Finding customers takes more than a social media presence or a contact list. You need to know whom you want to convince, present an understandable offer and follow each opportunity through to a decision. Acquisition attracts and converts new customers; retention gives them reasons to return and recommend you.
For a small Swiss business, the aim is a regular sales process suited to available time, margins and capacity to serve the customers won.
At a glance
- Start with a specific target, clear offer and one or two suitable channels.
- Give every opportunity a next action and date.
- Measure sales and contribution, then build loyalty through reliable service.
Start with a precise target and offer
“SMEs in French-speaking Switzerland” is rarely specific enough at launch. A small property manager, restaurant and medical practice have different needs, budgets and decision processes. Choose a priority group whose problems you understand and whom you can reach.
Describe criteria affecting purchase: situation, need, geography, size, decision-maker and trigger. For an IT provider, an office move or departure of an internal manager may create a more immediate need than membership of a particular industry.
Make the offer easy to understand
Prospects should identify what you do, for whom, the expected outcome and how to start. Specify scope, inclusions, limits and the next step. A vague offer makes customers do that work themselves.
You do not have to promise the lowest price. Clarity, availability, specialisation or a suitable working method can influence choice. Support these advantages with examples, procedures, deliverables or commitments you can keep.
If these choices remain unclear, first clarify your business model. Prospecting gives an offer more exposure but does not automatically fix a poorly defined proposition.
Choose channels for finding your first customers
Begin with one or two channels matching the target’s behaviour. Allow time to understand results before adding others. A channel producing a few relevant enquiries may be more useful than a large audience with no intention to buy.
| Channel | When it may work | Essential work |
|---|---|---|
| Professional network | You have contacts who understand your work | Explain the offer and request specific introductions |
| Referral partners | Other professionals serve the same customers | Clarify roles, mutual value and follow-up |
| Google search and local presence | Customers are already seeking a solution | Useful pages, consistent contact details, evidence and easy enquiries |
| Targeted prospecting | You can identify relevant businesses | Research, a relevant approach and respectful follow-up |
| Advertising | The offer and conversion process are defined | Limited budget, suitable landing page and qualified-enquiry tracking |
| Events and professional communities | Trust and conversation are important | Prepare meetings and organise follow-up |
Make network requests specific
“Do you know the owner of a small property management firm who wants better enquiry tracking?” is easier to act on than “Think of me if you hear anything.”
Explain what you are building, listen and facilitate relevant introductions without turning every relationship into a sales request. Obtain people’s agreement before sharing their contact details.
Make prospecting a useful conversation
A targeted approach starts with the prospect’s situation, briefly explains why you are contacting them and proposes a reasonable next step. Avoid long generic messages and unsupported claims about their problems.
For email advertising campaigns, follow applicable Swiss rules. Mass advertising generally requires prior consent, with a limited exception for existing customers and similar offers. Identify the sender and provide a simple, free way to decline further messages. A business email address found online is not, by itself, consent to a newsletter.
Coordinate the selected channels through a communication plan. For practical field activities, compare the examples of below-the-line marketing.
Turn a contact into a sales opportunity
A document download, a price enquiry and a decision-maker ready to discuss a contract represent different stages. They should not all receive identical treatment.
In the first conversation, understand the need before presenting your business. Why now? How is the problem handled today? What consequences does it have? Who participates in the decision and what timing is realistic?
Qualify without interrogating
Establish whether the offer fits, funding is possible and a decision is realistic. You do not need every answer in the first five minutes. Summarise your understanding and propose the next step.
A useful record includes need, constraints, people involved, timing and agreed commitments. “Interested customer” gives little direction. “Will send requirements on Friday; review call planned for Tuesday” supports action.
Declining out-of-scope work may be sound sales management. A low-margin contract absorbing all your capacity can prevent you from serving customers who fit your offer.
Prepare a proposal and follow up appropriately
A proposal should demonstrate understanding of the request. State the desired result, scope, deliverables, customer responsibilities, schedule and price. Make payment terms and additional services clear. Our Swiss quote example shows how to structure these elements.
More detail does not automatically persuade. Customers need to understand the options and decide. If you offer three packages, each should meet an identifiable need.
Agree the next step before sending the quote
Ask how the proposal will be reviewed and when you can discuss it. Follow-up then becomes an expected step: checking scope, answering questions and learning the decision.
If there is no response, space out follow-ups and add useful information. Eventually ask whether the project remains active. Respect refusals and requests for no further contact. You can close an opportunity without damaging the relationship.
