How to Get More Customers for Your Small Business: 15 Ideas That Work
Fifteen practical, low-cost ways to get more customers for a local small business, from Google and reviews to referrals, partnerships and following up.
The fastest ways for most local small businesses to get more customers are: make sure people can find you on Google, give them reasons to trust you (reviews), follow up with the leads you already get, and turn happy customers into referrals. These cost far less than ads and keep working long after you’ve done them.
Below are 15 ideas, grouped by how quickly they tend to pay off. Don’t try to do all of them at once. Pick two or three, do them well, then add more.
Quick wins: things you can do this week
1. Complete your Google Business Profile
When people search for your type of business nearby, Google shows a map with a few businesses. Being there, with a complete profile, photos and reviews, is one of the cheapest ways to get new customers. Start with our Google Business Profile setup guide.
2. Ask every customer for a Google review
Reviews help you rank and help customers choose you. Most happy customers will leave one if you ask at the right moment and make it easy with a direct link. See how to get more Google reviews.
3. Follow up on old quotes and enquiries
Go back through the last few months of quotes and enquiries that went quiet. A short, friendly message (“Just checking in on the quote we sent for your fence, happy to answer any questions”) often wins jobs you’d written off. People get busy, not uninterested.
4. Answer the phone (or call back fast)
It sounds obvious, but missed calls are lost customers, especially for urgent services. If you can’t answer, set up a voicemail that promises a callback time, or an auto-reply text, and keep that promise.
5. Make your contact details easy to find
Check your website, Google profile and social media on your phone. Is your phone number visible and tappable? Is your email correct? Are your hours right? Small fixes here recover customers you’re quietly losing.
Medium term: things that build over a month or two
6. Ask for referrals, directly
Most businesses hope for referrals; few ask. When a customer says thank you, say: “If you know anyone else who needs [service], we’d really appreciate you passing on our name.” Some businesses offer a thank-you to the referrer. Check that any referral reward is allowed in your industry and isn’t tied to reviews.
7. Partner with complementary businesses
Who serves your customers just before or after you do? A painter and a plasterer, a wedding photographer and a florist, a bookkeeper and an accountant. Agree to recommend each other and share leads.
8. Get listed in the right directories
Make sure you’re on Apple Maps, Bing Places, your industry’s main directories and your local business association. Keep your name, address and phone number identical everywhere.
9. Improve your website’s service pages
If your website has one vague “Services” page, create a separate page for each main service, explaining what it is, how it works and how to book. It helps visitors decide and helps you show up on Google.
10. Post useful content where your customers are
You don’t need to post every day. Share your work, answer common questions and show the people behind the business. Before-and-after photos, short videos explaining a job and quick tips work well for many local businesses.
Longer term: things that compound
11. Invest in local SEO
Showing up when people search for your service in your area brings in customers who already want what you sell. It takes months, but it keeps working. Our local SEO guide walks you through it.
12. Build an email or text list of past customers
Your past customers already trust you. A short, occasional message (seasonal reminders, a new service, a genuine offer) brings people back. Only message people who’ve agreed to hear from you, and make unsubscribing easy.
13. Get involved locally
Sponsor a junior sports team, support a school event, run a workshop at the library or join a business network. It builds your name, earns word-of-mouth and often leads to local links and mentions online.
14. Track where customers come from
Ask every new customer: “How did you hear about us?” Write it down. After a couple of months, you’ll know what’s working, and what to stop spending money on.
15. Consider paid ads, carefully
Google Ads, Local Services Ads and social media ads can bring customers quickly, but only if you track results and your website or phone handling converts them. Start small, measure cost per customer, and grow what works. Our comparison of Facebook ads vs Google ads helps you choose.
Which ideas to start with
| If you… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Are barely visible on Google | 1, 2, 9 |
| Get enquiries but don’t win many | 3, 4, 5 |
| Have lots of happy past customers | 2, 6, 12 |
| Are in a referral-heavy trade | 6, 7, 13 |
| Need customers this month | 3, 4, 15 |
Common mistakes
- Trying everything at once, then giving up on all of it
- Spending on ads before fixing the basics, like a missing phone number or a broken form
- Not following up on quotes and enquiries
- Not asking happy customers for reviews and referrals
- Not tracking where customers come from
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to get customers?
Asking. Asking happy customers for reviews and referrals, following up on old enquiries, and partnering with complementary businesses cost very little and often outperform paid marketing.
How can I get customers with no money for marketing?
Start with free tools: a complete Google Business Profile, reviews from every customer, a free listing on Apple Maps and Bing Places, regular posts showing your work, and a direct referral ask at the end of every job. Then reinvest the first profits into whatever brings in the most customers.
How long does it take to see results?
Follow-ups and referral asks can bring customers within days. Reviews and Google profile improvements often help within weeks. SEO and content usually take months. Combining quick wins with longer-term work keeps customers coming while bigger efforts build.
Should I offer discounts to get new customers?
Discounts can help fill quiet periods or launch a new service, but frequent discounting trains customers to wait for deals and squeezes your margin. Often, better reviews, faster responses and clearer information win more customers than a lower price.
Your getting-more-customers checklist
- Google Business Profile complete and verified
- Review link sent to every customer
- Old quotes and enquiries followed up
- Calls answered or returned quickly
- Contact details correct everywhere
- Referral ask built into your routine
- One or two partner businesses recommending you
- Every new customer asked how they found you
The businesses that grow steadily usually aren’t doing anything clever. They’re doing the basics consistently, and following up when everyone else forgets.