• About Us
  • Write for Us
  • Paid Content Solutions
  • Contact Us
  • Login
ExpertHub
  • HOME
  • LAUNCH
  • BUSINESS
  • LEADERSHIP
  • MONEY
  • SUCCESS
  • NEWS
    • All
    • Company Posts
    • ExpertHub Today
    Transunion Global Capability Centres Boom

    Global Capability Centres Boom As They Move Up The Value Chain

    Global Tech companies

    Global Tech Companies Are Turning To South Africa For Media And Marketing Expertise

    Innovation Summit

    Innovation Summit 2021 Showcases SA’s Top Tech Entrepreneurs

    Three customer experience strategies you’re missing-23Sep21

    Three Customer Experience Strategies You’re Missing

    Embracing digital 1st world, SMBs confid. to thrive-23Sep21

    Embracing A Digital-First World, SMBs Can Have The Confidence To Thrive

    SAB Foundation Calling All Entrepreneurs Tholoana Entps. Prog.

    Applications for SAB Foundation Are Now Open

    Trending Tags

    • About Us
      • Write for Us
      • Paid Content Services
      • Contact Us
    No Result
    View All Result
    • HOME
    • LAUNCH
    • BUSINESS
    • LEADERSHIP
    • MONEY
    • SUCCESS
    • NEWS
      • All
      • Company Posts
      • ExpertHub Today
      Transunion Global Capability Centres Boom

      Global Capability Centres Boom As They Move Up The Value Chain

      Global Tech companies

      Global Tech Companies Are Turning To South Africa For Media And Marketing Expertise

      Innovation Summit

      Innovation Summit 2021 Showcases SA’s Top Tech Entrepreneurs

      Three customer experience strategies you’re missing-23Sep21

      Three Customer Experience Strategies You’re Missing

      Embracing digital 1st world, SMBs confid. to thrive-23Sep21

      Embracing A Digital-First World, SMBs Can Have The Confidence To Thrive

      SAB Foundation Calling All Entrepreneurs Tholoana Entps. Prog.

      Applications for SAB Foundation Are Now Open

      Trending Tags

      • About Us
        • Write for Us
        • Paid Content Services
        • Contact Us
      No Result
      View All Result
      ExpertHub
      No Result
      View All Result
      Home BUSINESS Sales How to Guides

      Attention Startups: How to Get Those First 20 Customers

      Starting your own business, or being on board in a new company, can be an immensely exciting time. Yet there are worries too, of course. Will this company actually survive and prosper? Will you actually get any customers? How will you pay your bills?

      Chloe Bennet by Chloe Bennet
      Jul 17, 2019
      in How to Guides
      325
      Startup-customers
      Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

      RelatedTopics

      When Do You Know It’s Time To Sell Your Business

      Selling Your Business? How To Exit In Style

      When Is The Right Time To Sell Your Business?

      Anyone who has been involved in a startup business will be familiar with these concerns – every new business shares them. Fortunately, there are some useful tips to follow to get you those all-important first few customers.

      From there, word of mouth, properly targeted marketing strategies and a continued belief in what you are doing, as well as the knowledge of how you will do it, should see you through to more affluent times. That first year is make or break for every startup which has ever been, or ever will be.

      There is one more challenge. It used to be that funding could be secured for startups, especially through venture capitalists, with just great ideas and a vision of what you want to achieve.

      These days, you already have to have business rolling in. So, it’s all about securing those first few customers: they are the key to future funding, and survival.

      Related:5 Important Things To Consider Before Taking The Leap And Buying A Business

      With all this in mind, and budget a serious constraint, every startup needs to follow practical, and cost-effective, steps to securing its first few, valuable customers, who pay the initial bills. Here are those steps:

      1. Attend trade shows and conferences

      Unless you are travelling halfway round the world (which will be totally unnecessary in most cases), attending trade shows and conferences relevant to your product is a great, cost-effective way of getting your business seen.

      It’s all about exposure, so while you are there, talk to as many people as you possibly can – everyone is a potential customer, or can put potential customers your way. Forge relationships, and tell anyone who will listen about your company and what you offer.

      “Before you attend any trade shows, make sure that you have rehearsed exactly what you will tell people. Never deviate from the mission, and each time you communicate, make the delivery sharper and more concise. Find out what people are looking for, and adapt your pitch to their needs. Just get yourself out there, period, but you need to know exactly what you are selling too,” suggests Bob Franks, a senior marketer at Personal Statement Writing and Paper Fellows.

      2. Utilize paid ads

      Paid-ads

      You may balk at the word ‘paid’ – you have a limited budget of course. However, paid ads through the usual channels of Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, for example, are really useful because they can deliver you all kinds of metrics that you can use moving forward to really adapt your content and target it correctly.

