Intro
Chelsea: Hey everyone and welcome to the S.O.B. Marketing podcast. Where we celebrate to S.O.B. you are, and if you haven't figured it out yet - we mean Small Owned Business, we don't mean S.O.B...
Vivian:
Listen, we know that as a small business owner you are working hard on the daily to keep your business fully operational while trying to promote it. And while some days it may feel like the business is owning you, if we're being honest with each other I bet you would admit that you wouldn't give up the insanity for anything.
Chelsea:
Our commitment here at the S.O.B. Marketing podcast is to give you the real talk, what works when it comes to advertising, marketing, and promoting your business. And then what doesn't really work.
Vivian:
And Chelsea and I promise to always keep the conversation real.
Beginning of Episode
Chelsea:
Hey everybody and welcome back to the SOB Marketing Podcast. SOB as in Small Owned Business. We would never call you guys names. Before we get started today, I want to ask you guys, how many episodes have you listened to? Is it three or more? Because if it is and you're not following us, what are you doing?
You're already listening to this content consistently. You might as well follow or subscribe, whichever platform you're on, so that you can see whenever we upload a new video. Also, if you have any topics you want us to talk about, or maybe you want to be a guest on this podcast, let us know. You can send us an email at Help@TheSeasonedMarketer.com.
You can send us a DM on social media. We are across most platforms at The Seasoned Marketer or you can leave us a comment. Whatever works best for you guys.
Vivian, what are we talking about today?
Vivian:
Before I introduce today's topic, let me remind you we have a TLDL section. Too long didn't listen.
That's something that is specific to our podcast. We know you small business owners out there are busy, busy, busy. So that means if you are listening, you don't have time to listen to the full length episode, you can skip to that TLDL chapter. Chelsea will give you a very brief synopsis of the conversation. Then when you have time, you could come back and listen to the full length conversation, because we do think that these conversations are extremely important to growing your small business.
So today's topic, without further ado, this is going to be the first of a two part series.
Chelsea:
Oh, okay.
Vivian:
Yeah. So you know, we're hooking you guys in for at least two more episodes. So go ahead and hit that subscribe button. This series is going to be focused on attracting customers. All right. The reason we split it up into two parts though is because there are two very different buckets of people and the way you approach these people. So this first part is going to be talking about how to attract new customers. The second part next week is going to be how to attract established customers. Reoccurring customers.
Two very different approaches, two very different things. We hope that as marketing professionals, we can just drive home the point that you need to be paying attention to both.
So as we know, Chelsea has said this before. New customers, it costs you five times more money to draw a new customer in. But we know that once you get them in the pipeline, they're worth a lot of money to you. So then your job is to try to make them a reoccurring customer because it's not only five times cheaper to do that, but then you have built up trust and credibility. These conversations are going to be centered around the differences between the two and what approaches and recommendations we have depending on which one you're trying to draw in.
Chelsea:
Absolutely. So this first episode, we're talking about specifically attracting new customers.
Vivian:
Yes. The expensive people, y'all.
awkward silence. Chelsea coughs.
Chelsea:
I'm leaving that in. That was funny.
Vivian:
You okay?
Chelsea:
I'm good.
Vivian:
So where do you want to start the conversation today, Chels?
Chelsea:
I want to start this conversation by saying there are differences between attracting new and reoccurring customers. Yes, that does not necessarily mean that we're not going to be talking about same marketing strategies because I don't want to label any of them as only for new or only for existing. So what I mean is, for example, digital marketing. You can use digital marketing to attract both type of consumer or customer, but the way that you do it is going to be different.
Vivian:
Absolutely. And I love that you brought that to the forefront before we even dive into the nitty gritty part of it, because I do think that's where...any time you start labeling things, just don't like extremes.
I don't like saying, you can only use this if you're...because that doesn't make sense. I think it also begs the question, are you being creative enough? Because you can absolutely utilize some of the marketing channels for multiple different goals. Yes. All right.
Chelsea:
Now, that doesn't mean there are some marketing channels that work better. Yes, because of what the goals are, depending on who you're attracting. So let's talk about the type of goals you should have when you're trying to attract new customers. You're going to focus on brand awareness, building trust and credibility and informing these potential customers of who you are. Those are going to be your top goals.
Vivian:
Yeah. That changes, I think, the way you approach your marketing because think about this, y'all.
You're trying to get the attention of a new customer. It is very crowded, right? So, I mean, just take a scroll through a Facebook feed or an Instagram feed, TikTok, and you're going to see that there are lots of people competing for somebody's time, even if that time's only like 60 seconds, right? There's lots of options out there. So I do think that your approach when you are setting your goals is going to have to just take that into consideration.
