Landing your first clients is one of the hardest parts of starting a new business. Most entrepreneurs face the same question on how to land their first clients. At the start, no one knows who you are or what your business offers. And with funds running out faster than you would like, it’s important that you bring in those first clients sooner rather than later. Here are some steps you can follow to bring in your first customers:

Decide on Your Budget

The first thing you’ll want to do is decide how much you can afford to spend on marketing. Your available budget will play a big role in determining which marketing strategies you can pursue. It would be great if you had unlimited funds and could place television commercials on all the major networks. Unfortunately, this likely isn’t the case, so spend some time figuring out how much you actually have to work with. This guide should help you figure out what marketing budget will work best for you.

Create an Online Presence

Regardless of the marketing strategies you use, you’ll want an online presence. Most people get their information through the internet these days, so if you want to start landing customers and clients for your business, you need to go where they are. A simple website is all you really need to get started, but accounts on the major social media platforms is also a good idea.

Use your website to list your products or services, along with a way to contact you. On your social media pages, start sharing information related to your niche. These few simple actions will lay a strong foundation on which you can build the rest of your marketing strategies.

To establish your online presence even further you can also run advertisements online. However, this is one area where your budget will really come into play. You’ll want to pay close attention to how much you are spending on online advertising, as it can be easy to exceed your budget. Set a maximum that you want to spend, then keep on top of your progress to ensure you don’t go over.

Advertise Around Town

Another simple way for your new business to start generating customers and clients is by advertising around your local area. Hanging up fliers in popular spots is a good way to start getting the word out and it doesn’t cost all that much. You can also run advertisements in local newsletters or post about your products/services in local online forums. People often like to work with their neighbors, so advertising to them is a good way to draw in those initial clients.

Ask for Referrals

Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to generate customers. The first thing you can do is ask any of your friends or family members to promote your new business. Chances are they would be more than happy to recommend you to their own connections. Then, once you start getting a few clients, you can ask them to refer you to others. If they had a good experience, they also won’t mind recommending you to their connections. The key is letting the people in your life know that you’ve started a business and asking them to recommend you. If you provide good work or products, they’re likely to help you out.

Attend Conferences

Finally, depending on your business, you may be able to get some clients by attending conferences. Conferences are where other business professionals gather to discuss their work. For example, let’s say you have created a line of beauty products. You could attend a conference based around cosmetology, skincare, etc. From there you could sell your products to other individuals or make connections to have your products sold in beauty salons. Take some time to look at the conferences offered in your area and see if any of them line up with your niche.

Start Getting Your First Clients

If you’ve started or are planning on starting a new business and are wondering how to land your first clients, the info above should put you on the right track. Most of the marketing strategies mentioned above can be implemented on even a small budget.

There are many ways you can attract your first clients without spending a lot of money, you just need to get creative. Once you start bringing in some clients, then you can expand into other marketing methods, such as paying for bigger advertising campaigns.