So, without a proper customer acquisition strategy for your startup, you are going to run into various problems along the way, and itâs going to be very difficult if not downright impossible to grow your business both B2B and B2C.
On the other hand, figuring out which channel is the most effective and sustainable to use in generating new customers is often the biggest challenge for any business.
In this guide, we will discuss all you need to know about how to plan and execute a working startup customer acquisition strategy in 2024. By the end of this guide, youâll be able to recognize the most effective channels you can use to acquire new customers sustainable and how to properly execute your campaigns.
Let us begin by discussing the basic concept of customer acquisition for startups so we can be on the same page for the rest of this guide.
Getting new customers is essential for any startup. Without a steady stream of new customers coming in it will be difficult for your business to grow and thrive.
However, acquiring new customers can be challenging especially in the beginning when you have limited resources and brand awareness. That’s why it’s critical to have a clear customer acquisition strategy.
In this comprehensive guide we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to build an effective customer acquisition strategy for your startup.
Why You Need a Customer Acquisition Strategy
Before we dive into the specifics of building your strategy, let’s first cover why having one is so important for startups:
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It aligns your efforts. A customer acquisition strategy keeps your entire team focused on the same goals and using tactics that work. This alignment ensures you make the most of your limited resources.
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It maximizes ROI. With a documented strategy, you can better track the costs associated with customer acquisition. This allows you to double down on the highest converting channels and avoid wasting money.
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It helps you scale. As your startup begins to take off, customer acquisition will become even more important. Having processes and systems in place will make it easier to ramp up your efforts.
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It gives you a competitive edge. Startups need every advantage they can get. Having a killer customer acquisition strategy can help you pull ahead of competitors.
How to Create a Customer Acquisition Strategy
Now let’s get into the steps you need to take to create your startup’s customer acquisition strategy:
Identify Your Target Customers
The first step is getting crystal clear on who your ideal customers are. Ask yourself questions like:
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What are their demographics? Age, gender, location, income level, etc.
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What challenges or pain points do they face?
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Where do they spend their time online? Social media platforms, forums, blogs, etc.
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What motivates their purchase decisions? Price, quality, convenience, etc.
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What results are they hoping your product provides?
Really get into the shoes of your potential customers so you can create messaging that resonates with them.
Set Goals and Benchmarks
Next, you need to define tangible goals for your customer acquisition efforts. These could include:
- Getting 500 new customers per month
- Achieving a customer acquisition cost under $200
- Increasing sales by 25% quarter-over-quarter
Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals will help you measure the effectiveness of your strategy. Be sure to also define key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll track for each acquisition channel.
Choose Your Channels
Now it’s time to select the channels you’ll use to drive customer acquisition. Typical options include:
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Organic search – Optimizing your website for keywords potential customers search. Requires strong SEO.
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Paid advertising – Purchasing ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, etc.
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Content marketing – Creating blog posts, ebooks, videos, and other content to attract visitors.
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Email marketing – Building an email subscriber list to market to.
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Social media – Having a presence on platforms where your audience is active.
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Referral programs – Encouraging existing customers to refer their friends.
Evaluate your options and select the channels that align with your goals, target audience, and budget. Most startups will need to utilize a mix of multiple channels.
Craft Channel Strategies
For each acquisition channel you choose, develop a unique strategy that covers:
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The types of content and offers you will promote
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The platforms and placements you will use
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The customer journey from discovery to conversion
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How you will track performance and optimize
Really think through how you will attract visitors, convert them to leads, and ultimately turn them into customers. Map out each step of the process.
Promote Your Offering
Now it’s go time! Start executing your channel strategies to put your offering in front of potential customers. Develop compelling content that speaks to their needs and motivates them to buy from you.
Make sure you have clear calls-to-action across all channels to drive conversions. CTAs should direct visitors to where you want them to go next in the customer journey.
Measure and Refine
Diligently track the performance of each channel by monitoring your defined KPIs. Some metrics to watch include:
- Number of visitors
- Lead generation rates
- Cost per lead/customer
- Sales revenue
Look for trends to see which channels are performing best in terms of conversions and ROI. Then shift more resources into those high-converting channels.
Continuously test new channels, content types, and campaigns. Learn what works and double down on those strategies. Then optimize or eliminate what doesn’t work.
Customer Acquisition Strategies and Tactics
Now that you understand the process for creating your startup’s customer acquisition strategy, let’s explore some proven strategies and tactics you can use across channels:
Offer Free Trials
Providing free trials removes friction from the buying process. Customers can experience your product for themselves risk-free before committing to purchase.
