There are only a three real ways to grow a business.
- Get more customers.
- Get your customers to spend more each time they buy.
- Get your customers to buy more frequently.
Of course, these are all principles of business growth. It’s not like you can say, “Okay, I want more customers. Now I’m going to go get them.” You’re lacking the “how”–the real strategies or tactics you will use to actually get more customers.
The beauty of principles like these are that they are timeless. You can always come back to them when you’re getting bogged down in information clutter. Principles stand like monuments amongst the wreckage of worn-out techniques.
On the other hand, principles don’t give you anything immediate to act on. You have to figure out the “how to” part on your own or from somebody else.
With the three business growth principles I’ve listed above, the last two are often the easiest to implement. If you already sell products or services, it takes very little effort to increase your prices. You can increase them a lot or a little, doesn’t matter. You will soon notice that you’re making more money and more profit.
Getting customers to buy more frequently is more difficult. It requires you to communicate with your customers more frequently. And it requires you to have multiple products for your customers to buy. Obviously, you cannot get your customers to buy more frequently if you’ve only got one product.
The first strategy, get more customers, is where you’ll get the most explosive long-term growth. Because once you have more customers, you can still implement the second and third strategies.
How do you get more customers fast?
One way is to do something remarkable… something that has never been done before. Take Crocs, for instance. They created a type of shoe that was completely unique. As a result, people talked about them. The press ran hundreds of stories about the shoes and the company behind them. Crocs got people “buzzing.”
Of course, Crocs didn’t invent shoes. They merely created a new kind of shoe. They adapted an idea and made it their own.
I could give more examples of how to get customers, but sometimes it’s better if you challenge yourself. Ask yourself the question, “How can I get more customers?” Then sit down with a pen and sheet of paper and start writing down your ideas. I bet you’ll find you already know how to get more customers; you simply need to take action and do it.
-Ryan M. Healy
Similar Posts:
- 31 Ways to Grow a Business
- Does Your Writing Matter?
- Commitment and Consistency
- Business Growth in Bad Times
- The Easiest Way to Grow a Business
About Ryan M. Healy
Ryan Healy is a direct response copywriter. Since 2002, he has worked with scores of clients, including BoostCTR, Alex Mandossian, Terry Dean, and Pulte Homes. He writes a popular blog about copywriting, advertising, and business growth, has been featured in publications like Feed Front magazine, and is a regular contributor to WordStream.com, BoostCTR.com, and MarketingForSuccess.com.
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{ 12 comments }
Hi Ryan,
I have been interested in copywriting for a number of years now.
I will probably be taking AWAI course soon (since it offers payments!)
I was reading about what to exspect on a site named “Divine Write” from Austrailia.
http://www.divinewrite.com/index.htm
(Not sure how I landed on that site).
He paints a rather bleak picture fore the first 2 years …
is it that tough to break into the field?
He recommends not spending much on courses,
practical experience being preferable.
What is your take on all this?
I need money soon, but my requirements are small,
(like $1,000 monthly will squeek me by for a while).
Thanks,
Jim Furr
>
PS: If I were to sign up for your critiquing – mentoring,
and wrote copy, then had you give me guidance for the
sales letter, would that be all I needed for a while?
(as opposed to taking the AWAI course)
I have been writing ads and reading
long sales letters online for years!
Maybe I could also buy the
Glyphius software to
help me write also.
jf
Hi Again,
I was just reading on Bob Bly’s blog (http://bly.com/blog/?p=299),
that most copywriters are seeing a real upsurge
in need for Good copywriters.
Are you finding that to be true?
Jim <
I just plugged you 5 Glyphius at Bob’s Blog!
They were having a discussion on the subject.
Hope you sell some.
If you sell 4 and can’t get rid of the last one,
Shove it my way, I’ll pay you for it when I can.
Jim Furr
Hi Ryan,
I have been interested in copywriting for a number of years now.
I will probably be taking AWAI course soon (since it offers payments!)
I was reading about what to exspect on a site named “Divine Write” from Austrailia.
http://www.divinewrite.com/index.htm
(Not sure how I landed on that site).
