How do you find new customers? In today’s technology focused age, finding prospects can be a challenge. This topic is so challenging that it is a hot topic among small business speakers. Some of the rules are the same as they were before. However, with changes in consumer behavior and expectations, some rules are completely new.

Rules for finding new customers

Here are four rules you can use when you are hunting those elusive new customers.

1. Answer the question “Who is your ideal customer?” It is a question that every business owner needs to answer in detail. The answer to that question tells you most of what you need to know when you engage potential customers. What do they need? How can your product or service help them? Is this person a business owner or a retail customer? It is a question that business owners have answered for centuries.

2. Know where to find and engage potential customers. This is an old rule that works today, just in a different context. A few decades ago, the best way to engage a retail consumer was through an ad in the newspaper. Today, it happens with engaging content and an interactive website. It all comes down to inserting your company, brand, and products in front of the consumer in an engaging way.

3. Realize that clients do their own research. This is something relatively new. The Internet has opened up the world to consumers and they have ran with it. Many prospects do a lot of research on their own. They will research companies and products without any input from sales people. You have to make sure that you have a strong online presence and that your online reputation is as good as your offline rep.

4. People want to do business with people. This is a rule that is as important today as it was a century ago. Even if you do a lot of your business online, people still want to know that there is a living, breathing person behind the company. Make sure that your marketing emphasizes this human side.

Finding new customers is something you should be doing all the time. Whether you are doing it in person, having your sales team do it, or leveraging online technology, prospecting and lead generation are a must for business success.

What rules do you follow to find new customers? Need help defining your rules? We can help! Click here now.