Business: Top Tips for Finding New Customers

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. So finding new customers is key when starting or growing your business. Expanding your customer base can help you increase the reach and awareness of your product or service. It can also increase your sales and profitability, as well as ensure you meet your business goals and objectives.

Benefits of attracting new customers
Attracting and keeping the right customers can make a big difference to your business. It can:

• increase your sales revenue;
• help build brand awareness;
• generate positive word of mouth;
• increase the potential for referral business; and
• help you build networks and relationships with your customers and other businesses.

5 tips for finding new customers

• Network and referrals – Business networking events are a good opportunity to find new customers. Attending events gives you an opportunity to promote your business, meet new and existing customers and connect with other businesses that may be willing to refer your business to their customers.

• Expand your sales channels – This means looking at the ways you communicate and sell to your customers and consider how you might expand these. This may mean starting a website to move online or setting up social media channels to communicate with new and existing customers.

• Give incentives to existing customers for referral – This could include a ‘Bring a friend – buy one get and one free’ voucher or similar, to encourage your existing customers to refer their friends to your business. Focusing on existing customers and improving their customer service experience may also help increase the number of new customers through positive word of mouth and customer referral.

• Undertake marketing activities – Investing in marketing activities such as direct mail out, flyers or an advertising campaign may help expand your existing customer base. If you’re an online business, you may choose to do an online marketing campaign. Make sure any marketing activities you undertake are in line with the goals you set out in your marketing plan. Visit our Marketing topic to better understand advertising and promotion and to help you write your marketing plan.

• Connect with other businesses – Sometimes referred to as ‘affiliate marketing’, this can mean partnering with other businesses to help you get you new customers. You may find it useful to look for businesses that operate in a business area that complements your product or service, and that have a similar customer profile or target market.

This information is brought to you by business.gov.au

More Information

• Read our page on how to provide good customer service for tips on improving your service delivery.
• Focus on keeping loyal customers to help increase the referral business you receive.
• Visit our Event Finder to help you begin your networking activities.
• Read our Marketing topic for more info on advertising and promotional activities.
• Download our Marketing plan template and guide to start planning marketing activities to help you find new customers.