You need to say, what is the best way for me to go about building awareness around my brand? What's also going to give me the biggest bang for my buck? What is going to allow someone to suddenly trust me when they don't know me from Adam? They've never heard of me before. What can I portray or tell them to automatically start to build that trust within somebody that, you know?
Chelsea:
Vivian, I don't want to get too off topic, but who's Adam?
Vivian:
What?
Chelsea:
What are you talking about?
Vivian:
You don't know that phrase?
Chelsea:
No.
Vivian:
They don't know me from Adam, like Adam as in Adam and Eve.
Chelsea:
I've never heard that.
Vivian:
The first humans on...
Chelsea:
No, I know who Adam and Eve are. I've just never heard that phrase before.
Vivian:
Yeah, basically...
You don't know me from, you don't know anything about me.
Chelsea:
I feel like it'd be easier to just say you don't know me.
Vivian:
All right. Let me Google this real quick because I want to know what Google says about this phrase.
Per Google: "the idiom, they don't know me from Adam, means that someone is completely unfamiliar with the speaker or the person being discussed. So they have no knowledge of them at all. It implies a lack of acquaintance or recognition."
Chelsea:
Look, I understood the phrase, okay? I just had never heard that before. But let's move on, y'all.
Vivian:
We're going to add this to evangelist, brand evangelist. Brand evangelist, That was something you didn't, you hadn't heard of before either.
Chelsea:
No, I had never heard that before either. Now I'm very acquainted with it though. I understand.
So goals. Your goals are going to be different. We just discussed that. Your focus is going to be different as well. This is where we start, we're starting to narrow down and really get specific with things.
For new customers, because your goal is to build awareness, your focus is going to be on visibility and getting fresh eyes on your brand. So that's going to be ads, that's going to be SEO, that's going to be social media, those sorts of things that allow you to blast your information in front of people.
Vivian:
Yeah. I think we always talk about target audience, right? So I guess that's always going to be at the forefront. When we talk about visibility, getting your business in front of fresh eyes, you need to know your target audience extremely well because you need to know what you can leverage to get in front of those fresh eyes. So let's say, for example, you're a...
You're a mom who has a YouTube channel that does cooking stuff, right? Because you are launching a cookbook. A blog is a great place to do this because think about it. If my target audience is other busy moms and I am all about making quick recipes that they can use that isn't going to take them like three hours, then writing a blog that has the recipe for a quick, you know, I don't want to say pancakes, because pancakes don't take three hours, a quick lasagna or whatever it right? A one pan dinner recipe. That's a good way to attract someone, because you know the mom on the other end is going to be Googling "one pan recipes", right?
You give them the grocery list, a quick five steps on how to do it and that's it, you're done. Now you've got them into your ecosystem, right? They know about you and if your recipe is good, they like it and it's really easy for them to use, then they're like, maybe I'm going to start following them so that way I can see what other recipes they have.
Chelsea:
Yes, and if the recipe is good, then they build trust. Because they're like, I trust this person, this was a good recipe.
I giggled earlier, Vivian, because...
Vivian:
I was wondering, I wasn't going to ask. You're always laughing at me.
Chelsea:
Well, yes, that's true. That's part of it. But I, as people may know, I don't like cooking. It's just not appealing to me and I don't enjoy it. We get HelloFresh because I like making sure that we're eating healthy throughout the week. So one time I was like, I'm going to cook for Tim. The recipe card said, 30 minutes, I want to say. It took me two and a half hours. And you know what? I think they're lying to me because I didn't do, look, I did everything correctly. It's just that it takes forever. You got to chop up everything and then you got to do this and that. And then everything's messy. Ugh, I don't like cooking. I just, don't like cooking. But yeah, that's, it took me two and a half hours.
Vivian:
Recipes do not include, what do you call it? Piddle paddling time, okay?
Chelsea:
I was not piddle paddling.
Vivian:
Recipes do not include how long it takes you to clean the kitchen afterwards or anything along those lines.
Chelsea:
Well, no. Here's the thing is I'm going to clean the kitchen while I'm doing it. Because I don't like things to be messy or disorganized. And again, it took me like 30 minutes just to chop all the vegetables.
Vivian:
You know what could decrease that time? Practicing. Like actually doing it more.
Chelsea:
You know what could decrease it even more?
Vivian:
What?
Chelsea:
Tim doing the cooking. Just what he does. So there you go.
Vivian:
There are, oh, I'm not even going to use that idiom. I was going say there are two ways to skin a cat.
Chelsea:
Don't say that.
Vivian:
That's not appropriate anymore. We're not allowed to say that in 2025.
Chelsea:
Absolutely not. I didn't like that.
Vivian:
We love animals around here. I have a cat. I am not behind that idiom.
