I spent more than 20 years in retail, including owning my own boutique. I learned plenty about buying, merchandising, and taking care of customers. But one lesson has stayed with me more than any marketing checklist ever could:

People can't buy from a business they never get the chance to discover.

I've seen business owners pour everything into getting ready. They make the product better, redo the website, take new photos, and keep posting. Then they wonder why sales aren't following all that work.

Sometimes the offer needs work. But sometimes the real problem is much simpler: too few people are seeing it.

Think about a physical shop. You can create the most beautiful window display in town, but if it's on a street nobody walks down, you have to find another way to bring people to it. You might show up at a market, work with the business next door, host an event, or give someone a reason to tell a friend.

The same thinking applies online. Posting on your own page matters, but the people who already follow you are only one possible audience. If all your marketing happens in front of the same people, you're redecorating the window on the empty street.

Six moves that put you in front of new people

You don't need all six. Read through them, pick the one that feels most natural for your business, and do it this week.

1. Borrow an audience (the right way).
Find a founder whose customers look like yours but who doesn't sell what you sell. A candle maker and a skincare brand. A photographer and a boutique. A massage therapist and an activewear line. In retail, we called this cross-merchandising: you put things together that the same customer already wants. Online, it can be a co-hosted LIVE, a joint giveaway, a gift bundle, or simply featuring each other in a post. Keep the ask simple: "I love what you do, and I think our customers would love each other. Want to try one thing together this month?"

2. Go LIVE and demonstrate, don't just pitch.
A LIVE is the closest thing online to a customer walking into your shop. Show your product in use or walk people through what a session with you actually feels like. Answer questions by name. And because people join a LIVE at different times, repeat your next step every 10 minutes or so. The person who just tuned in didn't hear it the first time.

3. Tell your story somewhere other than your own feed.
Local podcasts, community newsletters, neighborhood groups, local news features, and other business owners' blogs are all looking for good stories. Yours is one. Pitch a specific angle instead of "feature my business": why you started, how your product is made, or the customer you're built to help. Specific stories get picked up. General ones get skipped.

4. Get in the room.
Markets, pop-ups, community events, and partnerships with local businesses still work, and they work even better when you connect them to what you're doing online. Bring a sign with a QR code to your storefront. Collect emails in person. Invite the people you meet to your next LIVE. A handshake plus a follow-up beats a thousand impressions.

5. Make it easy to tell a friend.
Word of mouth doesn't happen by accident. Give people something worth sharing and a reason to do it. A handwritten note in the package asking them to tag you. A thank-you for referrals. A moment in your service that's so good they want to talk about it. Then actually ask. Most happy customers are willing to share. They just don't think of it on their own.

6. Show up where people are already searching.
Use the words your customers actually use in your product and service titles. "Hand-poured lavender soy candle" gets found. "Serenity No. 4" doesn't, unless people already know you. If you offer services, make sure your Google Business Profile is complete and ask happy clients for reviews. Search is discovery that works while you sleep.

Discovery only matters if there's a next step

This is where a lot of good marketing leaks. Someone finds you, gets interested, and then has no idea where to go.

Before you make any of the moves above, answer one question: when someone new is interested, what exactly should they do next? Shop your storefront? Book a session? Join your email list? Pick one action and make it easy to take.

• One link, not five
• Say the next step out loud on every LIVE
• Put it on every collaboration post, flyer, and sign
• Capture an email whenever you can, so a single discovery can turn into a real relationship

Nobody should have to work to give you their money.

Track where the new people come from

You don't need a fancy dashboard. Ask every new customer one question: "How did you hear about us?" Keep a simple running list. After a month, you'll know which moves are bringing in new people and which ones just feel busy. Do more of what works. Let go of what doesn't.

Why I built KarmaChic

This is a big part of why I built KarmaChic. I wanted independent brands to have another place to show up, tell their stories, connect with other businesses, and go LIVE, broadcast out to every channel at once, without anyone taking a cut of their sales. A storefront is useful. More ways for people to find that storefront are even better.

So if you've been doing everything you're "supposed" to do and wondering what comes next, here's the question I'd ask:

Where could someone new discover your brand this week?

Pick one move. Show up there. Make the next step easy. Then keep going.

The more you're shown, the more you're known. 

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