How can MSMEs attract premium clients

The entrepreneurial life appeals to many individuals. They want to implement their ideas to add value to human lives, and having paid customers is essential for any business.

It takes a lot of clarity and planning to pitch and try to sell products and gain repeat customers. Without a clearly defined long-term goal would lead to burnout.

These burnouts impact MSMEs financially, physically, and emotionally. 

1. MSMEs use price points and volume as a strategy to enter the market. After a certain period, the business investment becomes burdensome and non-profitable as it doesn't survive the low-price and high-volume game.
2. Operations-focused approach: With no set goal and only having daily operations will lead to the erosion of financial resources. 
3. Chasing clients: Having your own business gives you the freedom to operate as you want, but business owners end up slaving away as they do not plan for customer acquisition and do it haphazardly.
4. Network as net worth: Business owners consider the network as net worth and keep networking just to be seen without having a certain intention and expected outcome.
5. Business owners have a lot of enthusiasm until they acquire customers and make revenue. Slowly and steadily, if they don’t have the space to grow and see the thriving results, they feel trapped in their business, resulting in burnout, as they cannot take a break nor enjoy their personal life.

A quick read on a similar topic...

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Why businesses need to pay attention to customer well-being and sentiment

Burnout among business owners is real, but it can be changed for good. One solution is tapping into premium clients. The whole belief system—one needs a lot of time to build a business and years of hard work and effort before they land up getting paid premium clients—is a myth. 

One can work with premium clients from day one of their business if they play it right. Here are some ways to attract premium clients: 

Setting boundaries: Setting healthy boundaries for your work and investing your energy, efforts, and resources sensibly can help you raise your business to new heights.

Resourcefulness: MSME business owners felt that the pandemic was making the economy slow, leaving them with no resources to put effort into generating more resources for their growth. If someone exhibits resourcefulness and is open to looking for possibilities, they would be able to generate resources.

Master your energy: Most MSME owners meet prospective clients with the mindset that it is the first meeting. This makes their energy “just okay” for that interaction and lengthens the process of moving forward. If their enthusiasm, zeal, and drive, along with their product or service, are projected on the prospect, the deal can happen in one single meeting. It will save effort, energy, and time, and they can invest in identifying more clients.

Make space: Most entrepreneurs work randomly to keep business operations rolling. You do not first get a premium client and then make space to work with them but rather the opposite. 

Innovate: Innovation lies in creating an experience that makes customers feel they are receiving premium treatment. They will willingly pay a premium price if business owners consistently add value and treat them with utmost importance.

Charge your worth: Charging your worth from the time you enter the business helps you provide your heart and soul to it and serve the customers very well. 

Make genuine connections: When you are genuinely interested in understanding customer challenges and what they want, you show up with empathy, offering them solutions. It is the set of values that makes the connection stronger and makes a loyal customer base. 

Continuous decision-making: Procrastination contributes to energy leakage, while consistent decision-making renders the upcoming task easier to accomplish. Business is an evolving space, and growth is hampered if business owners remain undecided. Intuition is the best way for decision-making as it considers the present scenario without any bias or judgment of what has happened in the past. 

Attracting premium clients becomes effortless when you have a clear understanding of your purpose and the value you bring to your business. By staying true to your purpose and approach, you will consistently attract premium clients, facilitating the creation of your own unique market space. 

Articulating your motivations for serving clients and demonstrating your ability to do so genuinely, authentically, innovatively, and humbly will forge a closer bond between clients and your brand.

By conserving and investing your energy while prioritising your customers, you tap into the most vital element of your business, resulting in exponential business growth while leveraging your intuition.

(Shraddha Subramanian is a Certified Business & Executive Coach, and the Founder and CEO of Sparkling Soul)