Businesses are always looking for proven ways to expand their customer base and help them sell more. Our global perspective at Regus enables us to see what is working for companies around the world. Here are three of the most effective approaches from our experience.
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1. Get closer to your clients
One of the best ways to grow your customer base is by getting closer to your customers or clients.
Regus recently surveyed 19,000 owners and senior managers from businesses in 96 countries around the world, and 80% reported that customer churn can be reduced by having a physical presence near customers and clients.
Proximity can help you grow your business too. It stands to reason that the closer you are physically to your customers, the easier it is to get to know them and their needs better, and help them to meet those needs. Almost half of businesses around the world believe that greater physical proximity to their customers could help them develop better products.
2. Use innovation to gain a competitive edge
A second way to grow is through innovation. Many companies begin with a fierce innovative drive that is fuelled by their entrepreneurial roots. But as they mature, that spirit of innovation can be lost in the more formal processes and systems that develop along the way.
As a result, increasing numbers of large companies around the world are looking to ‘intrapreneurship’ to help solve that challenge. They are actively encouraging employees to think – and act – more like entrepreneurs.
3. Keep the best talent – and keep them motivated – with flexible working
According to almost half of respondents to a recent Regus global survey (48%), flexible working is one of the keys to innovation. It’s one of the ways that large companies foster the spirit of ‘intrapreneurship’. And it’s proving increasingly powerful as a way for companies to retain and motivate talented people.
There are many ways for employers to do this. You might consider offering employees the opportunity for job sharing and flex(i)time, allowing them to work part time or to complete a set number of hours in fewer days, or even enabling them to work from home or at a remote location for some or all of the working week.
Flexible working is also taking its place in the legal framework around the workplace, and needs to be part of your business’s thinking for that reason too. In the UK for example, from 30 June 2014, employers in the UK ‘must consider seriously’ requests for flexible working from many workers. So it’s a legal duty as well as a way to help grow your business.
Please click here to download your copy of the full Regus global survey. And remember that if you decide to get closer to your customers, Regus can help you find flexible workspace on the right terms all over the world.
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