Reach out to your new community and introduce yourself. Use direct mail to target people within a specific radius and announce your business. Invite them to an open house event offering special discounts on your goods or services. Offer snacks and set up games, face painting and other family-friendly activities. This will allow people to get to know you in a different setting outside of you trying to sell them something. Obviously, you want them to buy your goods or services, but you need to build a solid foundation with your potential customers to make them feel comfortable working with you. Create a photo booth and use special photo folders for the pictures to remind people of the fun they had at your business. Offering larger images will help you stand out. Company Folders provides folders that hold 5” x 7” or 4” x 6” photos—and they’re available in 55 unique stocks from which to choose. Depending on your budget, you can give out promotional items to help advertise your business, too, such as sunglasses from Sunglass Ville that allows for orders as low as 24 pieces, or hats from Cap Beast that offers beanies and bucket hats in addition to the traditional cap. People love getting free goods, so this will definitely start your relationship off on the right foot.

Always remember customer service is ultimately the number one priority and will be the thing that makes you stand out from the rest. Make an effort to get to know your customers personally so that you can make recommendations for future purchases that will fit their needs. Get involved in the community by sponsoring a local sports team or having an event to benefit a local non-profit organization. Encourage employees to volunteer, as well. Let the community know you care and that you are there to help. Getting involved with community service will help get your name out there and attract new customers. People will appreciate the extra steps you are taking and will remember that when they need to make a purchase. They also will be more likely to use your business if they know you return the favor by helping the community.