Chelsea:
No, I have two cats.
Vivian:
You guys, I don't know where or why I repeat these things. Like why I say these things in a conversation, I do not know, okay? I could probably come up with better ways to relay my thoughts and ideas.
Chelsea:
I agree. Let's think of, not right now, but you and I, let's sit down and think of a new version of that idiom.
Vivian:
Uh, yes. Yeah. Okay.
Chelsea:
You were about to start thinking about it now. I specifically said not to do it now.
Vivian:
All right. So getting back on track with the marketing stuff. So visibility. Think about your target audience. How can you get in front of a customer that has never had anything to do with your small business, perhaps doesn't know about the products and services you offer.
One of the things you're going to do is, or a thing that I think we need to address, is to remind people that first impressions - when you're attracting new customers are even more important because think about it. With reoccurring customers, it's a lot easier because someone's already had an initial interaction with you. So hopefully that interaction is good. Therefore, they have a preconceived notion of what your service level is and what you offer. For somebody who doesn't know you like Adam or Eve, apparently, I don't know, Chelsea, however you want to say that, if they're new to you, they don't have a point of reference or a base line to pair it up against. That means that your brand presentation is extremely important. Your messaging, the words you choose or don't choose to use, when you're introducing your product, your service is important.
Also the offers that you put out there to hook that person in are important too.
Chelsea:
Since we're talking about the offers we're putting out there to hook people in, discounts, yes. Referrals, referrals can be very useful. So think like affiliate programs, but instead, you're putting the onus on your returning customers. On the customers who have already experienced your brand. With referrals you're saying...I don't know, maybe you can offer like a discount or something. But you're saying, hey, bring people that you think would be interested in what I have to offer.
Vivian:
I love this because you and I were having a conversation earlier today about leveraging.
I'm saying this because I'm a small business owner too. We can all do a better job of ensuring that we are getting the most juice out of whatever we're doing, whether it's a tool, a resource, whether it's real estate that we have, whether that be online or physical. We can all take an inventory of what we're doing and say, what can I do better to amplify without having to invest too much more money into it, right?
What you're doing there is you're taking customers that have already experienced your business and you-
Chelsea:
You've built brand awareness, you've built that trust.
Vivian:
Yes, and you're making them an extension of you. So what you're saying is basically, hey, by the way, if you liked your experience with us...
There's a company here in the low country, Gerald's Tires. They have a very good like, you know, experience for tires, anything tire related. You take your car in there. They go above and beyond. For one, if you're a new customer, well, not just new customers, they do this for all customers. But if you've never experienced this as a new customer, the first time you experience it, you're like, wow, they really go above and beyond. What they do is they always leave a rose with a little printout insert in the passenger seat of your car after they serviced your car.
So when you get in there, you're like, my gosh, they left me a rose. They do it for everybody, okay? But I think that's where...
Chelsea:
Do you want to hear a story or is this going to get too off track?
Vivian:
Go ahead.
Chelsea:
So I have a really bad habit. I don't know. I don't do this on purpose, obviously, and I don't know how it's happening, but I keep running over nails.
Tim...
Vivian:
My plan is working.
Chelsea:
Tim fixed my tires this weekend. He pulled three nails out of two different cars (tires).
Vivian:
Oh my God.
Chelsea:
And patched them up. This has been going on since college. In college, I had to buy basically three new tires because I kept running over nails and destroying my tires to the point where one of the service guys at the place I would go to left me his phone number.
He's like, are you looking for a man to take care of you? Because I will. And I'm like, no, that's not it. I just keep running over nails.
Vivian:
So did he think you were like purposefully doing it to go and...
Chelsea:
I that was his line. I think that was the line he was going with. I don't think, I really hope no one thought I was doing it on purpose because I really was not.
Vivian:
I mean, basically you just look for construction sites and ride your car around.
Chelsea:
In my defense, in college I lived near a construction site. Like I can't do anything about that. I lived there. Yeah.
Vivian:
That's hilarious. Well, so going back to the marketing side of this, the Gerald's tires is probably your BFF because, you know, since you get so many nails in your tires.
Chelsea:
I go to Discount Tires.
Vivian:
Well, I like going to Gerald's, but so going back to the referral thing. Yes. That's where, let's say I'm Gerald's and I know that people have this extreme loyalty to my brand, to my business because our staff is courteous. They get stuff done very quickly and the experience is extremely nice when you're there. Okay. Well then I would leverage that to say, Hey, as a customer of ours, the best thing that you can do or one of the ways that you can help us grow our business is to tell your family members about us. Tell your friends about us, and then develop some type of mechanism for them to easily be able to do it. So that's the other thing, guys.
