3 Proven Strategies to Grow Your Customer Base (Even If You Are An Introvert)

3 Proven Strategies To Build Your Customer Base - Jenny at a Farmers Market

For the first few businesses I ever started (which all failed miserably), I TRULY had the impression that this was true:

“If I build it, they will come!”

I thought that if I just announced to my family, friends, and some local Facebook groups that I was finally open for business-I would have floods of people knocking down my door to buy from me.

I sounded the alarms, tooted my own horn, announced to the world: “LOOK! HERE I AM! OPEN AND READY TO RECEIVE YOUR MONEY!” I printed business cards and researched how to accept credit cards and put an ad in the local paper. I started an instagram and a facebook page and posted a few photos of my (somewhat pathetic) flowers. Not much happened. I sounded the alarms again - “Um, hello out there?! Maybe you didn’t hear me, but I’m OPEN…”

and….

Nothing happened.

No one rushed to purchase from me. No one cared to ask about the flowers. No one handed over their cash.

I thought social media strategy and "running advertisements” was the way to build my customer base. Focusing on instagram and facebook may seem like the things “all the successful folks are doing,” but in reality most of those “successful farms” have a large local customer base (IN REAL LIFE) that has helped them grow their online following. Although social media and online ads are certainly helpful to establish credibility, I personally have not found those types of strategies to make a real impact on my sales and bottom line. In my experience, it turns out that growing a customer base takes a lot of:

A). Time, B). Effort, and C). Charisma.

To be completely honest, I think the ONLY reason my flower farm took off as quickly as it did was because I accidentally discovered how to grow a customer base. Not kidding, folks. It was a lucky break for sure, but the truth is I had no idea what I was doing at first and sort of just fell-into the basics of marketing and sales without even knowing it.

For my entire life I had always been a shy, introverted person (still am). But as I got older, I had unknowingly developed the one critical skill of growing my clientele and sales: being a “people person.”

Make no mistake, it really can be that simple.

Just before starting my flower farm business I had returned to the USA after about 9 weeks backpacking through Europe by myself. I visited 16 countries over that 9 week time span and met COUNTLESS people from all walks of life and all nationalities. I had always been introverted, but that trip changed me in a lot of ways - mainly, it forced me out of my protective introverted shell and I learned how to become extroverted when necessary. I learned how to not be afraid to talk to strangers, and how to trust people blindly (most people are actually really nice and awesome). Most of all, I learned how to be genuinely interested in individuals, because everyone has a unique story to tell.

I also had previous experience working at the ice cream shop on the dairy farm I worked at as a teenager, where I learned at a young age how to greet customers and wait on them. I learned that smiling and being extra nice and pleasant got me big fat tips (some people even left me fivers!!), and I also learned the adage “you catch more flies with honey than vinegar” rang perfectly true.

Just before flying across the pond, I had worked for another farm, where I helped run their veggie CSA and went to a popular farmers market every weekend. There I learned how to pleasantly interact with people that had no idea about anything that had to do with agriculture (but acted like they did - which was frustrating).

All of these random experiences unknowingly built up my “people skills” and set me up to be an ideal candidate for meeting people IN REAL LIFE (not just on the internet)- which turns out to be the secret sauce in finding (and keeping) “your people.” In short- you need to get really, really great at developing relationships in order to succeed in business.

I finally started to have success in business when I started going to a popular farmers market in the city and doing just that (by complete accident). I used my skills of not being afraid to say hello to strangers, my genuine interest in other people, my ability to be unbelievably kind to people, and to talk to all kinds of friends that walked past my market booth.

In a very short time, I had made a bunch of friends there. They became my customers. They told their friends, who came to see me at the market - so I befriended them. Then those people became my customers. My business exploded.

[Read: word of mouth marketing is the bomb.com.]

Yes, it sounds so overly simple, and I am sure you thinking that there is much more to marketing and sales to this (fair point- but these are the basics you must nail first!). SO many people want to skip this part of growing a business- but you just can’t skip the power of meeting people in real life. Your business will not grow if you do not do this first.

Your potential customers need to find you first (how will they do that if you hide in your garden?), and then they need to get to KNOW you, LIKE you, and TRUST you (and how will you do that if you don’t get to know them?). And this relationship must be absolutely authentic and genuine. You can’t fake a relationship with someone to try to nail a sale (and if you do….well, KARMA).

Business, marketing and sales are done best when viewed as a LONG term game. Do not try to manipulate folks into a sale in the moment (not that I think you’d do that), instead just go out into the world with the intention to make as many friends as possible, and help serve them in any way you can. In general - just BE A GOOD PERSON and sales will naturally come to you.

All of this to say: in order to build a business you first must put yourself out there, meet as many people as you can, and develop authentic relationships with them. It’s simple and it works.

But, how do you actually get out in the world to meet people? How do you find those people who are interested in your flowers? How do you get them to know, like, and trust you (genuinely)? I’m glad you asked. Here are three strategies I have successfully used to really grow my customer base and meet “my people:”

Tip #1: Utilize strategic partners for product pick up locations

Yes, meeting people in real life is the goal, but piggy-backing off someone else’s success with a similar target market doesn’t hurt either. The key here is to find other local businesses that you love and that also align with your values. They should have the same target market as you (people who love beautiful things, duh). See if you can connect and collaborate with them in a way that benefits you BOTH (a must). For example, I have several other businesses that I partner with for our CSA pick ups. I get the benefit of being exposed to their (usually) larger audience, of having a convenient location for my customers, we cross-promote each others businesses, they get free flowers from me to spruce up their shops every week, and they get tons of foot traffic in their door on a slow day of the week (to hopefully boost their sales). This is a great way to meet people, say hello, and get to be a part of people’s routine every week.

Tip #2: Start attending a (popular) farmers market or do POP-UP markets

I highly recommend farmers markets to most starting flower farmers. The risk is low - if you have a crop failure or a gap in production, it isn’t a huge deal. You can just bring whatever you have and the market attendees can choose from your random selection. Usually the market fee is also very reasonable, so it’s overall a low-stress outlet that allows you to meet tons of people in your community (who usually happen to be interested in small, local business…). You’ll be amazed at who you meet- other local business owners, people in government, town officials, other farmers (fun to collaborate with!), and tons of different kinds of people. Think of all of these local folks as connections to a wider, broader audience.

You can also consider doing a pop-up market by partnering with another business or in a busy location in order to get exposed to a bigger audience. These are particularly popular around the holidays (Mother’s day!).

Tip #3: Host A Workshop

Promote a free (or paid) farm tour or a workshop through your business collaborations, farmers market, or pop up shop. Get people to sign up on the spot, if at all possible. The public is enamored with “small farm life,” and will imagine frolicking through open fields of wild-flowers on your farm. Now is your chance to A). Educate them on the reality of running a farm (make it really interesting and fun!) and B). Let them get to know you, your story, and your unique personality. I have had people sign up for workshops “just to do something fun,” and then become wedding customers, then life-long market customers, and even full-season CSA members.

Remember to practice your “people person” skills (even if you are an introvert like me) and really strive to create genuine relationships with people.

If you consistently show up and put yourself out there in the world, eventually you will attract a customer base that will gladly hand over their wallets to support you. It may not seem likely when you are first starting, but sometimes the most unlikely people will show up and lift you to success.

Give these three strategies a try and let me know if you meet any friends, cultivate new relationships, or find any new customers.

I am 100% certain that you will.

I’d love to know - do you have any other strategies to share that have helped you grow your customer base? Comment below!