A business that hopes to expand cannot afford to be complacent and content with its existing customer base. By limiting customer outreach, businesses limit future potential income. To help with growth and sustain revenues, businesses should add to their prospect list every day. This can be achieved through effective marketing strategies that generate more qualified sales leads and conversions.

As a small business owner, you should explore several different options to expand your customer base. Businesses have successfully tried one or all of these strategies to generate leads.

1) Customer oriented marketing

There are way too many businesses out there offering products similar to yours. To make your marketing material – newspaper ad, brochure, newsletter, email, direct mail, internet ad – stand out from the crowd, you need a headline that grabs the customer’s attention instantly. How do you do this? You do this by addressing the customer’s need. A headline such as “No more bad debts” is more noticeable than “Collection Agency“. By focusing on the customer’s immediate problem, you stand a better chance of attracting attention.

2) Measure effectiveness and weed out wasteful efforts

A business usually employs more than one marketing effort to promote its products and services. But how do you know what works best? You know this by measuring the results of each marketing effort individually. Marketing involves money, time and effort, all of which are wasted for unproductive marketing tactics. For example, a web design company may find that 90% of qualified web design leads are generated through search engine optimization and pay per click advertising online. It makes sense to cutout other strategies and focus only on what delivers the best results.

3) Use your website to attract leads

Your business website is a great opportunity to influence customers. The appearance of the website should appeal to prospects and the content should convince them of your commitment to solve their problems. The web design quote should guide customers to enter the desired information in minimal number of clicks. Contact numbers, email addresses, fax numbers and inquiry forms should be clearly displayed. A user-friendly website wins customer’s favor and leads to repeat visits and recommendations.

4) Cross marketing for increased value to customers

Cross marketing is tying up with another business that sells products and services that complement what you sell. By doing this, you offer customers a complete set of services that meet all their needs and increase your own chances of making a sale. For example, website designers can build a relationship with copywriters. A green consulting firm can tie up with a company that sells energy-efficient equipment. These symbiotic relationships offer customers one-stop solutions and cost savings – an irresistible combination.

5) Address customer’s needs through questions

The goal of any marketing piece is to generate sales leads by getting customers interested in your products or services. One strategy that works well is to ask customers about their problem and provide a solution. A direct question that hits the nail on the head gets noticed immediately. For example, a question such as “Is loss of teeth making you lose your smile?” will have greater impact than “Do you need a dentist?”

Each of the above mentioned strategies work to increase sales leads. Analyze your marketing techniques and incorporate the suggestions to fill gaps. The effort will be worth the results.