Why is customer acquisition important?

In order to grow, both small and large businesses need a customer acquisition strategy. A strong one doesn’t have to blow the budget but helps ensure a steady stream of new customers to your brand.

The strategy typically involves a mix of marketing tools and product offers through a variety of media – online and offline – to draw in new customers and encourage conversions. It’s here that businesses have the opportunity to get truly creative.

What are the different stages of the customer acquisition funnel?

A customer acquisition funnel is essentially a template that allows you to visualise and understand your strategy and how it aligns with your customer’s journey to purchase. You can break it down into three stages:

1. Lead generation: Attract your target audience by increasing public awareness of your brand or offering.

2. Lead acquisition: Target leads with acquisition marketing with the aim of increasing purchase considerations.

3. Lead conversion: Entice customers to become a paying customer to your business.

Guiding customers smoothly through the funnel, from awareness to conversion without losing them at any stage, can help increase your chances of staying front-of-mind when it matters. Seeing each stage separately allows you to monitor the process of attracting and retaining new customers, and ensures it’s as effective and sustainable as possible.

Paid vs unpaid customer acquisition strategies

There are various marketing tools you can use to support your customer acquisition strategy – some paid, others unpaid ­­– which you can mix and match to suit your business. For example:

  • Content marketing is about creating exciting and inspiring content your customers identify with. This can include blogs, podcasts, email newsletters, ebooks, guides and videos. If this content is created in-house or by guests keen for exposure, it can be unpaid (though you’ll just need to account for wages and, potentially, new software). If you outsource to graphic designers, copywriters, video marketers or freelancers, the costs can ramp up but the content may look superior.
  • Email marketing is still one of the most effective customer acquisition tools. Plus, it’s an inexpensive way to connect directly with your audience. It also allows you to assess your customers’ interest in your content by monitoring which links they click on and when they unsubscribe.
  • Social media posts can be successful tools if you are clear about your brand voice and you target the right networks. An organic social media strategy is unpaid but many businesses opt for paid social media advertisements and exposure because it’s a great way to get content in front of your audience without having to build up a network of followers organically first.
  • Search engine optimisation (SEO) is an effective free strategy, should you choose to do your own keyword research. To extend your reach further, you can opt for paid search marketing (or pay-per-click marketing) or search engine marketing (SEM), which is when a business pays for its content to show up on a Google search engine results page or your ads get placed on a website.

An effective customer acquisition strategy can be the key to success for your business. Just make sure you understand your audience’s path to purchase and continue to optimise your efforts along the way.