Using Tech to Bring in More Clients

With the number of tech tools currently available to businesses and the fact that there are new tech tools appearing all the time, using tech to bring in more clients should technically be straightforward and the only dilemma businesses ever experience should be which ones to use. 

That, however, is often not the case, though this is generally because businesses have failed to:

a. Understand their target audience

b. Find out who their current clients are 

c. Define the market for their products/services

 Once they address these issues they’ll find using tech – in whichever form they choose to use – to bring in more clients to be much more straightforward. 

Social media – Effective when used logically

Social networks are the best tools available to businesses looking to expand their client base but they naturally need to have addressed the three points listed above to do so. There are so many social networks to utilise these days and whilst some are excellent for certain purposes, that isn’t to say they’ll help you find new clients. 

For instance, Pininterest is an excellent social network for showcasing visual work, though if your target audience are middle-aged professional males, chances are you won’t find them here and you’re better off with LinkedIn and similar social networks. 

With regard to Pininterest and similar sites, educated women under the age of fifty are targetable on Pininterest, though Instagram is a better bet for teenagers and twenty-somethings if you’re looking to showcase visual work with the aim of reaching out to new clients. 

Hire a ‘spy’ to source current and prospective clients on social networks

Social anthropology is a term that’s been thrown about lately with Flowtown and Rapleaf currently considered to the leaders of this emerging field. Basically, you provide the social anthropologist of your choosing with a list of your clients’ email addresses and they’ll figure out how who’s on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter and what their ‘likes’ etc. are. 

This is a great way to connect with your clients on social networks and from there you can start connecting with their ‘friends’ on social networks, some of whom will theoretically be in your target audience.

Lead generation – Lead the way

There are some excellent lead generation tools available to small businesses and freelancers – most charge a small fee which will be offset by increased business – including InfoFree which currently has 10,000 subscribers (plus 100,000 through its freemium model) and counting.

This well-received lead marketing tool enables businesses and freelancers to source and market to their target audiences by accessing business credit reports, e-mail lists, mailing lists, sales leads and other databases through an easy to use, though powerful, CRM. 

Jigsaw (Salesforce.com Inc.) is a lead generation tool that’s been well-received amongst freelancers and small businesses and it’s proven popular for many reasons, including its wide array of subscriptions, with most businesses and freelancers finding themselves just as well catered for in this regard as they are online virtual assistant services. Moreover, contacts can either be bought with money or with credits subscribers earn from sharing their contacts or helping Jigsaw correct their list. 

With 4 million companies and 24 million individuals in the US, all of which are guaranteed to have both email and phone, Jigsaw is understandably viewed as one of the top lead generation tools currently available. 

Other popular lead generation tools to consider include InfoUSA, Sales Genie (Infogroup Inc.) and Hoover’s (Dun & Bradstreet Inc.)

With an understanding of your target audience and which tech to use, bringing in new clients is easy, even for someone who doesn’t consider themselves ‘tech savvy’.