How to grow your customer base

When you grow your customer base as a supplier, you stand a chance of winning big contracts even when there were large corporations vying to do the same job.
ILLUSTRATION BY DANNY BARONGO

What you need to know:

  • In procurement every supplier wants to grow their customer base so as to win more contracts and stay ahead of competition. This can be through use of different strategies among them, use of Social Media, Joseph Bahingwire writes.

Effective use of Social Media can be a vital tool for increasing customer awareness about your products. This will in the long run enable you win business and contracts.
Mr Moses Kansiime, a business consultant says when your prospective customers see, hear, and read about you, chances are they will opt for your goods and services.
He says media platforms such as web sites, Facebook posts, twitter, articles, radio shows, blog posts can help you grow your brand and increase your chances if well updated with the services you offer to the prospective buyers.
“When your prospective customers are ready to purchase what you offer, you will be the first business that comes to mind. If you stay in front of them on a regular basis, you are more likely to get the call or the sale when someone is ready to buy,” he says.
Being consistent with your marketing efforts is itself attractive to potential customers. If you are on schedule and steady with your own business, chances are you will bring those traits to your work with clients as well.

Mr Simon Mugisha, an advertising agent in Kampala, says most of the customers tend to associate with goods and services that are easily visible and known to them.

To ensure that your product gets the best visibility so as to increase market share and attract more customers, suppliers should consider a range of marketing strategies including effective utilisation of Social Media.

He says: “In a demand-driven supply chain, flow of products to the end customer and from the furthest supplier provides a smooth and efficient flow of the products supplied.”

Choose right media

Increased media visibility attracts affiliates, partners, and joint ventures. A supplier may not only be seen as an expert but their effective and consistent marketing is seen as another benefit of working with them.
It is all about being consistent on the market so that your products become a household name that in turn helps you attract even new customers and dominate the market share.

However, to achieve this one needs to choose the right media platform that reaches their target customers.

Mr James Kyalimpa, an IT specialist, says maximising Social Media use means choosing those platforms and practices that suit your core business strategy.

For instance, it may or may not make sense for your company to update its Twitter account every hour because it works for competition.

“One strategy could be to first determine which platforms your customers use, and then build your Social Media presence with those outlets in mind so as to achieve predetermined and measurable business objectives,” he advises.