“Attracting customers” is a very important marketing element when starting any kind of business or business. Attracting customers means gathering “customers” who use your product or service. In this article, we will explain the importance of attracting customers and how to attract them.
What is attracting customers? Importance of working
If you want to increase sales, you understand that it is necessary to attract customers, but there are many questions such as "Why is it necessary to attract customers?" Uka I will explain in detail the outline and importance of attracting customers.
What is attracting customers?
As mentioned above, attracting customers is gathering customers who use your company's products and services. Also, customers need to keep using it, they need to be fans. In addition, if you gather people who are not likely to purchase, you will not be able to sell, so you can not call it attracting customers. For that reason, attracting customers is not just about attracting people, but about attracting people who are likely to purchase and leading them to repeat purchases.
The target customers to attract are divided into two: "new customers" who will purchase from now on and "existing customers" who have already purchased. If you want to acquire new customers, you need to discover "potential customers" who are likely to buy.
"Potential customers" are those who do not yet understand the company or products/services, but who understand what they want to solve ( needs ) and are expected to purchase as a means to solve the problem in the future. I mean the customer. In the case of existing customers, since they have already made purchases, it can be said that it is possible to increase the number of purchases and increase the amount of each purchase (up-selling).
Purpose and Importance of Attracting Customers
The reason why attracting customers is important is that increasing the ability to attract customers leads to improved sales. Sales are calculated by the formula "sales = number of customers x number of purchases x average purchase price".
*Average purchase amount: The average purchase amount per customer.
Based on these, it can be said that increasing the number of customers and the number of purchases is directly linked to increasing sales. If you want to increase the number of customers, you need to recognize the appeal of your products and services and get them to use them once. Therefore, if you want to increase new customers, measures to attract customers such as advertisements and leaflets are effective.
On the other hand, if you want to increase the "number of purchases", you have to get customers who used it once to use it repeatedly. Also, if you want them to use it repeatedly, it would be a good idea to implement measures to attract customers, such as e-mail magazines and point cards.
7 representative ways to attract customers offline
From here, we will introduce seven ways to attract customers without going through the Internet. The advantages and disadvantages of each method are also explained. Typical methods are:
・ DM
・ Posting
・ OOH advertisement
・ Tele appointments
・ Free seminars
・ Referrals via customers
・ Exhibitions
・ TV taxi commercials
I will explain each in turn.
DM
DM is a method of attracting customers by mailing information on products and services in the form of flyers, catalogs, booklets, etc. Both new customers, existing customers and dropouts are eligible. The advantage of direct mail is that it is possible to advertise to people living in remote areas such as outside the prefecture because it differs from posting where information is distributed manually one by one. Also, because you can approach your target, you can deliver more information such as catalogs and booklets.
On the other hand, as a disadvantage, in addition to the time and effort of address writing and enclosing, printing costs and shipping costs can be mentioned. In addition, since it is necessary to obtain the name and address of the mailing address in advance, it is necessary to collect information by registering as a member and issuing a membership card.
Posting
Posting is a method of attracting customers by putting flyers directly in the mailboxes of areas where it is expected to attract customers. There are two methods, one is to have an employee or part-time employee perform the task, and the other is to outsource the task to a contractor.
The advantage of posting is that you can finely control the distribution area and size of the flyer, and depending on the survey, you can accurately deliver the information that the customer wants. Another advantage is that it is easy to catch people's eyes, so the response rate is high and it leads to attracting customers.
OOH Advertising
OOH is an abbreviation for "out of home," which in marketing terms means "outside the home." In addition, there are various types of OOH advertising, and the main media include "street vision," "digital signage," "billboards," "wrapping cars," "sampling at street events," and "traffic advertising."
The advantage of OOH advertising is that it has high visibility and visual effect, and it is easy to contact and appeal to an unspecified number of people. When using digital media, it is possible to effectively increase awareness through targeting and impressive promotions.
On the other hand, the disadvantage is that it costs money to produce results. There are also disadvantages such as limited installation locations due to problems with securing a power supply and installation space.
