The barrier to entry is lowering for many industries, and competition is growing on every corner. Amid so much noise, it’s becoming harder to perform customer acquisition efficiently.
Fortunately, you’re not limited to just one marketing channel. There are many options for expanding your business, even if budget or time is short (or both!).
Today, we’re going to talk about the best ways to keep new buyers coming in.
What Customer Acquisition Channels Are Right for Your Business? (5 Tips)
Choosing the right customer acquisition channels is crucial. Every small business is unique. The optimal channels for your business will depend on factors like your budget, timeline, and overall goals.
In a moment, we’ll explore some of the best strategies you can use. Before that, let’s delve into five things you should consider first.
1. Assess Your Budget
Your budget will largely determine which customer acquisition channels are feasible for your business.
Don’t forget to consider both the initial investment and ongoing costs. Plus, you’ll need to factor in non-monetary expenses like time investment.
Here are a few quick recommendations:
- If you have a low (or nonexistent) budget. When funds are limited, you can focus on low or no-cost channels like content marketing, organic social media, and SEO. These require more time and work, but can be very effective in the long run.
- If you have a mid- to high-end budget. With more substantial funds, you can explore paid advertising channels such as PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, influencer marketing, and sponsored content. These can provide quicker results but require ongoing investment.
2. Consider Your Timeline
The urgency of your goals will influence your choice of acquisition channels. Some strategies take a lot more time to produce results. For example:
- Short-term goals. If you need quick results, paid advertising and influencer partnerships are ideal. These channels can drive immediate traffic and conversions, although it’s often at a higher cost.
- Long-term goals. For sustainable growth, you can invest in channels like SEO, content marketing, and email marketing. These take time to build and gain traction, but they offer long-lasting benefits and a higher ROI over time.
3. Reference Your Business Goals
Your overall business objectives should guide your channel selection. Here’s how to align customer acquisition channels with some common goals:
- Brand awareness. For increasing brand visibility, use channels with broad reach, such as social media advertising, influencer marketing, and PR campaigns.
- Lead generation. To generate leads, focus on channels like email marketing, PPC, and webinars. These are effective for capturing and nurturing prospects.
- Sales and conversions. For driving sales, use retargeting ads, email marketing with targeted offers, and conversion rate optimization strategies.
4. Know Your Audience
Understanding your target audience is key to selecting the right channels. Consider where your potential customers spend their time, and how they prefer to engage with content.
If you haven’t spent much time analyzing your audience yet, you can start by paying attention to:
- Demographics. Analyze age, gender, location, and income levels to determine which platforms your audience frequents.
- Behavior. Consider their online behaviors, such as the types of content they consume and their purchasing habits.
5. Evaluate Channel Effectiveness
Finally, it’s important to assess the potential effectiveness of each channel for your niche and business type. What will work best for you depends a lot on the size of your company, the industry you operate in, and so on.
We can offer general advice, but you’ll want to dig into relevant industry benchmarks and past performance if that information is available. A few things to keep in mind when doing so:
- Metrics to consider. Evaluate channels based on metrics like Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), Return On Investment (ROI), conversion rates, and engagement rates.
- Start with some tests. Especially if data for similar businesses is scarce, you can conduct small-scale tests on different channels. This lets you see which ones yield the best results before committing more resources.
7 Ways To Maximize Your Customer Acquisition
Now that you know how to evaluate the available options, let’s look at what you’ll be choosing from. While not a comprehensive list, these seven strategies are some of the most proven and effective customer acquisition techniques.
None of these are ‘get rich quick’ methods – all will take an investment of time, money, or both. So don’t be afraid to start small with the one or two most promising strategies. Over time, you can expand your marketing repertoire.
1. Attract Attention via Content Marketing
Content marketing is about creating valuable, relevant writing that attracts and engages your audience. When executed effectively, it can boost your visibility in search results, enhance awareness of your brand, and drive customer acquisition.
There are many types of content you can create. However, for most businesses it’s best to start with a blog. A dedicated blog lets you create regular content tailored to your needs and your target audience, and isn’t technically complex.
When planning your content marketing strategy, it’s important to focus on articles that align with the primary stages of the customer journey. Thought-leadership pieces, how-to guides, and industry insights can all serve as vital resources for your audience.
To lead readers from interest to conversion with your blog posts, you can:
- Drive awareness: Share industry news and trends to hook your audience.
- Provide information for the consideration stage: Offer in-depth guides that solve your readers’ problems.
- Encourage a decision: Provide solid evidence of your product or service’s benefits through case studies and success stories.
