans and followers to discover new favorites building connections is more important than ever.

There is a lot of software out there to help with customer relationships management, but if cash is tigh then why not start a simple excel spreadsheet for now? Just a client’s name, and something nifty that you learn about them from a casual conversation? This is especially helpful if you’re a business that customers come to as a destination (such as a spa, salon, cleaning service etc).

It’s never to late to turn customers into your business ambassadors because despite all the dollars big businesses can afford to spend on TV ads it’s still word of mouth that drives traffic.

Intrigued? Learn more:

Turning customers into salespeople