The first 1000 customers are the most crucial for startups. Once startups build a customer base of the first 1000 customers, it is relatively easier to establish a business. Building the base is also the biggest challenge because nobody knows about your company or your product. You must convince them to give it a try. Amidst managing other aspects of your business, it is essential for the customer retention team to pay attention to promotional activities in order to gain loyal customers. For startups to survive in a competitive market environment, they must get noticed by the target audience and acknowledged by experts in the industry. In this article, you will learn about how to promote your startup to gain more customers.

Here are the ten ways to find your first 1000 customers:

  • Target users– It is best to go with offline marketing where your target audience is located. For example, if your startup has an app with a target audience of city dwellers, your marketing activities should be concentrated in malls and shopping arcades. The proximity to your target audience will give them a personalized experience, and they would like to return to your product again. This will lead to customer retention.

    You can refer to the video about How To Identify Your Target Audience
  • Invite your friends- Before creating a business network, you can use your personal network to grow your business. You can invite your friends to join you in the promotion of your business. They will not only be your first few loyal customers but also spread awareness of your product through word of mouth and other networking sites such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Quora.
  • Social media and press– Online posts can help you approach a massive audience. You can pick one or two social media websites to write about your product and share some pictures and customer reviews with your viewers. Another tip is to contact journalists who have a large following and specialize in that industry. 
  • Influencers- Influencers are persons with a strong influence on the people who follow them. They have the trust of people, and if they participate in the launch of your product, then it has a greater chance of becoming popular. You can select an influencer who specializes in your industry to make the marketing appear natural. You can contact the influencer of your choice by sending them a direct message. You can also include them in your paid campaigns.

    You can find out more about – Why should a brand undertake Influencer Marketing?
  • Networking- Networking is the backbone of startups. You can expand your business to its full potential based on your networking skills. Networking is also a great customer retention strategy that startups can use to develop a community of satisfied customers who will automatically promote your product after experiencing it. Networking is all about creating relationships that will be rewarding for your business in multiple ways, even though it may take some time to build. You can learn how to network from various fintech platforms like Seekho, where you can access more than 1000 live classes from industry experts on this topic.
  • Online publication and blogs- It is the best time to ride the wave of digitalization in this pandemic era. With more and more potential customers online, digital marketing is an essential strategy. Online publications and blogs allow you to provide a context to your product like “how to use the product?” or “why is this product essential for you?” etc. You can also bring out how your product is better than other similar products in the market through blogs and online publications.
  • Offers and rewards- Offers and rewards are one of the best ways to incentivize customers and retain them. ‘First-time-user’ offers are extremely effective in increasing the initial user base. Offering free products at the signup stage is also a great strategy for startups to invite and retain customers. Rewards can act as a long-term strategy for customer retention. Rewards can be offered in the form of purchase points, points, or gift coupons.
  • Spread awareness of your product- Integrating an education and awareness program into your marketing strategy accelerates your growth multifold. Especially for startups that don’t have a presence in the market, it is important to spread awareness about your product like ‘why do they need to try your product?’, ‘how can your product be used to gain maximum benefits’ etc. This information can be spread through awareness-building campaigns that target a market that is new to your product.
  • Online advertising- Digital marketing is the newest form of online advertisement. Many companies specialize in this field. You can use paid advertisements to promote your product and increase customers. Social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc., have parallel companies such as Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and Google ads are the most effective for online advertisements.
  • Paid marketing campaigns- Paid marketing is one of the fastest ways to reach potential customers. In this, you can buy advertising that is able to focus on the target audience. This helps the discovery of your products and your company as opposed to customers finding out on their own. If you leave it up to customers to reach you organically, the process will be much lengthier.

To Sum It Up!

The first 1000 customers have the ability to make all the difference for your startup. It can decide whether your company survives or succeeds. There are case studies available online on how startups like Uber, OYO, Tinder, Ola, etc., got their first 1000 customers. These case studies can give you valuable insights about business growth from companies that have already made it big. You can upskill your digital marketing using fintech platforms that provide courses on how to promote your business online. They can give you an edge on how to organize your digital campaigns and where to use your resources while expanding your business.

Learn how to ace digital marketing and develop skills for successful customer retention with Seekho. Join select membership to learn from Industry Gurus on all topics related to digital marketing and more.

You can now ready our next blog on the topic – What is a User Story

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