Tele Appointment
Tele appointment is a method of attracting customers by telephone. Tele appointments are mainly used to promote your company's products and services to new customers. One of the advantages of tele appointments is that you can directly talk to customers and collect their needs, which is not possible with Internet-based methods such as e-mail magazines and websites.
On the other hand, the disadvantage is that it takes time and effort for the person in charge of tele appointments to call each person on the list. In addition, one of the disadvantages is that mental toughness is required because it is assumed that you will be refused.
Free seminar
A free seminar is a method of attracting customers by holding a free seminar and introducing products after the lecture. A lecture may be given by an in-house person in charge, or may be given by an outside lecturer. The advantage of free seminars is that most of the attendees are interested in the product or service, so the closing rate is high.
On the other hand, the disadvantage is that it takes time and effort to offer lecturers, coordinate schedules, select venues, request rentals, prepare announcements, and carry out public relations activities. Also, if you do not have brand power, it may be difficult to attract customers to the seminar itself unless you do some ingenuity, such as promoting with advertisements or making the seminar content highly unique.
Customer referrals (word of mouth)
Customer referrals are a way to attract new customers by having existing customers refer you to new customers. This is a method of getting referrals from customers with whom you have a trusting relationship when the situation is getting warmer, such as right after signing a contract. The merit is that you can get useful information for your company because it is an introduction from a customer who has a trust relationship. The downside is that if you don't have a relationship of trust, you're less likely to get a referral.
Exhibition
Exhibition customer attraction is a method of acquiring prospective customers by exhibiting at an exhibition. You can set up a booth to introduce your company's products and services and conduct business negotiations on the spot. The advantage of attracting customers at exhibitions is that people gather, so if you can appeal well, you are more likely to become a customer.
On the other hand, there are disadvantages such as the time and effort required to select the venue, arrange the equipment, and set up and operate the booth on the day.
TV/Taxi CM
Taxi advertising is an advertising medium that effectively utilizes the inside and outside of taxis to place advertisements. Compared to other transportation advertisements such as trains, taxi advertisements have the advantage of being able to place advertisements in private spaces because the distance to the target is closer.
On the other hand, one taxi can only reach dozens of passengers per day, so it has the disadvantage of reaching fewer people than web advertising.
In addition, the method of attracting customers using TV advertising has the advantage of being able to cover a wide range of customers who can be new targets. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that it costs several million yen to produce and distribute commercials.
10 typical ways to attract customers Online
Here, we will introduce 10 representative ways to attract customers online. There are mainly the following methods of attracting customers.
・ Website
・ Web advertisement
・ SNS
・ Landing page
・ Web media publication
・ Video
・ Webinar
・ Email magazine
・ SEO
・ Owned media
Let's look at each in turn.
Home page
How to attract customers on the homepage is a method of creating a homepage and attracting customers. In addition, attracting customers on the website has the advantage that tele appointments and walk-in sales are not required. On the other hand, if it is paid, it costs money, but if it is free, there is a disadvantage that the quality of the homepage is low.
In addition, the following materials explain the structure and concept of the homepage in detail, so please use them together with this article.
Web advertising
Web advertising is a method of attracting customers by raising awareness of your company name, products, and services through your website. The advantage of web advertising is that by displaying high-quality content and implementing SEO measures to display the website at the top, it becomes easier for many people to see it, which increases the possibility of attracting more customers.
The disadvantage is that you need SEO knowledge to aim for a higher display. For those who do not have knowledge of SEO, it can be said that it is a slightly difficult way to attract customers.
Banner ads are one form of web advertising, and there are materials that explain how to create them, so please use them in conjunction with this article.
SNS
SNS attracting customers is a method of attracting customers through SNS such as Facebook and Twitter. The advantage of attracting customers through SNS is that you can have close communication with customers who have purchased products, so you can increase the possibility of becoming repeat customers by transmitting highly satisfying information.
On the other hand, as a disadvantage, if you do not advertise regularly or post frequently, it will disappear from the news feed and timeline, so you need to do a number to reach the customer's eyes.
Landing page
A landing page is the first page that a user lands on when visiting a website. The advantage of landing pages is that they can be designed with a high degree of freedom.
On the other hand, since the operation of listing advertisements and banner advertisements is basic, there is a disadvantage that monthly costs are incurred for each display and click.
