Nine Ways to Grow a Customer Base at Your Boutique
Study Your Existing Customer Base
The first step any boutique should take when growing their customer base is to study their existing clientele. You can learn much about your customer base by studying your best-selling products or services. And while it can be an added expense, customer surveys can also provide precious information. Additionally, you can track individual consumers’ spending habits by utilizing a rewards program.
Find Potential Prospects
Finding new customers is the fastest way to grow a customer base. Studying your existing customer base will help give you insights into what potential customers you may want to target. Still, this can be challenging even if the business knows what it is looking for. Luckily there are a few helpful tips any boutique can use to find new customers.
· Study competitors for clues into how they attract customers
· Survey your existing customers to see where your business is doing well and where improvement is needed
· Try a targeted ad campaign
· Study if an affiliated marketing campaign or referral program may work for your boutique’s circumstances
Protect Your Investment!
If you are spending the time, energy, and capital on growing your business, it’s vital to protect this investment. One easy way to do this is to ensure you have quality retail business insurance. A certificate of insurance, or proof of insurance, is a prerequisite to renting commercial space. Such insurance can often be found for reasonable prices. Of course, exact costs will depend on factors such as the work your business does, location, and the number of work vehicles, among other considerations.
Get Out into the Community
Word of mouth marketing is one of the best ways to grow a boutique’s customer base. And one of the best ways to stay at the top of mind in your community is to be an active member. Feel free to host events that will ingratiate you to the community and help build your brand’s image. Non-profit organizations are always looking for businesses to partner with. For example, hosting an adoption event for a local animal shelter can be a great way to bring in new customers while helping animals find a forever home. (And having cute pups around is just an added bonus!)
Get Good Data to Measure Success
How will you be able to tell that your customer base is growing? Check the data. Such indicators are commonly referred to as Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. There is a variety of KPIs that are used in different industries. Business owners are likely familiar with KPIs such as gross revenue, expenses, and net profit.
Are you looking for more advanced data? Consider surveying your customers to see your business's satisfaction and experience with your boutique. At the very least, a company should know their customers’ lifetime value and what it costs the business to get a new customer.
Build Your Brand Up on Social Media
Social media has long become an invaluable tool for any boutique. Social media isn’t just a place to interact with customers and the larger community. Social media presence also can be a vital source of advertising. Targeted ad campaigns on social media can help a boutique target the consumers who are most likely to be converted into customers. Using keywords that are related to what your business does will ensure that the ads are appropriately targeted.
Partner With Other Businesses
Are there other businesses nearby that don’t directly compete with you? Working together may be an excellent way to bring new customers and foot traffic to the area. For example, is there a busy café whose customers you could offer a discount to? Consider looking into if such strategic partnerships with local businesses may work in your situation.
Invest in a Good Website
As mentioned above, having a good social media presence is imperative for any small business’s continued growth. However, relying on social media alone for a web presence isn’t a good idea. A well-organized website can be invaluable when presenting a professional face to your customers and community. A business website is also the perfect place to advertise your most popular services and goods.
Never Stop Adapting
Growing a customer base is a never-ending task. And even once a growth strategy that works is found, that doesn’t mean that it will continue to be useful indefinitely. For this reason alone, a business should never rest on its laurels. Consumers’ tastes and needs will change, so be sure to keep abreast with industry developments. After all, no one wants to build a successful business just to be blindsided by changing mores.
Consider Joining a Trade Organization
Finally, boutique owners should consider joining a related trade organization. This is a good idea for a couple of reasons. First, trade organizations are a good source of advocacy and programs that can help business owners learn to use best practices. Second, a trade organization is also an excellent opportunity to network with other businesses and suppliers in the field. The Association of Gift Boutique Retailers of America is one such organization to consider, it currently has over 25,000 member businesses.