Chelsea:
Salons, sorry, real quick, y'all. Salons do this all the time, like get $5 off if you refer a friend, as long as the friend mentions your name when they come in.
So you don't have to make this difficult. Just say, mention this person's name. We'll put it in their account. So they can get their discount for referring you.
Vivian:
Now, if you do want to make it.
Chelsea:
Sorry, really quick. I know in the past, Bre` used to do this and it would go both ways. So each person got five dollars off.
Okay, so adding a little more incentive for the new customer. Like not only does the recurring customers really want the person to come in to get $5 off, but also the new customer is more likely to come in because they'll also get $5 off.
Vivian:
Well, and so speaking of discounts, let's continue the conversation along these lines because discounts can be a really great way. You've seen this a lot probably with clothing or apparel brands where maybe they say, they're shopping online, they land on the website, and a pop-up box will appear to say, new customer, get $10 off. If you spend over $50 or if you spend over $75. Whatever, however you want to set it up.
So for some people, this may be the thing that pushes them over that edge as far as if they're deciding to try your product because, let's be real, it can take multiple touch points for someone to feel like they trust you or trust your brand. If you're a company they've never had experience with, maybe that $10 off or whatever it is, the 10 % discount could be the thing where they're like, you know what, let me just go ahead and give it a try and see how it works.
Chelsea:
Yeah, y'all, we're all consumers. Think about you when you're scrolling through Instagram, you see a brand, you've never heard of it, you decide to check it out, depending on how you feel. So first impressions, y'all, very important.
Depending on how you feel about their website, how you interact with it, maybe depending on whether they offer a first time discount or not, that's going to make up your mind as to whether or not you trust this brand enough to make a purchase.
I also want to talk about education and when I say education y'all what I mean is you need to inform new customers about you. They want to know about your brand and whether or not they're willing to make a purchase from you.
Knowing about your brand is going to impact that. So you need to explain who you are, what you do, how you're different. That's really important because think about how many...Like the Internet is so vast, there are so many options out there, so many different businesses that people can choose from. Why should they pick your business? You know, you need to tell them that. They're not just going to figure it out on their own.
Vivian:
Yeah, one of the products that I love to kind of pinpoint or to use as an example of having done this well is, I don't know how many of you out there have heard of Lume? I'm sure you've seen a commercial come across at some point. But so basically what it is, is a deodorant, but a deodorant that you can use on all of your body, okay? So ladies, if you need to freshen up down there or something, you can use a deodorant down there. That's what this product is.
I believe that the person who created it was actually an OBGYN. When they were introducing the product, even though it was a product that people knew what to do with, but there was a difference in the way that they were utilizing the product. Education, right? They had to come in, they had to say hey, we're not like the typical deodorants, this is what we do differently, this is why you can trust us, it was created by an OBGYN, here are the products or the ingredients in the product that make it different and safe for you to use all over your body. A lot of the messaging was centered around that education piece and their story of how they came to be about and why it was a product that you could trust.
I do think that depending on what industry you're in, what product or service you have, and also depending on the target audience you're trying to reach, you may have to do a lot more education than some other people do. But if you're looking to get in front of new eyeballs, if you want new people to come into your business, these are all things that you have to think about ahead of time because you want to be sure that you're packaging it all up nicely for them to come in.
Chelsea:
I love that. Question, is that the deodorant brand that has a satyr in the commercials, like in the TV commercials?
Vivian:
A Seder? What's a Seder?
Chelsea:
You don't know what a saytr is?
Vivian:
What's a Seder?
Chelsea:
A saytr is like a centaur.
Vivian:
Then what's the difference between a saytr and a Centaur and a saytr?
Chelsea:
Okay, y'all. So we paused for second and we did some internet sleuthing. First off, sadar, a satyr, a satyr, y'all, is a smaller centaur and it's a goat. Not a horse. Okay.
Vivian:
Can I just say in this podcast, we've learned who Adam was. We've also learned about satyrs. I've never heard of this.
Chelsea:
You've never heard of a satyr?
Vivian:
No.
Chelsea:
I am a mythology girlie, so satyrs are in that. Also, Lume is not the brand I'm thinking of.
Native had a bunch of TV commercials about a scent-ar, scent-ar. So she was a female slash horse, and it was a play on words like centaur. Scent-ar. Okay. That's what I was thinking of.
Vivian:
I did not know any of this existed. So there you go. Learn something new every day. All right. So it was not Lume.
I don't even remember what we were talking about. All right.
Chelsea:
You know what? We're going to hard pivot, y'all. We're going to move away from satyrs and centaurs because I want to bring up how partnering with local businesses can be a great way for you to get first impressions and new eyeballs.
