Thousands of startups are launched every year. In the US alone, there were about 4.35 million new business applications in 2020, a 24.19% increase from 2019. But registering and launching a company is only the beginning, the most challenging part is attracting customers and making them love your products.
Customer traction is important for any startup, especially one looking for investors. It proves your business is successful and shows you have a solid base of paying customers. Want your business to gain customer traction? Follow these expert strategies.
1. Define Your Goals
Before you launch a product or service, have clear goals about what you want to achieve. Write down measurable goals you can track and stay motivated. You can define how many products you’d like to sell per week, how many customers you’d like to acquire each month, who to partner with, and how to connect with potential customers. Approximately 80% of the problems in business stem from a lack of direction and goals.
2. Create a Great Product
If you have an amazing product, customers are more likely to notice. According to a Think With Google study, 78% of consumers spend time researching products online rather than in physical stores. If your first product is incredible, it could help your startup to gain a lot of traction. Your product should provide new value to the customer. It’s the only way they’ll give you their hard-earned money.
3. Work with Influencers
The influencer marketing industry is worth $13.8 billion. Businesses in all sectors now work with influencers to push their products and services. Reach out to a few influencers who are not too costly and use them to advertise your products. But choose those who understand your industry and niche and have a track record of success. They will help expand your reach across your buyer personas.
4. Partner with Other Businesses
Try to team up with other high-profile brands that complement your business to enhance its visibility. TripAdvisor formed a partnership with Uber back in 2014, allowing travelers to quickly find a ride in different locations.
Jim Smith from 1800CarTitleLoan shared that partnering with local dealerships dramatically improved their customer retention. When offering fast title loans online, local dealerships shared loan options to customers thus benefiting both businesses. Partnerships are attractive to both parties because they bring innovation, expertise, and resources, allowing startups to scale.
5. Leverage Your Email List
Email marketing can help your business to gain initial traction. Reach out to customers who join your mailing list and tell them about your new products and services. An email list is important because email marketing is more powerful than social media marketing. Emails are 6 times more likely to get clicked on than tweets. Email is also more effective at helping businesses acquire new customers than Facebook or Twitter.
Getting people to notice your startup can be quite hard. You need to find ways to connect with customers, engage them, then get them to buy your products. Use these methods to gain initial traction before investing in large-scale marketing campaigns.