There comes a time in the life of every business, be it a coffee shop, a bar, a restaurant, or even a hostel, it doesn't matter, when growth is necessary.
To grow, you need more revenue; to have more revenue, you need more customers, and to do that, you need to attract those customers. Nothing new here.
However, many companies jump straight to the tools and tactics of how to attract more customers to their establishment, leaving the strategy, which is based on perceptions and points of view about the product or service offered, in the background.
In other words, these companies are starting from the middle of the buying journey, not the beginning.
What are the consequences of this?
Well, in short, planning becomes unsustainable and tends to fail. Maybe that's not the outcome you want for your plan to attract more customers, right?
That's why we've put together this list of three essential insights you should have before you start building your customer acquisition strategy .
1# Be aware of people's perception of your establishment
The first point you should keep in mind when focusing on attracting new customers to your establishment is the importance people place on other people's experiences.
Before visiting a bar, a restaurant, or staying at a hotel, when do you actually decide whether or not you will go to the establishment?
Let's use the following example:
You heard about a new pasta restaurant that opened in town. The products offered by the restaurant are excellent, the space seems cozy, and the service is exemplary, but you ended up finding the price a little steep.
In this scenario, would you still go to the restaurant if some people told you that the food arrived cold? Or, on the other hand, wouldn't it be a big factor in your decision if someone said the place was perfect and that you should definitely go?
Another example: what do you think has more impact, a great coffee shop flyer, or a bunch of people saying that the coffee shop serves great coffee accompanied by the best cheese bread in the region?
There are many examples to confirm how significant and influential other people's experiences are . You yourself must have thought of one situation or another where the perception someone shares with you was the deciding factor in whether or not you went to a certain establishment.
This is all because this whole idea takes us to the concept of one of the most powerful and oldest marketing tools, word of mouth marketing.
After understanding the true importance people place on other people's experiences, let's move on to the second insight you need to start attracting more customers to your business.
2# Make it easy for people to talk about your establishment
You might be wondering, "Okay, I get how important people are to others' experiences, but what now?" Well, now's the time to check if it's easy for your customers to talk about you.
The notion of the importance of other people's experiences in decision-making already brings up another perception: the importance of having a good action plan to encourage your customers to talk about you.
It will all depend on the profile of your audience.
Where they look for information about a place, where they are most easily impacted, how they consume your product, what value they see in your product, how they react to your positioning, among other issues.
Understanding your customer's journey will give you the tools you need to analyze the right time or times to set these incentives and triggers for your customers to talk about you.
👉 Further reading: What is the customer journey and how to map yours?
3# Are you in the right place to start attracting these new consumers?
Have you ever heard of the zero moment of truth (ZMOT) ?
According to Google, this is the moment between the stimulus that impacts the consumer (such as an advertisement) and the actual purchase.
This is where consumers look for information about your company and product, and where they base much of their decision on other people's experiences, most often expressed through reviews (online evaluations) from other customers.
Here you need to understand that working on your online reputation is essential to your strategy of attracting new customers.
You will make certain observations, such as, does your online reputation on Google My Business make you appear ahead of your competitors?
But just like Google My Business, there are a multitude of online reputation sites (Tripadvisor, Yelp, Facebook recommendations, etc.) where your establishment needs to be (and well ranked) to attract more and new customers.
Conclusion
By following the three points outlined above, you ensure that when designing your new customer acquisition strategy, you'll start from the very beginning of the buying journey. Another positive consequence is that you'll also strengthen your establishment's relationship with customers.
👉 Further reading: Impact of review management on social media planning
