How Do You Get Found by Customers Who've Never Heard Your Name? 18 Experts Share What's Working
Nobody warns you about this when you start a business, but getting customers is hard. I was so naive when I started Snaply Sites and thought that because I solved a problem and had a good solution, I'd have customers knocking at my door day one. What many business owners don't understand is that your best future customer might be out there right now, with the exact problem you solve, ready to pay — and they have no idea you exist.
Referrals are great. Repeat clients are the dream. But what about the people who've never heard your name? How do you get in front of a complete stranger and earn enough trust that they actually reach out?
So I asked 18 people I respect — SEO strategists, marketers, brand designers, a videographer, a PR founder, and a handful of small business owners who are seeing success — one simple question:
When a customer has never heard of you, how do you actually get found?
The short version
If you don't have time to read all 18 (you should — they're good), here's what rose to the top:
Get found in search — including AI search
Rank for what people type when they don't know your name yet, not just your brand.
Go where your people already gather.
Stop waiting to be discovered. Show up in the rooms, real and virtual, where your future clients already are.
Turn your network into a referral engine.
Be so clear about who you help that people can't help but refer you.
Show up consistently — and put a little behind it.
Consistency beats intensity, and a few dollars a day stretches further than you'd think.
Lead with your story.
The one thing a bigger competitor can't copy is the human behind your business.
Here's what I learned, starting with the ones who get found through search.
1. Get found in search — even in AI search
Someone with a problem opens Google (or ChatGPT) and types what they're stuck on. If your business is the answer that shows up, you just got found by a stranger. Here's how four pros make that happen.
Jade Pruett — Founder, HelloSEO + MetaMonster Stop optimizing only for your brand name. Think about what someone types when they don't know you exist — "plumbing services near me," "therapist columbia sc," or something higher up the funnel like "how to get more leads." Rank for those discovery keywords (in classic SEO and in AEO, the AI-search version) and you catch high-intent traffic at the exact moment someone needs you.
Derrick Boatwright — Owner & Fractional CMO, Heritage Brands Become the best answer to the questions your customers are already asking. Derrick's move: use a free tool like AnswerThePublic to find the real questions people type into Google and ChatGPT, then answer them in your own words — ideally on video. One recording becomes social clips, blog posts, LinkedIn content, and Google Business updates, which slowly makes you visible across Google, Bing, and AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Jessica Sato — Founder & CEO, Jessica Sato Consulting Build a library of content around the problems your clients are trying to solve — not around your services. Jessica writes about the questions her clients actually wrestle with, like "What do you do when you've outgrown the business that made you successful?" Over eight years, that body of work made her discoverable through Google and AI search, and a strong LinkedIn presence reinforces it the second someone lands.
Lei Ann Finch — OBM for Coaches, Power Your Habits Nobody's Googling your business name — they're Googling what they're stuck on. So for two weeks, write down every question people ask you before they buy, pick the five that come up most, and give each one its own plain-English page on your site. Those pages keep working long after a social post disappears. (Lei Ann's full answer is a masterclass — she pairs this with showing up consistently in one or two networking rooms, which brings us to the next theme.)
2. Go where your people already gather
Search is the long game. While it compounds, the fastest way to get found is to show up — in person or virtually — where your future clients already spend their time.
Tam Smith — Sales Growth Strategist, Studio Three 49 Don't wait to be discovered — go start the conversation. Tam connects with right-fit prospects and referral partners on LinkedIn and engages with zero pitch: a genuine question, a thoughtful compliment, a real reply to something they shared. The same move works in any industry group, Slack community, or local meetup. As she puts it: "Half the world is waiting for the other half to say hi. Be the first one to say hello."
Dr. Thaddeus W. Jones Jr. — Owner, Fanatik Productions Teach before you sell. Instead of pitching his video company, Thaddeus runs workshops and joins panels where his future clients are already trying to solve a problem — teaching them how to think about marketing and storytelling. By the time they need the work, he's not a stranger with a pitch; he's the person they already associate with the solution. "People rarely buy from the first person they discover. They buy from the person they trust when the problem becomes important enough to solve."
Jeri Vespoli — Founder, Collaborative Marketing Services Host your own events. Jeri developed the Hour of Power (HOP) speed-networking format, and local pros have run hundreds of them. Hosting checks every box at once: event listings help new people find you online, invitations give you content for ads and email, and the face-to-face time builds the trust that turns into referrals. Her bonus tip: make your intro about them, not you — a room remembers and refers you far more easily that way.
3. Turn your network into a referral engine
Word of mouth isn't luck. The people who get referred constantly have made it easy — they're crystal clear about who they help, and they stay top of mind. Six takes on doing that on purpose.
Josh Brammer — Offer & Systems Coach, Josh Brammer Coaching Referrals start with a clear "Front Door Offer" — one so easy to describe that a past client can explain who you help and how in a sentence or two. If people can't repeat what you do, they can't refer you.
