Can You Have A Business With No Customers?

Running a small business can be extremely hectic. From managing sales, analysing data, finance management to monitoring performance, it is a struggle.

But regardless of what sector you’re in or what types of products and services you sell, customers are the most significant aspect of your business. Or at least, that’s what we’ve heard. But is there any truth to this? Let’s try to understand.

The answer to this question is both yes and no. In the short run, a business can stay afloat without any customers. The same isn’t possible in the long run. Here are a few stages where a business can operate without customers.

1. Writing the Business Plan

2. Setting up the production facility

3. Developing the Product or Service

But having no customer can only work in the early stages of a business. In the long run, it’s hard to imagine a business operating and profiting without any customers. You can have a b2b business or a b2c one, but customers are essential in the long haul.

But why are customers so vital for a business? Here’s why.

1. Revenue

If there’d be no customers willing to buy your product or service, how would you earn revenue? Organisations measure success and failure based on revenue which is correlated to customers.

2. Brand Reputation

To build a reputation, you need an audience who’d offer their word of mouth. More often than not, it is the customers who do that. They are the ones who help a company in building a reputation. As reputation leads to higher growth, customers are vital.

3. Ideation for Product or Service

Every business is looking to satisfy some need or want. But if you won’t have any customers, whose needs would you fulfil? Potential customers can provide you with ideas for the product you can develop or the service you can render.

4. Honest Feedback

As customers pay for the products and service, they’re more likely to provide honest feedback to the seller. And that can provide businesses with tips to improve their offerings.

5. Less Spending on Marketing

Once you have a lot of customers, you’d have to spend fewer bucks on marketing, but it takes time to reach such a stage.

6. Business Longevity

Happy customers provide profits and longevity to a business. Satisfied customers solve problems like lack of funds, inability to scale, and misunderstanding of market value.

So although you can have a business without customers in the short run, it isn’t the case in the long run. You can have the best idea and resources, but if your business doesn’t get customers, it’s more likely to fail in the long haul.

But it’s easier said than done. Many small business owners struggle with getting and retaining customers. As a result, they have to keep putting money into the business to survive.

However, companies can use some ways and techniques to ensure their business keeps afloat even when they don’t have any customers. Here are a few small business tips for the same.

Business Tips: How to Ensure Business Stays Afloat Even When You Don’t Have Customers

1. Start Keeping a Tab on Your Inventory and Cheque Book

Did you know that numerous small businesses fall victim to fraud? To ensure it doesn’t happen to your business, verify that every penny that left your bank account in the past went to a legitimate person.

How can you do that? Get control of your cheque book. Similarly, make sure that your inventory is not home with your workers. As per the small business administration, over 30% of small business failures are a consequence of employee theft.

2. Reduce Operating Expenses

Although it might seem radical, reducing operating expenses to keep your business afloat becomes mandatory sometimes. In difficult times when they have no customers, companies do everything that they can in their abilities and means.

As a small business, you can cut down on office supplies. Moreover, one should try to negotiate with the manufacturers or retailers by asking for a lower price. Small business owners can also ask their employees to take a temporary salary cut.

Although these decisions aren’t easy, they’re necessary to keep a business afloat.

3. Join Forces With Other Ventures

In times of a crisis where you get no customers, it’s beneficial to join forces with other ventures or businesses. For instance, if you own a small restaurant that isn’t getting customers, why not sell your food to a retailer?

You could even prepare meals and tie-up with grocery stores to sell them. So if you’re a small business owner looking to keep your business afloat, it’s vital to tie-up with businesses that’d compliment your business.

4. Ensure Cash Access

When your business isn’t getting customers, the first thing you should ensure is access to cash. For that, it’s beneficial to visit a bank loan officer and understand everything required to obtain a loan.

Every small business should have good relations with a bank manager as you’d have an easier time accessing PPP loans in such conditions. Moreover, you can use other sources of capital as well.

It includes tapping into your savings, borrowing from friends or family, or liquidating stock holdings. Consider refinancing assets as it’d put cash in your pocket.  

5. Make a New Business Plan

With no customers, your business is bound to suffer financially. But unlike revenue, expenses are a constant. They don’t go anywhere. That is why you must change the way you’re operating. The first and foremost step is to make a new business plan.

To keep your business afloat, we sometimes need to make harsh decisions. If an individual isn’t adding value, it’s best to let him go for business survival in the long run.

However, if there are some with massive potential and the capability to add value, it’s best to retain them. They’d be the ones who’ll be loyal to you in the long run. All in all, it’s best to reconsider your spendings and expenditure.

6. Innovate with Pricing Offers

The obvious way of keeping your business afloat when you have no customers is to persuade customers. One of the most efficient ways of doing that is to innovate with pricing offers. While doing so, you must focus on two key aspects.

The first is to make your product or service more affordable to the customers. The second one is about improving your own cash flow. So make sure that whichever pricing offer or technique you use, it must ensure cash flow.

You can choose to offer incentives to your customers for every purchase made. For instance, if you have a local cable business, you can offer 2-3 free months to customers looking for an annual pack.

It’d be a win-win for both your business and the customers. However, make sure your offers would ensure enough cash flow and not push you towards bankruptcy.  

Conclusion

Customers are the ones that drive revenue and provide feedback to businesses. While businesses can survive in the short run without customers, not having customers in the long haul can be problematic and detrimental for any small business.

As a small business owner, having no customer is always sad news. They’re the most vital aspect of a business as they make businesses profitable and help with brand reputation.  

Helping your business stay afloat requires you to take some tough decisions. But if you’re successful in adapting to new conditions, partnering with other businesses and ensuring access to cash, amongst other business growth tips, your small business would come out stronger than before.

Moreover, retaining capable employees who’d make loyal workers in the future also helps. Plus, it’s also an effective way of forging strong relationships that’d last long.

If you’re a small business owner with no customers looking to keep your business afloat, following the business management tips mentioned above would be helpful.

Also Read:

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2) What Are The Best Small Business Ideas In Kerala?
3) What are Some Small Business Ideas for Lucknow?
4) Top 10 Small Business Ideas For Bhopal
5) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.

FAQs

Q. Can I have a business with no customers?

Ans. You can have a business in the short run without customers, but in the long haul, customers are vital as businesses run on revenues.

Q. What are some great business tips to attract customers for small businesses?

Ans. Some of the business growth tips to attract customers for small businesses include:

• Improve the quality of product or service by observing the needs of customers.
• Have a website and social media presence
• Offer discounts and referrals

Q. What are your top small business tips for survival?

Ans. Some of the business management tips for small business owners for survival include:

• Focus on customer relationships
• Know your target audience in and out
• Provide value to customers
• After-sale follow up is essential