This is a low-cost but high time-investment strategy, at least if you have people in-house who can create the content. The more effort you put in, the more you’re likely to get out. Note that it also takes time – you may have to publish new content for three to six months before you start seeing results.
2. Leverage Search Engine Optimization To Drive Organic Traffic
Optimizing your content for search engines is non-negotiable.
Why?
Because it drives organic traffic to your website. Most buyers find businesses through searches. If you want your company to show up in relevant queries from interested customers, your content has to be designed to appeal to the algorithms.
If you’re new to SEO, you can start by:
- Understanding your audience. Who are they? What language do they speak and what terms do they use?
- Using keywords. Research and use relevant keywords that tell search engines who your content is designed for.
- Ensuring consistency. Regularly publish new content, since that appeals to both readers and search engines.
- Paying attention to content structure. Break it into digestible chunks with headers and lists.
This doesn’t just apply to blog posts. You can also optimize your website’s pages, other content such as knowledge base articles, and even your social media profiles.
Most importantly, you need to provide real value. Ensure that every piece of content is engaging, provides actionable takeaways, and answers questions your audience has. These days, the most effective SEO strategy is actually to write for real human readers first, and search engines second.
Keep in mind that as a customer acquisition strategy, SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Like content marketing (which this goes hand-in-hand with), it will take at least a few months before you start seeing results.
3. Use Performance Marketing To Bring in Customers Directly
Performance marketing is your go-to strategy if you’re looking to measure the impact of your marketing efforts directly. It’s also a good option if you want quick results and have at least a moderate budget to invest.
You’ve likely seen Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads all over your favorite search engines and social media platforms:
These ads are the workhorses of performance marketing. Every click they attract is a potential customer making their way through your funnel. Plus, since you can choose to pay only per click or per conversion, this can be very cost-effective for a paid customer acquisition channel.
There are a lot of platforms to choose from, and your selection can make or break your campaign. For instance, LinkedIn Ads might be your go-to for B2B products, while Instagram Ads could be the perfect match for visually-appealing consumer goods.
| Platform | Main Audience |
| Google Ads | Broad, searching for specific products/services |
| Facebook Ads | Diverse, engaged in social interaction |
| Instagram Ads | Younger, visually-driven users |
| LinkedIn Ads | Professionals and B2B audiences |
After you’ve created your ads, how do you ensure that they aren’t just racking up expenses, but are actually fruitful?
You do that by diving into the analytics. By monitoring key performance indicators, you can keep your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) in check and tweak your campaigns for optimal effectiveness.
If you launch your first campaigns and don’t see immediate results, don’t get discouraged. It will take several iterations of your ads and possibly some A/B testing before you reach the desired investment per conversion.
4. Grow Your Brand on Social Media
Using social media to grow your brand’s recognition brings you closer to the people most likely to appreciate your products or services. In other words, it connects you directly with your target audience.
It’s also a casual space to spark conversations and build relationships. Imagine scrolling through your own feed. You’re more likely to pause on a post that feels personal, aren’t you?
Just as with ads, however, you’ll need to select your platforms carefully. Trying to build a presence everywhere at once will leave you stretched thin. Instead, choose one or two platforms to start with that are ideally suited to your brand and customer base.
For example:
- Instagram is a brilliant canvas for visual storytelling. You can tease new products with a carousel post, or use Instagram Stories to run quick polls. It’s interactive and can amplify your brand awareness fast.
- Facebook still reigns when it comes to variety and reach. Feel that the organic engagement is low? Launch targeted Facebook ads to build your fan pages and create a following that will more actively engage with your social posts. Awareness campaigns are quite cheap!
- If you have the time and budget for video content, you can try YouTube.
- And don’t underestimate the power of TikTok – quick, catchy videos can do wonders for your online presence.
| Platform | Content Type | Focus |
| Visuals & Stories | Visual Engagement | |
| Ads & Groups | Targeted Reach | |
| YouTube | Video Ads | Storytelling & Information |
| TikTok | Short Videos | Viral Potential |
As with everything else, testing plays an important role in social media marketing. You probably won’t get it right on your first try. So keep experimenting, and track which type of social content gets the most engagement from your audience.
Finally, consistent social media marketing isn’t just about posting; it’s also about engaging. Reply to comments, provide support, share user-generated content, and keep the conversation going. It’s the chats in the comments and the shared stories that build a community around your brand.
5. Get Started with Email Marketing
Few small businesses fully capitalize on the power of email marketing. That’s surprising, particularly when you consider that email marketing ROI is estimated at around $35 return on $1 spend.