Track sales with a simple table
A spreadsheet may be enough initially. Sales software becomes useful when several people are involved or volume makes manual follow-up unreliable. Keep information current and accessible to the relevant people.
| Stage | Entry condition | Typical next action |
|---|---|---|
| Contact identified | A relevant person or business | Check the need and contact person |
| Conversation started | A reply or meeting takes place | Understand the project |
| Qualified opportunity | Need and offer suitability confirmed | Prepare a proposal |
| Proposal sent | A specific offer has been delivered | Arrange a decision discussion |
| Won or lost | Decision known | Start delivery or record the reason |
Add the source channel, proposed value, next action and owner. Record specific lost-sale reasons: timing, budget, competition, abandoned project or poor fit. This helps improve the process without attributing every refusal to price.
At the weekly review, examine stalled opportunities, unanswered proposals and commitments to keep. The total value of quotes is not secured revenue.
Measure acquisition cost and customer quality
Track the progression from contacts to meetings, proposals and sales. Also compare margin and time spent serving customers acquired through each channel.
Customer acquisition cost is the included acquisition spending divided by the corresponding number of new customers. Define the scope: advertising, tools, external providers and valued sales time. Use a consistent method across periods.
Fictional calculation example
A campaign uses CHF 900 in advertising and CHF 600 in sales work, totalling CHF 1,500. It generates 30 contacts, 10 qualified conversations, 5 proposals and 3 customers. Cost per contact is CHF 50; acquisition cost is CHF 500 per customer.
Suppose each customer generates CHF 250 in monthly contribution after direct service costs, before fixed costs. Two months of contribution cover the CHF 500 acquisition cost. This simplified payback assumes customers remain, pay and incur expected costs. It does not establish overall business profitability after two months.
Allow for the sales cycle. A campaign paid for in January may produce March contracts. Comparing only spending and signed contracts within one month can mislead. For small volumes, also examine individual opportunities.
Start retention at the beginning of the relationship
Retention begins when the customer accepts. They should know what happens next, what they must provide, whom to ask and when to expect an initial result. A disorganised start can undermine a successful sale.
Prepare simple onboarding: confirm scope, schedule, contact person, required documents and first deadline. Follow-up should fit the service. Subscriptions need ongoing contact; a one-off job may chiefly require a sound handover and clear instructions.
Give customers reasons to return
Loyalty rests on reliable delivery, clear communication and lasting value, as well as any discounts. Explain completed work, flag difficulties early and propose developments only when they meet a genuine need.
For recurring activities, monitor departures and reasons. For occasional services, examine referrals, relevant repeat purchases and feedback. Monthly purchasing is unrealistic where the need arises once every five years.
Ask for reviews and referrals at the right time
A review request is more natural after a successful milestone. Make it easy without dictating the testimonial or making service conditional on a positive rating. For referrals, explain the situations you can help with so the customer knows whom to think of.
Handle dissatisfaction without losing the relationship
First understand the facts and their effect on the customer. Listening helps distinguish a service fault, a misunderstanding about scope and a new expectation; it does not mean immediately accepting every demand.
Restate the problem, explain what you will check and give a response deadline. If a correction is needed, specify the action and owner. Compensation may be appropriate, but cannot replace resolving the problem.
After correcting it, confirm the situation is resolved. Internally, look for causes: vague sales promises, missing procedures, overload or inadequate checks. Repeated complaints often reveal a process needing improvement.
Not every dissatisfied customer will become an advocate. Some disagreements persist. Handle the issue honestly, honour commitments and learn what can be corrected.
Conclusion: build a lasting sales routine
Reserve time each week to start new conversations, advance opportunities, follow up with customers and review results. Regular activity reduces the risk of prospecting only when the order book is empty.
For the next thirty days, choose one target, one offer and no more than two channels. Set a realistic activity level, record responses and check the first contracts’ margins. Then improve the main constraint: visibility, qualification, proposals or service quality.
A communication plan helps organise messages and materials around this work. The sales plan tracks sales; communication supports their development.
Frequently asked questions
How do you find customers for a new business?
Start with a precise target and an easy-to-explain offer. Use your network, identify relevant partners and begin targeted conversations. Measure responses before adding channels or advertising spending.
Should you buy advertising immediately?
Not necessarily. It can accelerate a test if the target, offer and enquiry process are clear. Without tracking enquiries and sales, you may pay for visibility without knowing its commercial value.
How much does acquiring a customer cost?
There is no universal amount. Compare the cost with contribution, relationship duration, sales cycle and available cash. Use a consistent calculation scope.
What is the difference between retention and satisfaction?
Satisfaction describes the experience. Retention concerns continuity and future purchases where relevant. A satisfied customer may have no new need but still recommend you.
Is CRM software essential?
Not at launch if a current shared table is sufficient. It becomes useful for coordinating people, automating reminders and retaining reliable history. Follow-up quality matters more than feature count.
Sources and references
The French article’s editorial and source review was completed on 21 September 2026. Figures illustrate a calculation method and are not universal targets.
Romain Prieur is a Swiss certified public accountant and the founder of Entreprendre.ch. With more than ten years of experience in auditing and supporting businesses in Switzerland, he advises entrepreneurs on company formation, accounting and taxation.