      And you really don’t need to spend much at all – even a $5 ad will give you some modicum of data which can be analyzed.

      “Analytics really are a key consideration here. The companies that really do well are those that have the best handle on who their audiences are, and what those audiences want. What type of content engages them initially, and what kind of content ultimately pushes through conversions? It’s a trial-and-error process for absolutely everybody at the beginning, but the point is you do need to speculate (a little bit) to accumulate here,” says Tash Fellowes, a webinar expert at OXEssays and Academized.

      3.Piggyback

      This is another tried-and-tested tactic, and avoids having to reinvent the wheel, which is timely and costly.

      Related:Why ‘Second Best’ Is Appealing To Customers Right Now (And How You Can Offer It)

      There are a number of examples down the years of massively successful companies who started out by piggybacking onto another platform (Airbnb’s utilization of Craigslist’s user base is now legendary) and all this really needs is an understanding of who your audience really are and where they already hang out.

      It’s the same concept with social media – don’t be using LinkedIn when your potential users are the teen market who are all hanging out on Instagram.

      4. Free samples/trials

      This is a slightly riskier strategy, depending on what it costs you. Often the most valuable commodity a startup has is time, so delivering something for free may end up setting you back just too much to proceed.

      However, don’t rule this out as an option, it’s just you need to be very careful who you offer this too.

      Related: How Well Do You Really Know Your Customers?

      If there is a potential customer who you know can offer you a truckload of subsequent work, and can also spread the word regarding what you are doing, then offering a free trial can be a great way to get the exposure you looking for – remember that world of mouth is still the singularly most effective means of promoting your business.

      Be wary of those who are just looking for a free lunch, however, of which there are many.

      5. Cold calls/emails

      This is an often-overlooked strategy in this day and age of technically-advanced marketing tactics, but it still works.

      First of all utilize your existing contacts, of course, but from there, as long as you do your research right, you can start a cold emailing process which is cheap to execute and might just get you one or two hits, which is all you are looking for from any one source.

      Related:6 Steps To A Better Start-up (That Survives)

      Cold calling is also an option, and again in modern business is not the expected route to follow: who knows, that surprising human conversation on the phone may just be the in that you were looking for.

      It may take a little courage, but if you believe in yourself and your product, take that opportunity to tell people about it, wherever they may be.

      6. Double down

      It is important to realize that you will almost never get all of your conversions from one source: it is about tapping as any channels as possible to improve those numbers.

      Once you have those first few users on board, you can double down on the most successful channels (as long as you are measuring) and then repeat the trick. Scale up with that incoming revenue, and never look back.

      Related:20 TV Shows To Watch To Inspire You In Your Start-Up

      Chloe Bennet

      Chloe Bennet

      Specialist email marketer Chloe Bennet is also a major contributor to Dissertation Services and Boom Essays. She writes about content editing and marketing techniques and develops editorial calendars for various online businesses. Chloe enjoys writing for Essayroo review.

      Quick Links

      • Business Plan Advice
      • Business Plan Format Guide
      • Business Plan Format
      • Sample Business Plans

      NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP

      Sign-up for Weekly ExpertHub Updates

      * indicates required




      EXPERT INSIGHTS

      Building a vision for your business

      Must Have A Vision For Business Success

      by Natalie Shand-Spellman

      Capturing a vision is beneficial in having a successful business and can be a first step before creating business plans.

      For Simple First Steps for Starting a business

      Simple First Steps To Starting Your Business

      by Stacey Sparks-Huff

      The first step to making sure you will have a profitable business is to test the market. You have to...

      Startup Content Marketing: 3 Things To Do Right Now

      Startup Content Marketing: 3 Things To Do Right Now

      by Frank Hamilton

      Content marketing has become so popular that brands both big and small eagerly use it in almost every marketing campaign....

      Work Life Balance - Morning Mindset Practices

      Morning Mindset Practices Are Key To Maintaining Balance

      by Sheila Vaske

      Work / Life balance is a huge topic these days, and one that really needs some attention. I hear it...

      • HOME
      • LAUNCH
      • BUSINESS
      • LEADERSHIP
      • MONEY
      • SUCCESS
      • NEWS
      • About Us
        • Write for Us
        • Paid Content Services
        • Contact Us
      • About Us
      • Write for Us
      • Paid Content Services
      • Contact Us
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Data Privacy Policy
      • Privacy Policy
      • Sitemap

      Copyright © 2022 ExpertHub.info
      Revenue Growth Experts

      No Result
      View All Result
      • HOME
      • LAUNCH
      • BUSINESS
      • LEADERSHIP
      • MONEY
      • SUCCESS
      • NEWS
      • About Us
        • Write for Us
        • Paid Content Services
        • Contact Us

      Copyright © 2022 ExpertHub.info
      Revenue Growth Experts

      Welcome Back!

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password?

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In