Ask Auntie Social: How do I recruit new customers?

Recruiting new customers is one of two key strategies for business growth. This is achieved by word of mouth, advertising,social media, networking, PR, pricing or growing distribution channels, otherwise known as marketing. 

The other key business growth strategy is increasing the value of existing customers, which we will discuss next week.

Before embarking on any marketing activity a distinct brand needs to be created. Consider the leading brands of the world, consider your competitors and consider your vision. Position your brand with a distinct personality and create a plan.

What is the goal? How will you measure the return on investment? These vital questions are too often overlooked. Answering them in advance of the launch of a marketing plan will provide direction. It will remove wasted time and resources from the plan.

Let’s look at Ryanair as an example of a brand. This week Ryanair announced that they fly 10 million international passengers each month. This is more than any other airline. Marketing initiatives undertaken to help achieve this were:

- PR

- Social media

- Website updated

This resulted in national and international coverage, delivering a strong clear advertisement for the brand. The message for customers was “Ryanair is the most successful airline, due to low prices and good customer service.”

The message for investors was “Ryanair is the best run airline business in the world, which continues to deliver strong growth, your investment is safe with us,”

This story - relevant, current, accurate and well marketed - made international headlines. The goal of getting the message out there at minimum cost to Ryanair was achieved.

Have your digital and social media marketing questions answered each week by Auntie Social. To submit a question pop over to our Facebook page here: http://woobox.com/y2m2nv.

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