Web Media Publication
Web media publishes to media (vertical media) specializing in business in general and specific areas, which is also called paid media, and leads to branding, leads, and sales acquisition. The advantage of web media publication is that you can create "fans of your own company" by continuing to send out the information that users want.
On the other hand, there is a disadvantage that the effect of attracting customers will fade if you do not have a certain amount of knowledge and experience. If you want to use media well, you need to learn knowledge and how to use media.
The following materials explain in detail how to use media without fail when posting on paid media, so please refer to it.
Movie
Video attracting is a method of attracting customers by uploading videos to video sites such as YouTube to promote products and services, and attract customers to your own site. The advantage of attracting customers with videos is that the explanations are easy to understand when conveying products and services, so it is possible to effectively appeal to customers.
On the other hand, video creation requires a certain amount of knowledge, so there is a disadvantage that it takes time to acquire knowledge. Also, if you can't create it yourself, you will have to ask a specialized company, so it will take time and expenses such as meetings.
Webinar
Webinar is an abbreviation that combines Web (web) and Seminar (seminar), and as the name suggests, it is a seminar that is delivered on the Internet with video and audio. The advantage of webinars is the wide audience. It is characterized by being able to provide seminars with low hurdles to various prospective customers who had no contact so far.
On the other hand, there is a disadvantage that you cannot take the course without an Internet environment. In the event of a system failure, you will not be able to stream or view scheduled seminars. If you want to attract customers at a webinar, please refer to the following materials as they explain the method in detail.
e-mail magazine
An e-mail magazine is a method of attracting customers by sending e-mail magazines to people who have registered their e-mail addresses. By disseminating advantageous campaign information through e-mail magazines, we encourage the purchase of products and the use of services. The advantage of e-mail magazines is that they are different from general web advertisements, but since the effort is to create sentences, it is possible to quickly distribute the information you want to convey all at once.
On the other hand, as a disadvantage, it is necessary to create the text of the email for each transmission, so while covering the information you want to send, you must also include information that the customer finds useful and make it suitable for the delivery time. . In addition, the structure of the e-mail magazine and how to increase clicks are explained in the following articles and materials, so those who do e-mail magazines should refer to them.
SEO
Attracting customers using SEO means collecting access from search engines such as Google and Yahoo! and attracting customers on your own website or website. SEO is an abbreviation for "Search Engine Optimization", which means search engine optimization. The advantage of SEO attracting customers is that it is cost-effective. Once you succeed in displaying your site at the top, you can expect continuous search inflow without spending advertising costs.
On the other hand, if you outsource SEO, there are disadvantages such as the initial cost alone of about 200,000 yen and monthly maintenance costs. In addition, even if you spend a lot of effort and money, there is a possibility that you will not get any results due to the complexity of search engine algorithms.
Owned media
Owned media are media that are managed by the company. For example, "blogs" and "homepages" fall under owned media. The advantage of owned media is that it is possible to attract customers according to a wide range of purposes and issues. In other words, because of the high degree of freedom in content, it is characterized by the fact that content can be created from the stage of awareness to users whose needs have become apparent.
In addition, CMS is required to build owned media . A CMS is a system that allows you to easily create website content. There are many CMS, and many people do not know which CMS to use. We are developing a web marketing support tool "Switch Plus" that combines intuitive CMS and MA (marketing automation). We also accept free trials, so please feel free to take a look at the overview first.
・Take a look at the overview of "Switch Plus"
What is the key to attracting customers?
In conclusion, it is to clarify the customer image. Effective methods of attracting customers differ depending on the customer image (persona), so clarify the persona that your company seeks. By clarifying the customer image, it will be easier to come up with catchphrases that resonate with customers, as it will be easier for the concept of products and services to be different, and it will be easier to decide on an approach.
Summary
In this article, I explained the overview of attracting customers and how to attract customers offline and online. In conclusion, let's clarify the customer image when attracting customers. If you have a clear image of your customer, consider their behavior and conduct marketing to attract customers.
In addition, the method of BtoB marketing is explained in detail in the following materials. If you want to learn from scratch or want to learn more about marketing, please refer to it.