If you’ve spent a great deal of time, money, and effort building your business you want the end result to be more customers. In general, many business owners wonder how to keep their connections with people from being one encounter, only to have them move on to the next thing and never think of them or their business again. It sounds like a difficult obstacle to conquer but in reality, it all boils down to finding a way to retain or hold your supporters, followers, and potential customers.
One popular term for this is list building. A simple way to build a list includes offering a subscription option. If you have a website, blog, newsletter, etc., then there’s a subscription method. Another basic way of building your list is simply collecting emails to add to your database. This is the purpose of sign-up sheets at events, or simply asking people for their email address if they’re interested in what you have to offer. Lastly, a more complex but popular form of list building is offering a freebie. In order to obtain the freebie individuals have to provide a bit of information (perhaps a first name and email), and then they can access the free download, video, audio, sample, etc.
So what is the purpose of all of this? Say you’re online and you see an ad for a clothing store, offering the same type of clothing you wear all the time. They use the same materials, it appears to be of the same quality, and the items have similar prices. Now, you need an outfit for a special occasion. Most of us would be more prone to head over to our favorite store – a store we know, like, and trust, as opposed to risking it with this new store, especially for an important event. The average person will choose what they’re familiar with. Lists allow you introduce yourself to potential customers and stay connected and engaged. This means that when it comes to the people on your list, even if they don’t all buy at the same time, the likelihood of them becoming your customers over time becomes greater.
