10 ways for your startup to attract and keep customers

Launches are happening all the time: in 2025, Bristol saw 266 startups, making it the 5th strongest ecosystem in the UK. But being a small business is tough: in 2024, 23,872 UK businesses went down with all hands.

That’s actually an improvement on 2023, which shows how challenging things are for businesses starting out. So how can you find customers, and keep them? Here are ten ways to keep your head above water:

1. Have a website - and make it SEO friendly.

No matter how small your business, it’s important to be online, so people can find you and get an idea of what you are offering. 

Your website should run well on mobile - most people, especially younger people, are using their phones rather than a laptop. 

And it should be optimised for search engines. Not just populated with search terms, but with broader appeal to your audience.

AI-powered search means potential customers don’t even have to be looking for specific products; they can ask a question and their AI will direct them to your website, if it has relevant, helpful information that they are looking for. So think about what problems they need to solve, and try to give them the answers, along with some information about why your product or service can help. (A bit like this article…)

2. Be sociable.

Pick your social channels and make sure you’re active there. Choose the places where your audience hang out - it’s pointless spending energy talking to the wrong people. But if you are present in the right media, it means you can jump on topical stories and say something which your customers will notice and remember.

3. Start a newsletter.

Email marketing is still effective, and has the advantage of a pre-selected audience. People who have allowed you to collect their details have already shown interest in what you’re doing. Devise a lead magnet to build a contact list for newsletters and promotional emails. 

4. Make sure your message is tight.

Of course, I’m bound to say this, but having powerful, consistent messaging is key to growing and maintaining your customer base. Research your audience, and make sure you are addressing their problems and offering them what they want. Then line your identity behind that message and deliver it consistently to establish yourself in the mind of your target. Get in touch to see how we can help with everything from brand identity to messaging frameworks. 

5. Make a splash.

If it makes sense, think about getting involved with local community events.  Look out for local events which are relevant to what you do, and to make sure you aren’t just wallpaper, find an angle that makes your contribution meaningful. Giving back to the community wins people over, and gets free publicity in the local press.

6. Give them a deal.

Everybody loves a bargain. An offer is a great way to convince people to try what you’re selling, and you can double down on it by letting buyers pass on savings to a family member or friend. Referrals have trust baked in, so they are more likely to land well.

7. Make your relationship rewarding.

You can reward your customers with more than discounts. The customer experience is vital - both before, during and after their encounter with you. A satisfying transaction leaves people more likely to recommend you and to come back. On the other hand,  poor customer service can be the kiss of death - social media means word gets around at the speed of light. So it’s important to listen to your customers and respond quickly and sympathetically to any problems they have.

8. Network.

Building a network of contacts is really helpful. You can find partners in related fields to collaborate with, find funding, get support and advice, and be inspired by successful businesses. Look for local networking events on meetup or eventbrite; I have really enjoyed the friendly support of local entrepreneurs at https://www.coastalnetworkers.co.uk/ in Clevedon. Contacts can help you find leads, and help you sharpen your elevator pitch so you convert opportunities better.

9. Advertise.

Google ads and paid ads on social media platforms can be really helpful for targeting specific demographics, and for finding out how your business lands with different audiences. At a local level, flyers, local newspaper adverts and radio can be effective if they suit your offering. 

It’s tempting when you’re paying for space or time to try and fit everything into your ads, but stick to a simple, easily communicated message and don’t dilute it with too many details. If you give people too much to juggle, they won’t catch any of it!

10. Stay positive!

The pressure to convert sales every day can be overwhelming. Take time to remember why you got into this in the first place, and to enjoy building your own business. Sales is a confidence game, and your customers will pick up on your enthusiasm. You’ve got this!

It seems like a lot of work, but it’s a sad fact of life that to keep your company afloat, you need to be constantly fishing for new business. If you’d like an informal chat about how your brand can work harder to help, drop us a line.

It’s not about you*.

As a startup owner, your business is your dream.

You came up with it, shaped it and put it out into the world. It’s personal. 

So it’s tempting to treat the brand like an extension of your self: a mouthpiece for what you want the brand to say. A broadcast medium.

The most important thing to realise about your brand is that it doesn’t really belong to you. To succeed, a brand has to be a listening medium.

It’s got to be based on the needs of your customers. Shaped around their dreams, and talking to them in a language that they understand. 

81% of consumers need to trust a brand to buy from it, and increasingly, sales rely on recommendations from friends and family.

So if anything about your brand means something to you, but not to your audience, it’s not doing its job, and your business won’t feel relevant to them.

That goes for everything from the name, to the choice of influencers.

The importance of your brand is even greater when you receive feedback - it can be useful that it’s the brand responding, not you! It’s a valuable buffer, and it can give you an angle to turn a negative into a positive, as Astronomer showed brilliantly recently.

So unless you’re selling to people just like you, take a careful look at what your brand is saying, and how it’s saying it.

The best brands give their customers what they want. Whether you like it or not.

*Unless you’re talking about personal branding, in which case, er, it is.

Why growing businesses need to act like big brands

Britain is a country of entrepreneurs: 846,000 new businesses were floated last year alone.

And in the South West, more than 8% of the population has launched their own startup, making it the top region in the country for entrepreneurs. What’s more, Bristol has been judged the country’s second best city to start a business in 2025.

But with so many startups, competition is fierce. For your business to gain a foothold, it has to be memorable and popular. Leading on price won’t win the day - thin margins make it difficult to grow, and a focus on price can damage a brand’s reputation.

So, even in the hectic days right at the beginning, it pays to take the time to get it right.

The temptation is to think of a snazzy logo and decide what colour it should be, and call it a day. But the foundations for solid growth need to go deeper.

Big brands spend a fortune making sure they look the same everywhere they appear, so even if you are on the other side of the world, you recognise them. But that’s not all. They make a big effort to sound and behave the same everywhere too, so you know exactly what to expect from them. Red and yellow may make you hungry, but it’s the way McDonald’s behaves that is the real driver behind its popularity. 

The brand has emotional power.

Coke is joyful. Nike is powerful. Even Amazon, which is based on efficiency and cost, goes out of its way to woo its customers with consistent emotional messaging, to keep them coming back.

That’s why global brands have brand guidelines (or brand books, or even brand bibles!) that lay out not just how they look, but who they are and how they speak. 

When you’re starting out, they don’t need to be hundreds of pages long. Just clear and honest, so you can be consistent. In any new relationship, it’s unnerving when a partner says something out of character, and it’s the same with new customers. Stay true to your personality, and the trust will grow.

A study by Lucidpress showed consistent brand presentation across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. That’s the sort of growth that can really make the difference.

To find out how Slipway can apply big business thinking to your brand, get in touch and let’s have a chat about leaving the other 845,999 new companies floundering in your wake.