How to Land Your First 100 Customers Before Running Online Ads, Autogirl Nigeria Founder Shares Tips

• Online advertising has become a go-to method for businesses to reach a wider audience and convert them to customers
• But many small businesses are looking for ways to get customers on low budgets as business operation costs are rising every day
• In this interview, the founder and CEO of Autogirl Nigeria, Chinazom Arinze, shared how she secured her first customers before running ads

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

In today’s world, everyone appears to be selling something, and it is now competition for a very limited market. By default, every business owner seems to be turning to online ads in search of customers.

While running online ads can let a business tap from a boundless market on the internet, business owners are leaving so much money on the table by ignoring other things they could do before running ads.

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Legit.ng spoke to Chinazom Arinze, founder and CEO of Autogirl Nigeria, a car rental startup. Ms. Arinze shared some great insights, drawing from her experience building the Autogirl Nigeria brand.

1. Identify your customers and talk to them

According to Ms. Arinze, many business owners just start selling and rush to spend money on online ads when they have not identified their target customers and what problem the person is looking to solve. She said:

“Once you identify your customers, half the marketing problem is solved. And for context, your customers are not just those who need what you are selling. Your customers are those who have the problem and are willing to pay the rate you charge to solve that problem. You could have 1000 people thirsty, but only 200 of them can afford to buy a bottle of cold drink at N10,000. You would be making a mistake trying to sell to all of them.

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"At Autogirl, we don’t try to sell to everyone. Every of our marketing message targets a group of customers that need the services we offer, and can pay the rates we charge.”

2. Take advantage of your contacts and those already within your network

According to the Autogirl boss, these are the people who know you and can be willing to listen to you talk about your business, even when you don’t seem to have a grasp of what you are doing.

“Send out messages to them. Let them know this is the business you are starting out and encourage them to share the information with those in their network too. Don’t be ashamed to tell people about your business. When people have a problem or need, and they know you have a solution, they can reach out to you.

"When I started Autogirl as an undergraduate, my first customers were my fellow students who needed to run errands or make short trips on weekends. They wanted a car and a driver that would take them out the whole trip and bring them back at the end of the day and that was what Autogirl was offering, so they patronized me. I used the network i had already built"

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3. Get them to try your product and give you a review

Ms. Arinze noted that it could sometimes become necessary to incentivise them to leave you a review.

“You could register the business and list it on Google My Business. Then get them to leave you a review after trying your product or service. You can offer them a discount on the next purchase, or send a gift if they leave you a review. It is a win-win that way, and that begins to give you online presence”

She noted that with the online listing and reviews, when the business eventually starts running ads online, customers who want to check them out will find existing information or reviews.

Nothing gets a customer more sceptical than seeing an online advert, and when they try to find out more about the business, they find nothing, making it look like the business just crawled out from under a rock.

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4. Take advantage of social media and create content

Ms. Chinazom pointed out that creating content before running ads also contributes to the eventual success of the ads.

The contents should share details about the business and its products and services, how people can place orders, and more. With these, there will be a reservoir or archive of information that answers the customers' questions.

“I spend a lot on ads now and I have done so for years. It is important that when you run ads, and potential customers visit your page, they should find enough information to help them reach a decision. How much work you put in before the ads can determine if your ads bring you lots of businesses, or if they just bring you leads that will follow you and start observing you for months before buying anything”.

This is a key step to drive online growth, even when you are not yet running ads.

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5. Don't ignore the power of collaborations

While creating content and sharing information about your product or services, explore collaborations too. If you offer electrical wiring services, for instance, you could collaborate with another business that offers solar installations to create combined packages/offers with discounts.

A caterer can collaborate with an event planner. The idea is to identify a service/product that is often required alongside what you offer and reach out to the same audience.

Startup executive lists 3 challenges founders face

Meanwhile, fintech executive Precious Adesina-Ola listed three major challenges startup founders face in addition to customer acquisition.

She listed the core challenges as limited funding, infrastructural gaps, and talent acquisition and retention.

According to her, founders can overcome the challenges by exploring other funding models like revenue-based financing, milestone scaling, and building remote teams to attract global talents.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng