How to Attract Your Dream Clients (and Make Them Stay)

In marketing, the more you try speaking to everybody, the more challenging it will be to achieve your business goals.

Meet Charlene. She learned this the hard way.

Having inherited a high-end furniture store from her father, Charlene initially aimed to expand the business by adding a little bit of everything into their collections. Whether you preferred modern, country, rustic, transitional, or even eclectic, Charlene’s showroom would surely have something to offer. 

It sounded like an excellent idea at first. The number of store visitors doubled during the first month. However, the revenues didn’t reach Charlene’s expectations. By the third month, the customers willing to pay her higher-than-average price tags were nowhere to be seen. 

Baffled by this development, Charlene reached out to the former store patrons to determine where she went wrong. How do you think did those customers respond? What factors could have derailed Charlene’s dreams of taking the business to the next level? Can she still turn things around for the better?

Let’s find out the answers in this article. Today, we will cover the crucial points that every entrepreneur should keep in mind to attract the ideal clients for your business. We will also discuss how you can maintain their attention and gain their loyalty to your brand.  

Why It’s Important to Get the Right Clients

Your business may have a large social media following. You could be doing multiple marketing campaigns a year. Your official website might be on the first page of search results. None of this matters, however, if your efforts don’t lead to a larger share of your target market. 

When formulating a business plan, a critical component is market research. By spending time recognising and analysing the right clients for your business, you will be able to:

Differentiate yourself from the crowd

One of the reasons Charlene’s plan failed is her failure to stay true to its brand identity. The store catered to high-end customers with specific tastes and expectations for years. However, that unique selling proposition (USP) was erased when Charlene decided to include other styles that those customers didn’t appreciate. As a result, the store lost several paying clients to competing furniture stores with better branding or advertising strategies. 

Attract high-quality leads

It’s not enough to generate new leads every day. The quality of your leads determines how effective you are at attracting paying customers. Charlene could be having thousands of store visitors every week. But if her store sales remained virtually unchanged, she and her team would be wasting their time and energy trying to convince individuals who were just there to look around and never return. 

Improve products and services

Charlene’s goal of expanding the business would have gone a lot better if she had considered first the needs and wants of her target customers. Only by trying to see things from their perspective can we begin to find ways to serve our clients better.

Even if you intend to reach a different market segment through a new product, you must still evaluate how this change will affect your current clientele.

The existing store customers didn’t like what they had seen in the showroom, and it gave them a reason to look for other furniture stores that better match their preferences. 

Stay focused on the company vision

Aside from research and development, having the right clients for your business will help you and your team to stay focused on realizing the vision you have for your business.

Everyone knows and understands which type of customers should be targeted, and therefore, the plans, decisions, budgets, and actions are made in the same direction.

Charlene couldn’t focus on accomplishing her vision for the store because she got distracted by the wrong initiatives and decreasing revenues. 

Build stronger customer loyalty

It’s easier to gain the trust and loyalty of customers if you have managed to carry out effective targeted marketing strategies.

By going on a personal and more intimate route, you may have a better chance of convincing your clients to continue doing business with you, even if the company has to grow and evolve in the future. 

As you can see, getting the right clients for your business will influence how you design strategies for branding and advertising and how you will operate your business as a whole. 

How to Get Those Dream Clients

Casting a wide net doesn’t necessarily mean higher chances of success, as in the case of Charlene. The smarter way to go about this is by seeking and classifying the potential customers we have depending on well they fit our business and brand. 

Here are four tips on how you can attract and acquire your target audience:

Develop the dream client persona for your business

Defining who we want to serve as clients is critical in developing sound marketing plans. A dream client persona is a tool that helps you better envision and clarify the qualities, capabilities, and needs of your target customers. To help you create this, use the points below as guides in narrowing down who your ideal clients are:

• Demographics (age, civil status, residence, etc.)
• Personal finances
• Spending habits
• Online behaviour
• Hopes and dreams
• Worries and fears
• Influential figures
• Brand affinities

Be loud about your USP

What differentiates you from similar businesses shouldn’t just be found written on your business plan. If you highlighted your USP in every marketing material and official website, interested buyers would know right away if your products and services match their expectations. Your dream clients will also better identify with your brand since your USP resonates with them. 

Focus on earning referrals

If you’ve got high-quality customers who trust and love your brand, make the most of this opportunity by asking for referrals. Their social circles and networks are most likely filled with individuals who will also fit your business well. Refrain from incentivizing them through referral fees or special discounts because that could lower the quality of leads they could provide you. Instead, seek referrals from clients who genuinely believe in your brand. 

Don’t be afraid to turn away bad leads

As exhibited in Charlene’s failed marketing strategy, we don’t have to form a connection with everyone who pays attention to our business.

Some don’t have the purchasing power that matches your price positioning, while others may cause problems in the future because of their unreasonable demands.

If you know your worth as a company and what you want to have as clients, then you don’t have to force yourself to cater to the needs of everyone that comes your way. 

Being selective benefits both the bottom line and the customers themselves. We will build an engaged and paying clientele who can then turn into loyal customers over time. This loyalty helps lower your marketing and advertising costs because the customers would be willing to help your business through referrals and good reviews. In return, your company can focus on creating and developing better products and services for the target audience. 

How to Make Those Clients Love You (and Stay with You)

The next step after acquiring clients is gaining their loyalty. This will ensure your business’s steady flow of revenue and inspire other potential dream clients to purchase your products or services. 

Below are three ways to enhance the positive feelings and respect of your high-quality clients:

Prioritise excellent customer service

We can’t expect loyal customers if we won’t exert effort on providing quick, friendly, and effective customer service. This involves all the in-store staff and whoever will be assigned to operate your phones or manage your social media accounts. 

Set up a customer reward program

Positive reinforcement through rewards will make your customers feel appreciated. This typically involves giving them exclusive offers, great discounts, and unique gifts if they continue to spend money on your business. 

Improve your processes by listening to customer feedback

Enhance your business processes by considering what your customers think you can do better. For example, simplifying your online checkout procedure will allow your customers to complete the order faster and avoid feeling frustrated with long forms or confusing instructions. 

If you have noticed, the goal of these initiatives is to nurture your relationship with your dream clients. Remember that it takes time and consistency to make them love and stay loyal to your brand. 

Key Takeaways

Running a business as Charlene had done initially will make you work harder for lower returns. Turning this situation around can only be done if we would take the time to recognise our clients and focus on strengthening our connection with them. 

This lesson may be learned through a bit of trial and error. However, we encourage business owners, especially those who are just starting, to seek the advice of their experienced peers or business coaches who specialise in targeted marketing. Feel free to reach out to us to learn more about our services. We also welcome any further questions that you may have about attracting and maintaining the dream clients of your business.