Because if you're just starting out in your local community, y'all small business owners, you need to be a part of your community. That's going to help you become a staple.
Vivian:
Let me make a pitch here. If you guys don't have a small business community, come join ours. We have the SOB community. We meet once a week via Zoom and we get to have hour long conversations about all things marketing, including what you want to know about, how it relates to your business. So come join ours if you don't have one.
Chelsea:
But finding ways to partner with local businesses can be a great way to get new eyeballs because you're tapping into their target audience. Now, it's important to remember you want to focus on your target audience. So make sure that you guys align, that it makes sense for you to be partnering with this business and that they have the same audience that you're looking for.
But again, a great way to get fresh eyeballs and tap into someone else's already built audience.
Vivian:
Yeah, I think one of the things that we had talked about before as an example in a previous podcast episode was let's say you're a person that makes pottery. You could partner with a florist to offer maybe some special type of vase that they utilize for a promo or Valentine's Day, whatever it is. The alignment there is the fact that people that are looking to display flowers or to support local florists would also potentially be interested in having, what do you call it? Not goods, but ceramic bowls or vases that are made by a local artist as well. That's where you can get really creative, see what other types of industries or businesses may be great feeders into yours. That way you're tapping into their audience, their existing customer base perhaps already. So by extension, if someone trusts, knows that brand, has had experience with them, then they're more willing to take that leap of faith to say, well, if they've partnered with this business, then I know they got to be good.
Chelsea:
Yes, absolutely. Also, real quick, some other ideas. Community events in general, a great way to tap into a target audience if you haven't already made your presence known. Even if you have, still a great way to get some fresh eyeballs.
Friend deals, like bring in a friend deals. Those can be useful as well. Again, popular with salons, like get a discount when you bring in a friend, like you both come in to get your nails done. It could be like a BOGO free deal. I don't know. That might be a little too intense. Because you are giving like an entire service for free. So, but that's just an example.
Vivian:
The one thing though that can help with making decisions like that really easily though, Chelsea, is you guys know your numbers. Okay. So what I mean by that is if you have, let's say a customer, over time, collect enough data. And I know that some of you, you're a new or small business, this might be something that you have to work on over the next two years. But look at your customer data and information. How much does a customer typically spend with you over a year? If you are working events, if you are doing online sales, try to figure out on average how much somebody is spending with you, because then the math becomes really simple to you as a small business owner with a, if like Chelsea said, you're wanting to try a buy one, get one free deal, you're a nail salon and you're like, hey, bring in a friend. We'll give you one of them for free. Well, then you can easily calculate that by saying, oh, well, I know that for a new person that comes in, typically that customer will spend $500, $700 with me over the time span of a year, then maybe I am willing to spring for a $50 service on one thing.
Knowing your numbers is always a good thing just for this specific reason because you guys can make better marketing decisions.
Chelsea:
STOP wasting your time Googling, "how to market my small business".
Chelsea:
Let's talk about low barrier entry. So kind of what we're talking about now, you you're offering them... You're offering to soothe... I don't want to say the pain, but you know, it can be difficult to take a chance on a new brand or a new business.
Vivian:
Especially if they're spending quite a bit of money on it.
Chelsea:
Oh, absolutely.
Vivian:
Okay, so depending on what service you have, product.
Chelsea:
Or product, yeah. So lowering the barrier of entry, maybe you're offering a free trial, like we're talking about now, or discounts, BOGO deals, lead magnets can absolutely help.
Vivian:
I think cosmetic companies do this really well. So for example, let's say you're maturing as I am, right? They always say that, mature skin, you don't use the same products you used when you were like 18. There are companies that will have these quizzes to say, hey, let us match your skin tone. Let us match, let us give you the colors that look really great on you or whatnot. They'll have a quiz that you can take. The reason it's low barrier, like you're saying, is because this gives them an opportunity to shine and to really prove to me that you know what you're talking about, right? Then in the response or in the results, you pair the products that you sell with it. It makes it so easy for me because now I'm not having to research this stuff on my own and spend like 30 minutes on your website trying to figure out what product's going to be best. Instead, I've taken your quiz, it's free, and you've said, by the way, Vivian, based off of the information that you've put, you have a oily skin, this and that, blah, blah, blah. You have an easy makeup routine. You don't like spending a lot of time on it. Here are the three top products that we think you should buy today.
Chelsea:
I love that example. Also, I don't want us to only talk about cosmetics, but I have another really great example. Service packages. If people are feeling...I'll give a very specific example. IPL. OK, that's intense pulse light. It's another form of hair removal that you can do.
Vivian:
This is a world I'm unfamiliar with too, y'all.
