7 Ways to Grow Your Customer Base

While taking care of your current customers and doing the jobs right is your number one priority as a business, you should also always be looking to grow your customer base. In our previous article we talked about ways to diversify your service offerings to your existing customers – but how do you cultivate new customers? How do you find them? Or, more importantly, how can they find you? It takes hard work, strategy, and some marketing knowledge. In this article, we will give you seven practical ways to grow your customer base. 

1. Get a Website

As a business owner, especially one that is just starting out, publishing a website is essential for business growth. More and more people are searching online for things they want and a website will give your business an online presence and credibility. If you don’t have a website, potential customers will turn to your competitors. Having your website is the first step into becoming discoverable online thru search engines such as Google and Bing. Without it how would you be found?  

You may be thinking you can’t afford a professional website, but the reality is you can’t afford not to if you want to grow your business. The cost of web design varies depending on your needs. With a little research, you will find affordable options online that will help you get you started. You can either looking into tools, such as Wix (www.wix.com) or WordPress (www.wordpress.com) and design your site yourself, or you can look to someone, like us, to design your website for you. Look at other process server websites and see common features, like a clear list of your services and service areas, a narrative that explains your background or what makes your company special, and the ability to provide a way for your clients to log in and see their job status.

Keep in mind that as your business grows, your website should be updated and used as a tool to save you time and money. Perhaps you may add online ordering, payment processing, or a client portal. These types of updates will keep your business grow strong and competitive in the market.

2. Build a Social Media Presence

Social media has become the new medium for marketing, even for process servers. It is a powerful tool to promote your business and attract new customers. Social media helps you build your brand, reach a wider target audience, and increase your website traffic, while keeping marketing costs low. Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are some of the best social media platforms to grow your business.

• Facebook: Setting up a Facebook business page gives your business a social media presence which helps build credibility as well. Under the “About” section you have the options to add business location, phone number, email, website, and hours of operation. In addition, a Facebook page allows you to collect testimonials and reviews that could be later added to your website. It is also a great tool to engage with your audience by creating posts with valuable content.
• Instagram:  The key to Instagram is to have a winning profile. Use your company logo as the profile image, add your web address in the URL section, and keep your profile description short and original. Instagram is all about photo content; ensure that your images are crisp and high resolution. And don’t forget the hashtags! These are used to connect your follower with your business.
• LinkedIn: This is the official social media network for professionals. As process servers, the desired target market are usually attorneys and paralegals. LinkedIn is the best platform to make professional connections with this type of audience. Start with making a company page that will allow you to connect with potential customers and then build relationships. Their searching tool allows you to search for professionals based on industry, position, and location. You can connect with 75 people each day for a total of 30,000 connections. Lastly, ensure that your posts are quality content targeted to your market.

If you choose to start a social media presence, here are a few tips:

• Your content should be focused on your business and not unrelated posts (e.g. your favorite cats) and should drive traffic to your website.
• There are several tools that can help you manage your social media accounts. They can help you post to multiple platforms at once and schedule posts for one time or to recur on a periodic bases (e.g. post your list of services monthly). Check out Hootsuite, Later, and Proofer, to name a few.
• You MUST keep the information and content current. The only thing that is worse for a business than no social media presence is a stale social media presence. If a potential client is lured to your Facebook page but only sees posts from 4 years ago, they will leave with an unfavorable impression. So if you decide to stop supporting a social media page, delete it.

3. Join Professional Associations

If you live in a state that has a process server’s association, becoming a member could grow your business significantly. While the main reason to join your State’s Association or the National Association of Professional Process Servers (NAPPS) is to help protect the industry from laws that may hinder your livelihood, business growth is a bonus to your membership. Each association has a directory where you can be listed and found by people looking for process servers in your area. The networking benefits are also great because these associations often hold their own annual conferences and have their own Facebook pages where you can post about your service areas. This is a great opportunity to meet other professionals in the industry that may become future clients.

There are several other groups or associations you may want to consider:

• Chamber of Commerce – The purpose of your local chamber is to help support and connect local businesses. They have a member directory, regular networking gatherings and opportunities to meet other business professionals in your community.
• Legal Associations – Local chapters of both attorney and paralegal associations offer opportunities for you to attend some events as well as advertise or sponsor their events.
• Business Network International – BNI is another networking opportunity to expand in your community. BNI states they are designed to help businesses work together to pass referral business and explore new opportunities. It gives you access to mentors, other business professionals and a whole host of courses through their learning center.

4. Build an Email Campaign

Building an email campaign is a great tool for marketing your leads. As you build your social media connections and followers, you will be able to collect email addresses. On your website, offer not only a “Contact Us” form, but some content, like an article, that requires the visitor to enter their name and email address. Once you have a decent list of emails, you can start email campaigns promoting your business. Think about the marketing emails you’ve received from your favorite retailer. Did you like what you saw? Did it make you buy their product? Did it have a coupon? If you answer yes, then you know about email marketing a little more than you think. Your future customers need to know who you are, your brand, and your services. Email campaigns are a great way to do so. There are many email marketing software packages that can help you manage email campaigns, and most of them will offer a free trial so you can see if you like it. The most popular are Mailchimp, Drip, and Constant Contact.

5. Attend Networking Events

Invest time and forge personal relationships by attending networking events in your area. Look for local events targeted to the legal profession. There are cities that host events once a month and during the holidays. Remember that “Your network is your net worth” – Tim Sanders.

6. Become a Sponsor

As your business grows, becoming a sponsor is a great way of getting to know your customers, gain new customers, and building up your brand even more. You may start with sponsoring part of an association’s conference or one of your local networking events. Perhaps host a lunch or be an exhibitor. It may seem a little costly but the return on the investment may be great if you choose the right activity to sponsor.

7. Soliciting

Soliciting business in person is one of traditional ways to gain new customers. However, people may be intimidated by this method, because businesses may not want to be bombarded with unsolicited visits. The good news is that there are ways of soliciting without coming across as pushy. As process servers, you will have instances where you need to serve documents at a law firm. When opportunities like this present themselves, make sure you dress and present yourself professionally, and always carry business cards with you to give out.

It is a good practice to complete your service and leave the office to ensure there is separation from your official duty and your solicitation. You could spend a few minutes reviewing the other companies in the building for potential clients, stopping in and simply saying you were in the building serving papers (don’t say to whom!) and thought you’d take a moment to stop in while in the building. Then drop back in at the firm you served a few minutes later and with a “… if you ever need a server in the future” friendly message. Your professionalism will stand out and your low-key introduction may result in a conversation with the staff that leads to being able to set up a meeting with the office manager or paralegal that oversees service of process. A follow up is always a good idea whether by phone or dropping off some donuts or bagels for breakfast. It’s a small investment that may not earn you that client right away but may pay off when they need a process server and your name comes up first because of the good impression you left.

Remember!

While gaining new customers is a wonderful goal and important for any business, a satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all. Make sure you deliver on your promises and you’ll not just attract new customers but keep them as loyal customers.