How to make customers patronize you (5 proven strategies to make and retain customers)

To make and retain customers is not an easy task. You must be equalled to the task in order to make profit and expand your market share.

Listed below are the strategies you must undertake to make people buy your product.

1. PRODUCT STRATEGIES

 A Product refers to a good/service offered for sale or a good/service that satisfies human need.

For you to make sales be ensured you offer a quality product. 

Brand your product (logo, name, trademark etc) to distinguish it from other ones. Package your product ( containers, sachets, cartons etc) for safety, easy to use and durability.

 Label your product perfectly (manufacture date, expiry date, usage, ingredients etc). When you combine all of these ingredients accurately, it will give your product high quality, capacity and capability to give customers maximum satisfaction and in turn boost your sales.

2. PRICING STRATEGIES

Price is a value place on a product or a sacrifice made by buyers to obtain a product.

Price does a lot of work in a business, it enables a business person to make profit and extend the market share.

Before you fix a price for your product, consider the following analysis;

*Cost of production; consider the cost of labour, the cost of materials, the cost of maintenance, the cost of marketing. Consider all the expenses incurred and estimated  expenses from the point of production till the product get to the final consumers.

*Competitors; consider the price your competitors are selling at. If you sell higher than them, your customers will run to where they can get it cheap, if you sell too low, your customers will think your product is not good enough. Fix a competitive price.

* Inflation; you went to market and bought one sachet of tomato at the rate of #80, you go to market today, the same tomato is selling at #100. You don't know how much it might sell tomorrow. That's inflation I just talked about. Consider inflation rate before you fix the price so that you won't loose.

*Demand driven; if your product is highly demanded you can fix high price and cash out before other people will come and spoil market for you.

3. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGIES

Ensure you spend your money and time in doing promotion. Promotion can do wonders for you.

You can use radio, newspapers, posters, sign post, fliers, social media, websites to promote your product.

Also maintain good relationship with your customers, suppliers, competitors, government agencies, friends, relations, colleagues and the general public. They will keep coming to patronize you.

You can as well go to offices, religion centres, market places, schools, clubs etc. Wherever your prospective customers are just try to locate them.

You can organize context, shows, sponsorship, discount sales, credit sales, bonuses, premium etc.

4. PLACE STRATEGIES

This involves getting the right product at the right place in the right time. Move your products to where they are needed. If you can make your product available for the customers at the right place, right time and in good condition, your bank account won't contain your money.

5. CUSTOMER SERVICE STRATEGIES

You can offer pre- sale Service, post-sale Service, home delivery, timely delivery for your customers.

Maintain good gestures, use kind words, if possible entertain them. If you can initiate all of this write up or even go beyond, sky will never be your limit. 

I hope this is helpful! If you need a consulting Service, you may contact us.

How to market your product in Nigeria (8 best selling strategies for small businesses)

Marketing means the activities of a business to ensure continues flow of goods and services from the point of production to the point of consumption. Marketing is a broad term, it ranges from physical distribution, merchandizing and promotion. However, For the purpose of this post we emphasised on  promotion.

Listed below are the eight (8) ways you can market/sell your product

1. Personal selling

2. Advertising

3. Sales promotion

4. Word-of-mouth

5. Branding

6. Packaging

7. public relation

8. Publicity

Let's look at how you can achieve your marketing/selling objectives with the following mentioned above.

1. Personal selling

Personal selling refers to a direct contact between a seller and buyers for an exchange to take place.

Personal selling could occur on the internet, face to face, presentations, messages and phone calls.

For you to market/sell your product, try to locate your prospective customers either in thier offices, schools, religion centres, market places, Houses, public gatherings etc. Prepare yourself to present your product accurately. Explain to them how your product can help solve thier problems or satisfy thier needs and what makes your product better than others.

Personal selling will help you to understand your customer and how you can serve them better.

2. Advertising

Advertising means informing the public about an existence of a product, educating them on how to use the product, persuading them to buy the product, telling them how the product is better than others and/or reminding them about a product through paid media.

For you to market and increase your sales, locate an advertising agency that is willing to offer you affordable services. They are expert in this field that can design effective advertising campaigns for you. Also given the job to them will help save you from unnecessary spending, stress, errors and wasting of time.

However, if you decide to do the job by yourself, these are the advertising media you can place your product.

*Television; local television are cheaper than national television, it will also help you to reach your prospective customers within your limit. 

*News papers; news papers are also relatively cheap depending on the advertising space you intend to cover.

*Magazines; magazines are the best media to advertise products that are perculiar to your industry e.g advertising sport wears on sport magazines.

*Radio; radio is very cheap, it covers wide audience and can even Broadcast in different languages.

*Posters/ banners/calenders/handbills; print quality designs and distribute to your prospective customers.

*Internet ( social media, websites etc); internet is one of the best, simple and cost effective way to market your product. You can locate IT experts to setup social media pages, website and run advertising campaigns for you, you can also do the ones you know how to do by yourself. Locate bloggers to advertise your product for you as well

* Other ways of advertising your product include; T-shirt, caps, nylon leathers, journals, cinemas, sign post, Billboards, church bulletins etc.

3. SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion means using some techniques to stimulate sales. E.g

*Organizing a context; (Nigerian idol, Maltina dance, Gulder ultimate search) are examples of context organized by big firms. You can organize for your product as well.

*Sample; given free products to prospective customers to test.

*Discount sales; Given discount sales can help increase your sales

*Given credit sales; is a way of marketing your product too

*Sponsorship;  sponsoring live events and programs can help increase your sales too

*Trade shows;  showcasing your product In public places and trading programs will also help market your product.

*Premium; buy one get one free, given bonus/jara to your customers is a good way of marketing your product too.

4. WORD-OF-MOUTH

When you give maximum satisfaction to your customers, they will help spread the good news. They will tell thier friends, relations, colleagues, class/course mates, members etc. 

5. BRANDING 

It means specific attributes given to a product that distinguishes it from others e.g name, design, label, trademark, logo, symbols etc.

It will help customers to easily locate and remember your product.

6. PACKAGING

It means to develop containers/sachets for a product.

Design simple, versatile, safe and attractive packages for your product. They contribute to a product quality and also help to attract prospective buyers.

7. PUBLIC RELATIONS

It means a deliberate effort established by a business to create and maintain good relationship, good image and reputation with his/her business environment such as customers, employees, government agencies, competitors, community and suppliers etc. All these things will help to market and increase your product sales

8. PUBLICITY

It means any information about a product or business distributed to the general public through media and it not paid for.

This one must not be too effective for your small business at this stage but you can try it too. Media might not be interested in publishing what they are not gaining much or not gaining at all from.

Study the write up closely, practice what you studied and it will help your business to grow. 

Incase you need a consulting services you may contact us.