Chelsea:It is pricey. A lot of businesses, a lot of salons will offer service packages to help you not only get comfortable with IPL, but also help lower the price enough for you to be willing to do it because also IPL, you have to do at least 10 sessions for it to be effective.
So it could be, you know, your first session is free and then you buy the bundle and of the nine services, stuff like that.
Vivian:
Gotcha. Well, and I'm sure there are a ton of services that can do this. Another one I'm thinking of, I have a friend that owns a local boxing gym and I think these gyms do that as well. Where you basically could, you could do it per session, right? So that's one price or the bundled packages allow you to get some type of a discounted rate if you commit to 10 classes, right? You have to use those within a month or whatever it is. So this is a really great option for a lot of people. Let me tell you, if you make that price compelling enough, so the person, the lay person like me, who's like, great, I've always wanted to try boxing, if a class is like 50 bucks, or I could get a package of five classes for $200 or something. It gives me some type of a discounted rate. I may be willing to just take the plunge and say, okay, well, I think I can commit to five or something because the deal is good enough, right?
Chelsea:
I want to point out, of all these examples that we're giving, do you notice how all of our messaging is about, here's why it's worth it? That's very important. When you're trying to attract new customers, your messaging needs to be, this is who we are, and this is why we're worth it.
Vivian:
Yeah, and this is what we offer you, right? So like you said with the IPL treatments, I'm sure the messaging in there is mixed with education, right? Because you can't just buy one session, because that's not going to be effective. So you have to tee it up. You have to explain to them, hey, you're going to want to do at least 10 sessions for it to actually work. All right, perfect.
This is our experience. By the way, we offer this type of package deal. So, you know, it's a good price point entry point for you as well. So all of it is in favor of showing that potential new customer like, hey, this is why you guys should choose us over every other small business out there that does the same thing.
Chelsea:
So we've given examples of deals and vague marketing channels that you can do. Let's actually sit down, Vivian, and let's give examples of marketing channels that would work well with attracting new customers.
Vivian:
Okay, perfect.
Chelsea:
Okay, so we got paid ads, and I think we mentioned this earlier, but paid ads are going to be great because, specifically, usually you are able to get really specific with the targeting.
Vivian:
Yeah. These would be like Google, Meta, AKA Facebook, Instagram, you guys, and YouTube. All right. To Chelsea's point, the reason these are effective, you get super granular on the data and you're able to put these ads in front of people that are primed to buy your product and service.
The one thing we're going to tell you, regardless of whether you are trying to attract a new customer or an established customer, y'all, please try to spend your money on stuff that is actually going to get you sales. That means lowering as much as you can the, what you're wasting, wastage.
The better you get at targeting these people, the less waste you're going to have in your spending. So let's take a Facebook ad. If we're doing cosmetics, like we were giving an example. If I do a Facebook ad that's just everybody in South Carolina, there's going to be a lot of wastage in there, okay? How do I get more granular? How do I lower that wastage and actually make my dollars go further? Perfect.
It's for mature women. Therefore I'm going to do, that's my cosmetic company. I'm going to do women in the state of South Carolina who are over the age of 40 who have an income level of $60,000 and above, whatever. You're starting to get so granular that then you're targeting a very specific person and that person's more prone to buy, especially because if you can serve them more ads, right.
We know that it takes seven to eight touch points now for someone to actually, you know, take their pocketbook out and want to spend with your business. What, pocketbook?
Chelsea:
I love that you say pocketbook. Who has a pocketbook? What is a pocketbook? Is that just a wallet?
Vivian:
It's a purse. It's another way to say a purse. It's your pocketbook.
Chelsea:
Just say purse!
Vivian:
Well, ladies in South Carolina have pocketbooks, so.
Chelsea:
You know what? OK, that's probably correct. Yeah, you're right.
Vivian:
But that's where regardless of if you're attracting that new customer or an existing customer, we want you to just get in the habit of being sure that you're you're putting as much information around this person as possible.
Chelsea:
Absolutely. That's why...
Y'all, you haven't listened to our episode on how to build a customer avatar, go listen to that because that'll help you narrow down and create a person who is your target audience that will help you better understand who you're trying to connect with.
Vivian:
Yes, and before we move on to the next one, back to the paid ads with Google, I want to touch on this.
Think of your approach when you're trying to get a new customer in and you're using Google Ads to get in front of that new customer. Think about where they're starting.
Okay, so an example of this would be, let's say I'm a, you're going to love this. Guess what I'm going to say?
Chelsea:
I don't know.
Vivian:
Insurance agent.
Chelsea:
Oh my God.
Vivian:
Let's say I'm a car insurance agent.
Chelsea:
Of course you are. Go ahead. No, keep going. It's fine.
