It is hard for any business to keep on generating profit without building any new set of the customer base in today’s competitive market. Even for your existing customers every now and then you will be required to bring in any updates or change in product and/or services. Moreover, in order to establish new customer base businesses have to come up with new and exciting marketing strategies, plan that would encourage customers or consumers to continue with the product and services. A contrary record also suggests that for some businesses have failed to sell their product/services not because of the quality or interest in the product/services but the because of the dull marketing strategies.

Startups and small business owners are not capable of investing hugely in marketing, sales & advertising campaigns and hence they have to build their customer presence by primarily providing a good quality product, assured customer service & relationship, by working on feedback and review, etc. Optimally attaining a benchmark in the above-said things will definitely help you in business growth and becoming a trustworthy brand for your customers. A good client base means a flourishing future for your company. Moreover, companies have to rely on easy-to-go tools and office software such as for e.g invoicing. You can opt for an online invoicing tool such as Moon Invoice, which is favorite amongst startup, SME and large enterprises for its amazing features and functions. Initially, you can opt for the free invoicing trial period to enjoy Professional Invoice Template, Print, Sync with iCloud, Add Multiple Businesses and many more.

Not necessarily during the initial phase of your business you need to spend huge to spread awareness and market your product, instead you could also opt for the following effective and also cost-efficient ways to attract more customers to know about your product/services and hence can be used to drive initial sales for your business.

1) Word-of-mouth

Simple & old but yet one of the most effective way of making anyone use your product/services. Word-of-mouth works in a brilliant way because, in this digital era, the authenticity of paid advertisements cannot be completely relied upon as well as communication has played an important role in building trust since the age of evolution. The quality experience & good service will become one of the reasons for your customers to proactively promote your product and advertise through word-of-mouth to their friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, etc.

2) Discounts & Deals

Discounts and deals present a great opportunity for customers to buy their desired product at a lower price. It’s a common human tendency to reflect fear of losing a good deal, especially when there is a monetary gain involved and hence they are motivated to push their limits and buy more products/services than usual. This is also one of the decent, creative and low-cost ways to enlarge customer base for your business.

3) Create a Website & App

Starting from millennials to adults, today’s generation is more than ever active and showering their online presence in this digital era. Since this generation carries out most of their day-to-day tasks online starting from ordering food to booking tickets online and many more. It is utmost necessary for every business to have their own business website and mobile or web app to target online audience. Even blogs are also a good way to promote your business products and service as people tend to know and search online before going to the actual store. With so many options available, you can easily get your business’s website or app at a competitive price.

4) Use Magic Word “Free”

By far, the only word carrying such power to draw customers to your products and services is “free” giveaway, which still stands as an intelligent cost-effective strategy. For business owners, this little trick comes with an added advantage or leverage and moreover these owners receive benefits of it in interesting ways such as, first of all, your target audience will come to know about your product or services and hence a greater awareness means higher chances of sales. Second, consider it as a chance to showcase the quality or worth of your product/services as compare to your competitors and therefore gives you a good platform to build a loyal & trustworthy customer base. At last, you would have customers with a risk-free frame of mind and hence this generates the higher probability of them to look for your other products and services as well.

5) Social Media

Social media platform proves to be a boon for small business owners, as they can project their products and/or services in its live form via online product video which proves to be far more productive and beneficial for both, customers and owners. You can also operate online video marketing campaigns on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. This would help you attract your target audience, increase sales and higher visibility of your business.

Recurring Payments Vs Recurring Invoices

Recurring Payments	Recurring Invoices
Recurring payments charge the customer’s credit card account or debit card account on a predetermined schedule for the same amount as preapproved.	Send an invoice to your customer on a regular basis. The client receives the invoice but, money is not paid unless the customer approves.
A business that takes prepayment of money and sells a monthly subscription service and product. Subscription services are excellent examples of this.	A company that provides fixed services with billable hours is an excellent choice for recurring billing. For example law firms and consulting agencies.

Pros and Cons of Recurring Invoices

Pros	Cons
You eliminate the possibility of human error by automating the billing process. If you use a recurring invoice, you will not be concerned about forgetting to charge your customers for the things they ordered.	You must exercise caution while recurring billing to prevent issuing inaccurate pricing. This also holds for price changes that could take place right once an invoice is created.
If you provide your customers with the option for recurring billing, they are more likely to buy products regularly.	It could be difficult to cope with recurring invoices if a transaction fails for any reason.

Net 45	Invoice is due in full within 45 days with no early payment discount offered
2/10 net 45 terms	2% discount if you pay within 10 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/15 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 15 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/10 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 10 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days
1/7 net 45 terms	1% discount if you pay within 7 days; otherwise full payment of the invoice is due in 45 days

Category	Net Method vs. Gross Method	Explanation
Calculation Approach	- Applies tax credits first; reduces taxable income before computing tax liability.	- Doesn't apply tax credits; computes taxable income without considering tax credits.
Tax Credit Eligibility	- Allows for greater likelihood of tax credit eligibility due to reduced taxable income.	- Limits tax credit eligibility because taxable income hasn't been reduced yet.
Itemized Deduction Requirement	- Lowers threshold requirement for itemizing deductions due to decreased taxable income.	- Raises threshold requirement for itemizing deductions due to higher taxable income.
Advantages	- Leads to lower taxable income and increases chances of meeting qualifications for other tax benefits.	- Results in higher taxable income compared to net method.
Disadvantages	- May miss opportunity to reduce tax burden if taxpayer doesn't itemize deductions or take advantage of tax credits.	- Increases taxable income and may result in higher overall tax bill.