Email marketing lets you connect with prospects and guide them through their customer journey from awareness to conversion and beyond. Most importantly, it allows you to capture a percentage of visitors that would otherwise drift away.
You can kickstart this customer acquisition strategy by giving people something of value in exchange for their email addresses. This is also known as a ‘lead magnet’, and could be a coupon, an exclusive piece of content, or even a short course.
From that point on, it’s all about your copywriting skills! First, grab their attention with a killer subject line. This is the initial hook that draws your audience in.
Next, fill your email content with engaging and relevant information that speaks to your prospects on a personal level. In order to work, your emails have to be about more than just selling.
A splash of personalization can also make your emails resonate more deeply with your leads. Plus, you can create multiple messages targeted at various points in the customer journey:
- Awareness: Use emails to educate and inform.
- Consideration: Share detailed solutions to problems.
- Decision: Offer incentives or persuasive calls-to-action.
Creating segmented email campaigns ensures that your messages hit home with the right crowd at the right time. Here’s what your campaign structure might look like:
| Stage | Email Content | Goal |
| Introduction | Welcome, brand intro | Build rapport |
| Engagement | Newsletters, tips | Provide value |
| Conversion | Promotions, free trials | Encourage purchase |
| Retention | Exclusive offers | Foster loyalty |
Finally, to keep people from hitting ‘unsubscribe’, mix up your content with a balance of informative and promotional material. Keep your emails snack-sized and easy to digest.
Engage consistently, not aggressively, to keep your brand at the forefront of your customer’s mind without overwhelming them.
6. Launch a Referral Program
By leveraging loyal customers to attract new ones, your business can tap into the potent word of mouth marketing. Referrals tend to bring higher conversion rates when compared to other marketing strategies.
Customers acquired through referrals also typically have a greater loyalty and lifetime value. After all, they were sent your way by someone they already trust.
Plus, the cost of acquiring a customer through a referral is often lower than other channels. Once you set up a referral program, your happy customers do most of the work.
When designing your program, keep these points in mind:
- Incentivize both parties: Offer rewards to both the referrer and the referee. This could be discounts, service credits, or free products.
- Make it easy: To simplify the referral process, you can consider launching an affiliate program.
- Promote your program: Use your website, email list, and social platforms to spread the word.
7. Acquire Customers Through Strategic Partnerships
When it comes to customer acquisition, partnerships are not the same as referrals. With partnerships, there is usually a strategical synergy that allows both parties to benefit.
Here are a few common types of partnerships you can pursue:
- Strategic alliances: Pair up with companies that complement your products.
- Co-branding campaigns: Fuse your identity with another brand to create buzz and drive interest.
Don’t forget to pick partners who have a strong presence in the market segments where you’re weakest. With the right partners, you can get exposure on channels that were once out of reach.
For instance, partners can share your content to their followers on social platforms you don’t yet leverage. You can also get featured in partner newsletters and reach new audiences.
How To Retain Customers and Maximize Business Growth
Customer acquisition is vital, but it’s also costly and time-consuming. Retaining customers offers a much better long-term value. So once you’ve gone through the effort of bringing customers in, you should make sure they stay with you as long as possible.
But how can you turn a sale into a lifelong relationship? There are many methods, and one of the most effective is to provide top-quality customer service.
This is where Groove can help:
Groove is an all-in-one customer support dashboard. It keeps all communications in one place, lets you organize and manage them however you like, and provides your agents with the tools they need to make each buyer feel like a VIP.
Getting Groove up and running for your team is a quick, simple process. Once that’s done, you benefit from:
- Streamlined communication. By centralizing communication channels, Groove reduces the complexity of managing multiple platforms or email addresses.
- Efficient response times. Groove’s collaborative inbox allows support teams to respond to inquiries quickly, enhancing the customer experience from the first interaction. Swift responses make sure that customer problems are solved quickly, therefore increasing the long-term value.
- Proactive support. With detailed analytics and reporting, businesses can identify common issues and proactively address them. This approach can resolve barriers to conversion, making it easier and cheaper to acquire new customers and keep existing ones.
The work doesn’t stop once new customers start coming in. You’ll need to impress them fast. With Groove and a support team trained on proven customer service strategies, that won’t be a problem!
Testing the Waters of Customer Acquisition
If you’re still not sure what the most effective customer acquisition strategy for your business will be, it’s time to start experimenting. Pick one or two channels that seem like a promising fit for your goals and budget, and give them a try on a small scale.
You can always change up your approach down the line, or add new methods. Some patience and careful observation now should pay dividends down the line.
And don’t forget to keep nurturing those customer relationships once they’re acquired. Groove can help you make the most of new business – check it out for yourself!