Vivian:
If you don't get it, Chelsea gets onto me because apparently I use insurance quite a bit as an example.
Chelsea:
She does.
Vivian:
All right. So let's say I'm a car insurance agent. Okay. I want my Google ad to show up and to reach people before they decide to get their teenage child on their insurance, right? Because I can offer them a good discount, good family discount. maybe what I do then is I think, where does it start? Well, it starts with them researching driving schools in the area. Then what I would think is if they're Googling and looking for local driving schools to get them in at the age of 15, then that means I can target them before they need the actual insurance. Then I can message, the messaging on that ad would be specific to "if you show me that your child has gone to driving school, I can give you a $200 discount on their premium".
This is all what kind of goes into play. when I say, you know, think about where they're starting from, what they're inputting into Google, what they're searching for, the type of information, then you're able to show up at the very beginning and then you're starting those touch points early on.
Chelsea:
I love that example. Even though was insurance.
Vivian:
Maybe, I wonder if in another life I was like an insurance agent.
Chelsea:
And you were such a good one that is carried on.
Vivian:
Yeah, back in the caveman days, I was like, you know, let me ensure your cave.
Chelsea:
What were you doing from caveman? Like hypothetically, if we're talking about reincarnation, what were you doing between caveman insurance and now? Like that's a really big gap in time.
Vivian:
More insurance?
Chelsea:
Just insure? All of your past lives were insurance.
Vivian:
Medieval times insurance. You get life insurance on your knight that's going out to fight y'all.
Chelsea:
No, actually, I mean, that's pretty smart. It's not bad.
We're moving on. Okay, so another example of marketing channels, social media, of course. Social media content, specifically targeting a broader audience, specifically targeting new customers. Because again, you can use social media to target reoccurring customers. It's just that your messaging is going to be different.
Great example of this is when people reintroduce themselves on social media. A great example of this is reels you see that are broader in what they are talking about so that it's easier for you to connect with them, even though you haven't already created that connection yet.
Vivian:
Yeah, and maybe this is a great time to also bring up storytelling just because that is a really effective way. So maybe utilizing and leveraging storytelling with the content that you are sharing on social media, because for one, it does this thing where it makes people feel like they know you a lot quicker.
If I'm just unaware of your business, but I see a reel pop up and it's you basically telling a story of...
We know a lady who sells candles, Chelsea. You have shared with us that part of the reason that she does this very specific type of candle is because her house had actually burned down. Oh no, she does wax melts.
Chelsea:
I was going to say, yeah, she does wax melts specifically because a candle burned down their home.
So she's like, well, I want to explain to people the dangers of having candles and I want to give them a safer alternative.
Vivian:
Yes. That is a great, I don't want to say a great story because it's not great. It's awful, but it's a very intriguing, if I saw that pop up on my reel and I was like, wow, she's had personal experience that has affected her so much that she took the time to create this product that she feels so passionately about because she was affected by it. I mean, that is a different kind of then trust that you're like, I know that she's actually looking at the ingredient she's putting in there, that she's taking the time to try to create something that isn't going to be harmful in a household.
Chelsea:
Absolutely Vivian. Now if y'all feel like you've connected with me so much and you see me out in public and you say "Chelsea, I want you to know that I also hate cooking". I'm not going to be mad at you. That's fine. Don't come up to me and say "Chelsea, you're bad at cooking". That's going to hurt my feelings.
Vivia:
I mean, I tell her that enough anyway.
Chelsea:
Vivian's allowed to hurt my feelings. We are siblings. Yeah, like I don't have a choice.
Vivian:
We do it to each other.
Chelsea:
Please don't randomly come up to me and tell me that I'm bad at cooking though. It's going to hurt my feelings.
Vivian:
All right, so the next one, we've already kind of touched on this collaborations, Chelsea, but along the same vein, sponsorships or events.
All right, so tell me the idea behind sponsorships. I'm trying to attract new customers. Why would sponsoring somebody's little league team in the community or why would sponsoring a local event, getting my logo on it, on the promotional materials. Why would that potentially be good to attract new customers in?
Chelsea:
Well, this is another great example of tapping into someone else's target audience. As long as you're aligned and their target audience is your target audience, then this is a great way for you to say, hey, not only do I believe in whatever event I'm sponsoring, but I'm also here.
It's a great, just like an entry point, just that first touch point to be able to say, here's brand awareness, here's brand recognition, here's me introducing myself, very, you know, getting my name in there.
Vivian:
Yeah. So let me drive home this point by also stating the practical side of this. Here in Summerville, South Carolina, we are a growing community, y'all. Our community is growing so fast.
