Bringing in new customers is the lifeblood of your business, but what happens when you run into a wall with traditional techniques? Tactics like email marketing and cold calling will work, but sometimes you need to switch things up and pursue new customers in a different way.
These four relatively uncommon methods of finding new business will help you get started.
1. Visit competitors’ websites and check out their previous customers
An easy way to tell who is buying the services you offer is to check out the companies your competitors are doing business with. Many companies will include a list of their most prominent customers right on their website; sometimes, they’ll even have a testimonial with the name and title of the person they worked with.
You can contact the person listed on the site directly, but this may be a dead end if they are satisfied with their current provider. Competitors’ testimonials can also inspire you to market your offering to prospects you might never have thought about targeting.
2. Look for people who have written reviews of similar products or services
Check out the reviews of your competitors and companies who offer tangential services. For example, if you sell web development services, you might check out the reviews of a company that provides front-end design services. The people who leave reviews might not need what you offer right now, but they have a budget for your kinds of services, so they are worth staying in touch with.
3. Search through an existing customer’s LinkedIn connections
Humans tend to know and spend time with other people like them. If you sell services to marketing managers, they likely know other marketing managers. If you sell services to sales vice presidents, they probably know other sales vice presidents.
To find these connections without asking your existing client for a referral, check out their LinkedIn profile. Pay attention to the people they are connected to and the groups they are a part of – you may come across a valuable group discussion that allows you to connect with a potential customer.
4. Start with company names and search for titles
Perhaps you’ve identified a list of “ideal clients” – companies you think would be a perfect fit for your offering. Maybe you know of an industry where almost every organization could use your services. However you build your list of prospective client companies, you can use it to find new contacts to offer your services to.
Once you have a list of prospective companies, you can use Boolean search terms to find the right contact on Google or LinkedIn. For example – you might search for something like: “ABC Inc. + manager” or “ABC Inc. + VP + sales.” Experiment with different combinations until you find someone who would likely be the point of contact for purchasing your offering.