Attract New Clients with the Power of Creativity
Every business needs new clients. Without a steady stream of customers businesses will begin to shrink and revenues decline. The classic methods for generating customers include advertising, networking and direct mail but sometimes the old tactics don’t work. That’s when you need some new ideas. This post covers four creative ways to attract new clients that may be new to you.
Attract New Clients With Influencers
Have you ever worked with a social media influencer? Relax, I’m not suggesting you throw thousands at someone you’ve never heard of before to pretend they’ve heard of your products. We’ve all heard the stories about “influencers” being paid ridiculous amounts to claim that drinking some new brand of tea will make you slim, beautiful and fascinating to be around.
Forget all that. Instead, consider your niche and do some actual research to find, for example, a little-known Youtuber or Instagrammer who has built up a dedicated audience because they genuinely have an interest in products or services in your field. Be cautious though: don’t be seduced by the numbers. Many people are described as influencers when they are actually little more than “faces” pushing out content according to a formula. Authentic influencer marketing requires creative input. Choose influencers within your niche that can actually influence creatively. #InfluencerMarketing #inspiration Share on X
The influencers you choose to work with don’t have to have millions of followers, but they should be actively engaged in discussions with their audience. Read the comments on their posts and work out if the influencer replies frequently to comments, and you’ll soon be able to tell if the commenters are actually watching their videos. Feel free to comment and converse with them on their posts yourself. You’ll also soon see if the audience respects the views and opinions of the creator. That is what separates true influencers from celebrity wannabes. Only after you’ve done your research should you consider approaching the influencer.
But don’t fall into the trap that lazy marketers are prone to: instead of just telling the influencer to mention your product and read out your marketing copy, try a more creative approach. After all, true influencers are creative performers who originate their own audience-grabbing content all the time. They are experts in communicating with their particular audience.
Ask them how they might prefer to work with you. They may prefer to write their own script. Or they may have ideas that you would never have thought of. Of course, you can insist on script approval before recording, but try to be flexible. You’ll usually get much better results if you collaborate with your influencers rather than if you try to direct them. Taking the corporate approach may feel safer for you, but it is less likely to produce the kind of creative output you went to the influencer for in the first place.
Attract New Clients with Video Ads
Advertising is as old as the hills. Ever since one of our early ancestors worked out how to shape a rock better than their contemporaries and showed it off to the rest of the tribe, we’ve advertised our benefits. “Me want!” has been the cry ever since. Today, we’re used to being bombarded by ads everywhere we go. It’s not surprising that we are pretty good at filtering them out of our everyday consciousness.
It takes something pretty unusual to cut through the general static of advertising that surrounds us. Hand us a flyer in the street and it’ll probably end up in a bin a few steps further along. Push leaflets through our door? You might as well put it straight into our recycling bin.
Yet, despite our jaded palates, we still have time to spare some attention for video adverts. Maybe it’s because we evolved to notice colourful moving objects. Maybe it’s the novelty of having audio and visual stimulus combined. Maybe it’s just because it’s still relatively new. Whatever the reason, savvy marketers are aware that video is incredibly effective at getting the attention of buyers, and if you are in business that’s good news for you. Create #VideoAds that people want to talk to each other about. #ContentMarketing #creativity Share on X
Even better news is that it is now much more achievable for businesses with smaller budgets. Thanks to advances in technology and working practices, what used to involve expensive and extensive resources can now be achieved quickly and relatively cheaply by small teams and even individuals.
Video ads can be short or long, but are best when they are brief, remarkable and tell a story in just a few seconds. In the 1950s TV ads were typically 60 seconds long. In the 1970s this dropped to 30 seconds, and now 15 seconds is the norm for television. Online, watching a 15 second ad can seem almost like watching the the slow grinding of tectonic plates. If you are creating a pre-roll ad for Youtube you had better present your hook within 5 seconds or less if you don’t want users to click the “skip ad” button.
The main objective though is to make your video remarkable. What does that mean in the real world? If your video ad provokes people to tap one another on the shoulder and say “Did you see that ad from xyz?” you will have done your job.
Attract New Clients by Raising Your Prices
It may seem counterintuitive, but if you want to attract new clients you should avoid the temptation to drop your prices. In fact, I would urge you to follow the advice of the business guru Robert Craven and take a more creative route: raise your prices. This will do two things for your business.
Firstly, it will help you to shed those clients who constantly ask for discounts or special deals. If you’re honest with yourself, most of those type of clients don’t appreciate the quality of your work anyway, or the the amount of effort you put into what you do. Want to attract more clients? Raise your prices. #AttractNewClients #PursueGreatness Share on X
Secondly, it will open you up to an entire marketplace of new clients who previously may have looked at your prices and worried whether you were up to the job. It is a normal human condition in our society to judge the value of a product or service by how much it costs. That may not be fair or even an accurate way to judge worth, but it’s a reality we must be aware of in business.
So take the creative option when it comes to pricing and charge more. It will have the wonderful effect of reducing the number of clients you need to maintain sustainable growth. Just remember to avoid going overboard with your prices; never charge excessively, but no reasonable client will expect you to charge less than the quality of your work deserves.
Attract New Clients by Sharing Your Superhero Brand Story
Branding is a vital part of marketing. Every business has a brand, but what you may not be aware of is that even if you don’t actively build awareness of your brand, potential clients will create one based on what they can see of you. So, whilst you may see your brand values as efficiency, focus and data-driven activity, unless you communicate those values effectively, observers could interpret the personality of your brand as cold, impersonal and unfriendly. Your brand is what other people think of you behind your back. #BrandStory #CreativeMarketing #branding Share on X
The very smallest part of your brand is your logo, yet that’s what most people assume is where your brand lives. In fact your brand is your reputation, and it lives in the emotional response others have about you. If they feel you can be trusted, your brand has the value of trust. If they feel that you share their opinions on what is most important they will be sympathetic to the aims of your brand. Your brand exists in the perceptions that clients, potential clients, strangers and competitors have of you. That is why it is imperative that you take control of how your brand values and attitudes are conveyed.
Storytelling is the most powerful tool we have for conveying information in our society. The reason why stories are so effective is that a well-told narrative carries memories, lessons, and emotional and technical information. Despite this, many businesses find it incredibly hard to identify their own brand story. It’s easy to talk enthusiastically about someone else, but try doing that about yourself? Forget it. That’s why we have developed a tool to develop your brand story using the superhero model.
Read our post about developing your Superhero Brand Story.
The Next Step
You can’t buy new clients. Neither can you force new clients to work with you, unless you have a monopoly. New clients have to be persuaded to choose your business over your competitors. They have to be attracted, persuaded that you are their best option, and finally they must trust you before they hand over their money. Every market is becoming increasingly competitive. That’s why it’s more important than ever to find creative ways to attract new clients. I hope these ideas will help you with that. If you need a little more help, contact us at Design Inspiration. We love a creative challenge.
The Next Step
Design Inspiration has over 28 years’ experience in creating content that gets businesses noticed online. If you want to have a no-obligation conversation about the ways we could help your business, get in touch with Design Inspiration via this form: