It can be difficult for small businesses to grow their customer base beyond the realms of the local community. Generating new business, however, is fundamental to business success, no matter how challenging it may seem.

Here are three ideas small businesses can do to help keep their local customer base strong, while at the same time, spread the word about their business to larger communities:

Get on social media
To ensure your business is found online, set up a business profile on Facebook, LinkedIn or even Twitter. Social media can be a powerful tool to promote your small business to more customers, gain followers and increase your network by connecting to other businesses online.

Nurture existing customers
Most experienced business owners know for a fact that it is far more cost-effective to retain old customers than gain new ones. So make sure you continue to keep your current customer base happy. Always go the extra mile so customers will remember your business for its friendly service and therefore become more likely to refer other people to visit you.

Focus on a single service or product
Try tweaking one of your products or services to appeal to a new area or group of customers and focus on spreading the word on that one product/service. It can be easy to get carried away with the idea of being able to offer current and new customers as much as you can, but always remember that it is better to attract customers with one great product, than offer five or six average products/services.