How to get more customers for a small business: 7 things that actually work

Every business owner wants the same thing: more customers. The problem is that most advice on how to get them is either vague ("provide value!") or a gimmick that works for about a week. Here's the actual list, in the order that matters, because doing number seven before number one is how people waste money.

1. Make it stupidly easy to find and contact you

Before anything fancy, make sure a person who wants to hire you actually can. Your phone number or a contact button should be visible everywhere, your Google listing should be accurate, and someone should be able to reach you in one tap. You'd be amazed how many businesses lose customers simply because they were annoying to get hold of.

2. Turn your happy customers into reviews

Reviews are the closest thing to free advertising that exists. People trust them more than anything you say about yourself. Ask every happy customer, right after the job, with a direct link. A steady stream of recent reviews does more to win new customers than almost anything else on this list.

3. Show up where they're already looking

Your customers are on Google and on social media right now. You don't need to be everywhere, but you need to exist where they look. A complete Google Business Profile and a consistent presence on one social platform covers most of it. If they search and can't find you, they find your competitor instead.

4. Respond fast, like really fast

The business that answers first usually wins. The research is blunt about it: reply within five minutes and you're dramatically more likely to land the job than if you wait an hour. Most businesses take hours or days. Just being quick to respond puts you ahead of most of your competition without spending a dime.

5. Give people a clear reason to pick you

"We do good work" is what everyone says. So why you? Faster, cleaner, a guarantee, a specialty, proof you've done it a hundred times. Pick the thing that's actually true about you and say it plainly, everywhere. A clear reason to choose you turns a maybe into a yes.

6. Stay in front of the customers you already have

Your past customers are the cheapest source of new work you have, and most businesses ignore them completely. A simple email or text now and then, a reminder, a check-in, keeps you top of mind, so when they need you again or someone asks them for a referral, you're the name that comes up.

7. Then, and only then, pay to amplify

Ads work, but they amplify whatever you already have. Run ads before the six things above are in place and you're paying to pour customers into a leaky bucket. Fix the leaks first, then ads pour gas on a fire that's already lit.

Getting more customers isn't one big secret. It's doing the boring fundamentals in the right order, better than the other guy.

If you'd rather just have someone handle all of this, that's the job. Book a free call and we'll figure out which of these seven is costing you the most right now.