He paints a rather bleak picture fore the first 2 years …
is it that tough to break into the field?
He recommends not spending much on courses,
practical experience being preferable.
What is your take on all this?
I need money soon, but my requirements are small,
(like $1,000 monthly will squeek me by for a while).
Thanks,
Jim Furr
>
PS: If I were to sign up for your critiquing – mentoring,
and wrote copy, then had you give me guidance for the
sales letter, would that be all I needed for a while?
(as opposed to taking the AWAI course)
I have been writing ads and reading
long sales letters online for years!
Maybe I could also buy the
Glyphius software to
help me write also.
jf
Hi Again,
I was just reading on Bob Bly’s blog (http://bly.com/blog/?p=299),
that most copywriters are seeing a real upsurge
in need for Good copywriters.
Are you finding that to be true?
Jim <
I just plugged you 5 Glyphius at Bob’s Blog!
They were having a discussion on the subject.
Hope you sell some.
If you sell 4 and can’t get rid of the last one,
Shove it my way, I’ll pay you for it when I can.
Jim Furr
Hey Jim – Thanks for your comments. I appreciate them. Answers:
1. I started with the AWAI course. It was good for me. You can also get a foundational education by reading the classics of advertising like Scientific Advertising, Robert Collier Letter Book, How to Write a Good Advertisement, etc. You need a basic education, but you’ll learn more (and faster) from hands-on experience.
2. If you already know how to write ads, then my mentoring program may be all you need. Mentoring students can ask me any questions they want about copywriting, marketing, the business of being a freelance copywriter, etc.
3. I think the demand for copywriters is fairly stable, and it’s probably growing. It’s one of those things that businesses need in both good and bad economies. In fact, business owners need it even more in a bad economy when people are carefully guarding their money.
4. I use Glyphius. It’s a great tool for any copywriter or business owner who writes sales copy. Thanks for plugging it on Bly’s blog!
Hey Jim – Thanks for your comments. I appreciate them. Answers:
1. I started with the AWAI course. It was good for me. You can also get a foundational education by reading the classics of advertising like Scientific Advertising, Robert Collier Letter Book, How to Write a Good Advertisement, etc. You need a basic education, but you’ll learn more (and faster) from hands-on experience.
2. If you already know how to write ads, then my mentoring program may be all you need. Mentoring students can ask me any questions they want about copywriting, marketing, the business of being a freelance copywriter, etc.
3. I think the demand for copywriters is fairly stable, and it’s probably growing. It’s one of those things that businesses need in both good and bad economies. In fact, business owners need it even more in a bad economy when people are carefully guarding their money.
4. I use Glyphius. It’s a great tool for any copywriter or business owner who writes sales copy. Thanks for plugging it on Bly’s blog!
Hey Ryan,
did you learn those 3 principles from Jay Abraham? I learned them from him and thus immediately noticed it.
Have you studied him for the business/strategy aspects? Do you have any other people like him you can recommend to me? I totally love his stuff and find it hard to find anything else with the same type of content and quality-standard.
-Dave
Hey Ryan,
did you learn those 3 principles from Jay Abraham? I learned them from him and thus immediately noticed it.
Have you studied him for the business/strategy aspects? Do you have any other people like him you can recommend to me? I totally love his stuff and find it hard to find anything else with the same type of content and quality-standard.
-Dave
Dave – Actually, I’m not sure where I learned this… probably from my early days working for Sonlight. My former boss had a lot of marketing material, much of it from Jay Abraham.
Can I recommend somebody with material as good as Jay’s? Well, I loved Seth Godin’s book All Marketers Are Liars and Harry Beckwith’s Selling the Invisible. I thought they were both brilliant.
Dave – Actually, I’m not sure where I learned this… probably from my early days working for Sonlight. My former boss had a lot of marketing material, much of it from Jay Abraham.
Can I recommend somebody with material as good as Jay’s? Well, I loved Seth Godin’s book All Marketers Are Liars and Harry Beckwith’s Selling the Invisible. I thought they were both brilliant.
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