Four Steps in Growing a Loyal Clientele

A key to growing a healthy business during a tough economy is to generate a base of repeat customers which provide a steady stream of revenue and you need to know the must have steps for growing such loyal clientele. One of the first steps a new business owner usually takes when starting up a business is to find a good printing services provider to print marketing materials and business cards. Business cards and printing services play a critical role in getting your message out to the community.

Business cards and printed marketing materials are essential in marketing your message and beginning the process of helping you to gain a loyal clientele. Many new start ups quickly create their brand and related message without putting much serious thought into what it should be. Listed below are four important steps in growing a loyal clientele:

1. Identify your uniqueness and brand it :

One of the most important things an effective business card can do is set your company apart from other competitors. Before ordering business cards and marketing materials you need to identify the most unique quality of your business and build a powerful brand around it. Sometimes your uniqueness may be identified by a niche market that you serve or it could be a desirable characteristic of the service you provide.

A successful pizza business offers their pizza free of charge if they don’t deliver it within a specified time frame. That is a powerful branding message that jumps out at people who don’t like waiting inordinate amounts of time for their dinner. That is one example of how to build a brand around one important aspect of good service.

A successful real estate salesman banded himself as “Jim the Condo Man”, touting the fact that he has years of experience and special knowledge in helping people to buy and sell condos. His branding makes him unique from traditional all purpose real estate agents and it reaches out to anyone buying or selling a condominium.

Once you have thoughtfully developed a unique and compelling brand, you are in a much better position to create business cards and marketing materials that will project a powerful message. Your logo and associated tagline will become valuable intellectual property.

2. Make your business card memorable :

There are other ways to make your business card stand out besides a powerful branding message. Humor is one of them. Humor can be a powerful way of getting someone’s attention. Symbolism is another one. A successful divorce lawyer hands out business cards that can be split into two pieces. How is that for a powerful way to create a lasting memory of a legal service?

Another way to make your message stand out is to cosmetically make the card stand out. A successful wedding invitations company uses transparent business cards that can be seen through around the content. An interior design company used a beautiful white card with textured designs on it. Some unique cards even come in unique shapes instead of the traditional rectangle. There are countless ways to make a card memorable.

3. Provide free giveaways.

Once you have a powerful branded message that sets you apart, find inexpensive but useful things to give away for free. Naturally, these free giveaways will have your branding on them. Every time the person uses the gift you gave them they will be reminded of the unique service you provide. This keeps you and your uniqueness at the top of mind when your services are needed.

There is no limit to the kinds of free things that people will love to keep and use. Everything from free pens and refrigerator magnets to free t-shirts and baseball caps can be effective. Remember, the thing that makes the giveaways effective is a compelling and memorable message of uniqueness.

4. Make your customers ambassadors :

Friend to friend, word-of-mouth marketing is the most effective and inexpensive marketing that there is. Few things are more powerful than a personal endorsement from a happy and loyal customer. Make it fun and easy for customers to tell their friends and family about your products and services.

There are numerous ways of motivating and simply reminding your satisfied customers to share your services with friends. Believe it or not, one of the most effective ways is to simply ask them if they will tell their friends about you. Perhaps you can offer a discount or other type of incentive for each new friend they introduce to your services.

Ultimately, the name of the game is repetitiously exposing potential customers to your unique business identity through effectively branding your unique service. Each new happy customer you get is a potential brand ambassador what will help you grow your loyal clientele. Business cards and printed marketing materials can play an important role if you will first put some serious thought into what makes your service unique.

Author bio : Heather Newman woks for Alpha Graphics, a company that provides printing services and Business cards which are very important for any start up company to establish their presence.