Her eye-roll. I hope you're watching this on video. You she eye-rolled so hard. But there are a ton of events, family friendly events here. What I love about the events in particular is let's say that you're a small business that just opened up in a very specific neighborhood or you're within two miles of a neighborhood that you could tap into. If you look or contact that neighborhood, ask them about events they're doing throughout the year, maybe pick one of them, maybe pick two of them. The access that you get by being there day of to talking to new people, new families that have just moved to the area or perhaps they've been in the area less than three years and they've never heard of your business. You're able to then for a very good price, introduce your or build that brand awareness, right?
So it's very practical. The other thing is it also says something about you as a business owner, as far as what you prioritize, and the type of business or the type of person you are. Let's say, one of the things I love is being able to, in my big girl job, being able to do a lot of sponsorships, because I think that just reiterates, Hey, we're locally owned, which means we contribute to the community that we serve. It means that we are active in the little league team. We're active on the soccer field. These are all great ways for us to show our support. In turn, the families, right? The parents that come out, they see our logo all the time and they're like, they're always supporting children. They're always supporting families in the community.
Chelsea:
They're always supporting like physical activity.
Vivian:Yes, absolutely. So pick the stuff that aligns with you as a business and then move forward and do that. If you're a daycare, I mean, great, then ask the local elementary schools what, you know, events they have because if someone has a child in that elementary school, they likely also have children that are younger, right, that you potentially could get into the daycare.
Chelsea:
Vivian, earlier in this episode, we talked about, well we touched on SEO. So I want to come back to that. Optimized websites, optimized landing pages, SEO terms, very important because people are always looking for stuff. People are Googling things, searching for things.
Vivian:
Yeah, absolutely. Gone are the days, I mean, everyone's online now, right? They're always looking for stuff. So gone are the days of you questioning, should I even have a website? The answer is yes. Okay. It's just a matter of what type of information you want to have on there. Be sure you're utilizing resources, whether that be Wix or Shopify or whatever, get that up and to make it as manageable as possible for you as a small business owner.
I do think there are some pretty cool things that you could do with landing pages. So for example, you know, when we talked about that example with mature skin and cosmetics, if they are utilizing a quiz, putting that quiz on a landing page with a handle that says, caring for mature skin.com or something, right? You can ensure that you're driving as much traffic to something like that as possible.
Chelsea:
The last little channel I have is Lead Generation, which I feel like we have touched on quite a bit in this episode. So opt-ins, freebies, free trials, that sort of thing.
Vivian:
So let me make this point with emails. When you look at attracting a new customer, you guys, the payoff should be eventually to get a sale, right? The second payoff should ultimately be to get them into your ecosystem, to convert them into a reoccurring customer. Everything you do should align with that, meaning the customer service they receive, the actual product or experience with the service. All of that plays into it.
Additionally, asking them to join your email list is a part of that because what better way, how are you going to convert them from one time buyer into consistent several time buyer? It's through the communication you do. So the second part series that we talk about next week is going to be about that specifically, but use your new customers coming in. There are always going to be two payoffs. Ultimately the sale, but the second payoff is going to be the reoccurring sales. Okay, so just remember that there's always going to be two main goals to that new customer.
Chelsea:
Yes, absolutely. Okay, Vivian, are we ready for the TLDL?
Vivian:
Let's do the TLDL.
Chelsea:
Can I do the download? Okay, y'all. So if you skipped ahead to this chapter TLDL, too long, didn't listen, that's fine. When you have a chance, go listen to this entire conversation.
Vivian:
No judging.
Chelsea:
No, no judging. Absolutely. We understand. We are also small business owners. We are also busy. But when you get a chance, listen to this entire conversation because it'll make more sense.
Quick summary, attracting new customers is a little different from attracting reoccurring or returning customers. Your goal is going to focus on brand awareness and building trust and credibility with that potential customer. You want to focus on visibility, focus on first impressions, educating the potential customer and giving them a low barrier entry point, right?
Your messaging is going to focus on who we are, like who you are as a business and what you can do for that consumer. There are multiple marketing channels you can use. Some great examples are going to be paid ads, social media, collaborations, sponsorships, events, optimizing your website, so SEO, and lead generation. Just remember that your content is going to focus on education, introducing yourselves, and it's going to be very benefits-based. So it's going to focus on all the benefits that your product or service can give a potential customer.
Vivian:
Yes, that was a great wrap up. Good TLDL. Friendly reminder, you guys, if you have not left us a review, please do so. That is going to help to get this podcast in front of other small owned businesses. We just want to grow the community around here. We think that knowledge is power and we want to take our experience in marketing, share it with you guys so that you can skip several mistakes.
Go straight to the making money part of it and feeling confident in your marketing. So as always, thanks for joining us and...
Chelseas:
Go be the best SOB you can be.
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