Teaira Deaver — Founder & Principal Consultant, TD Strategy Group Most of Teaira's clients come through someone who already knew her, and the thing that makes it work is specificity. Instead of "I'm a consultant," she says she helps small businesses streamline operations, fix inefficient processes, and find automation opportunities. That clarity makes it easy for her network to spot the right referral — and she keeps those relationships warm long after a project wraps.
Elena Kazakevic — Founder & Brand Strategist, MOSS+MARK Reframe networking entirely. Instead of trying to turn everyone you meet into a client, look for partners and collaborators who also serve your ideal clients. Get clear on who you help, and they'll refer you naturally — and the clients who arrive this way come with trust already built in, so the sale feels like a conversation instead of a pitch.
Bola Aremu — CEO & Founder, Powerhouse Consulting Bola's awareness playbook has three parts: really know your customer (psychographics, not just age and income), focus on connections (one happy customer can introduce you to ten more, so ask for the referral), and get out there and have fun — mixing partnerships, speaking, and social until you find the recipe that works. "Familiarity supports trust. Trust builds awareness."
Lauren Tillar — Director of Graphic Design, Trifecta Media Group Don't overlook the network you already have. When Lauren started taking on branding work again, she reached out to professional friends with a discounted rate and asked them to keep her in mind. One contact — a politician who needed a landing page fast — has already offered to recommend her to several others. Warm intros are powerful, and they reward you for doing great work.
Jeff Lawler — Local Real Estate Expert, Lawler Living Jeff gets found through a mix of online search (lately even ChatGPT) and classic word of mouth — but what makes the referrals stick is being genuinely useful. As a relocation agent, he gives newcomers full community tours and points them in the right direction based on what they actually need. "It's really all about listening and doing all that you can to help people."
4. Show up consistently — and put a little behind it
Getting found is rarely one big moment. It's showing up again and again until a stranger feels like they already know you. Sometimes a few dollars speeds that up.
Chelsea Bennett — Founder & CEO, Ivey Palmer PR Chelsea's agency grew on referrals, but to reach brand-new audiences they committed to a weekly "insights and updates" cadence — pulling back the curtain on their work and breaking down industry shifts instead of posting generic promo. Paired with a modest budget for targeted local media features, that consistency turned their digital footprint into a steady stream of inbound inquiries from people who'd never heard of them.
Jenny Altman — Speaker & Creative Consultant, Jenny the Ginger On social media, consistency beats volume. Jenny's advice: pick a pace you can actually keep — five quality posts a week or one, it doesn't matter — and don't deviate, because the algorithm rewards consistency over intensity. Keep showing your expertise and you'll earn trust before a prospect ever reaches out.
Julia Pearson — Founder/CEO, Stratos Creative Marketing Here's a cheap one with real numbers: follower ads. For about $5/day, Julia gets new, precisely-targeted followers for under $1 each — and roughly 60% of people who see the ad follow. The trick is to only put spend behind organic content that's already proven itself. A follow doesn't make someone a customer, but it means you're not a stranger anymore when they're ready to buy.
Dan Young — Founder, PostPixel The lowest-tech idea in the roundup, and it works: car wraps. Your brand gets seen everywhere you already go — school drop-off, the grocery store, the Friday night game — turning everyday errands into constant local awareness.
5. Lead with your story
I saved this one for last on purpose, because it's the thread running under everything else.
Abby Stafford — Founder & Fractional CMO, By Lamplight Marketing & Advisory Tell the story of the people behind the business — and put it where a stranger meets you first. One of Abby's clients runs her business alongside her father; between them, 80+ years of experience. Abby leads with that, because of what it tells a stranger: this work has a family behind it, and someone's name is on the line. That story becomes the About page, the Google Business Profile, the Yelp bio, the ad copy — all the places new customers (and AI tools) look first. A chain wins on price and convenience, but it can't win on heart. As Abby puts it: "Most small businesses already have that story. They just haven't told it yet. Tell it."
The Common Thread Behind All 18 Tips
Eighteen people, five themes, one thread running through all of it: getting found is really about building trust with someone before they're ready to buy. Whether you do it through search, a networking room, a referral, a $5 ad, or your origin story, you're doing the same job — turning "never heard of you" into "oh, I know them."
But here's the part I can't help but notice, because it's literally my job: almost every one of these tactics ends in the same place.
Someone Googles their problem and finds your page. A new connection looks you up after a great conversation. A referral partner sends someone your way. That $5 follower ad does its job. In every single case, the stranger does the same thing next — they go check out your website.
That's the moment the whole effort lives or dies. You can do all 18 of these things right and still lose the person in the five seconds it takes them to decide whether your site looks like someone they can trust. All that work to get found, and the finish line is a page that either earns the next step or quietly loses it.
So by all means, use these tactics. Just make sure the place they all point to is ready for company.