Just make sure you have systems in place to convert free users to paying customers when the trial ends. Use in-app messaging, special offers, etc. to incentivize sign-ups.
Run Contests and Giveaways
Contests, giveaways and sweepstakes drive viral interest on social media and attract new potential customers to your site.
Require entrants to provide their email address so you can continue marketing to them after the promotion. Offer highly desirable prizes that will get people excited.
Leverage Influencer Marketing
Partnering with influencers allows you to tap into their engaged follower base. Have influencers review your product or include it in related content.
Make sure to work with influencers whose audience aligns closely with your target customers. Offer free products or exclusive discounts in exchange for promotions.
Write Educational Content
Publishing educational content like blog posts, guides and videos builds your authority. It positions you as a thought leader while also bringing in organic search traffic.
Focus on topics and keywords your target customers are searching for. Answer their questions and address their pain points through helpful content.
Run Retargeting Ads
Retargeting ads follow visitors who leave your website without converting and display your ads across the internet. This repeats your brand exposure until they convert.
Retargeting has been found to provide returns of more than 650%. Use retargeting ads across Facebook, Instagram, Google and other networks.
Leverage Referral Programs
Referrals convert up to 3 times better than regular customers. Encourage referrals by rewarding existing customers for sharing your brand with friends.
Offer monetary credits, discounts, or free products in exchange for successful referrals. Make it easy for customers to share special referral links.
Key Takeaways
Here are the key points to remember when developing your startup’s customer acquisition strategy:
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Identify your target audience and really understand their needs. Craft messaging that speaks to them.
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Set tangible goals and key performance indicators to track the effectiveness of your efforts.
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Test and experiment with different channels and campaigns. Double down on what works best.
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Produce quality educational content to attract and engage potential customers.
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Use promotions, contests and referral programs to drive viral interest.
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Make the conversion process frictionless with free trials and special offers.
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Continuously refine your strategy based on performance data and optimization testing.
An effective customer acquisition strategy is crucial for startup success. By following the steps in this guide, you can develop a strategy to cost-effectively attract new customers and grow your business.
What Is Customer Acquisition
Customer acquisition, in a laymanâs term, is any effort and process of bringing in new clients or customers to your business. We say we have âacquiredâ a new customer when we have successfully persuaded a consumer to purchase a product and/or service.
So, a customer acquisition strategy is a systematic, sustainable process of acquiring new customers on a long-term basis, and this customer acquisition strategy should be able to evolve and adapt to new market trends and evolving customer behaviors.
Different startups with different revenue models might have different customer acquisition strategies. However, all effective acquisition strategies should begin by identifying quality prospects (potential customers).
Typically, all consumers must go through a customer journey or buyerâs journey before they finally purchased a product or service, which can be divided into three main stages:
- Awareness stage: they figured out a new business or brand, and gain awareness about this brand and its product and/or service
- Consideration stage: the prospect considers purchasing the product/service from this brand. They might compare it with other similar products and services during this stage, check reviews, and ask for recommendations from their peers.
- Decision stage: the prospect choose to purchase a product and converts from a prospect into a customer
There are typically more people in the awareness stage compared to those in the consideration stage, and only a select few of those in the consideration stage will enter the decision stage. So, if we visualize these stages, we can see a funnel-shaped chart similar to the below.
Customer acquisition for startups typically refers to this funnel as a whole, but mainly the first two stages (awareness and consideration), which are often also referred to as the top (lead generation) and the middle (lead acquisition) of the funnel.
The bottom of the funnelâthe decision stageâ or lead conversion phase, is technically still a part of the customer acquisition but may be considered a separate initiative called conversion-rate optimization or CRO, especially for eCommerce startups.
Search Engine Marketing
Itâs important to note that when we refer to âsearch marketingâ, it doesnât necessarily mean SEO.
Instead, there are two different sides to search engine marketing: organic (or free) search engine marketing, which is search engine optimization (SEO), and paid search marketing, which is PPC ads.
The case of PPC ads vs SEO is just like any case of paid vs organic efforts: itâs about time vs cost.
Organic efforts are (at least it should be) free, but itâs going to take a significant amount of time before you can get any significant result. In the case of SEO, it typically takes at least 6 to 12 months before we can get on the first page of Googleâs SERP and gain a significant amount of traffic.
On the other hand, paid efforts like PPC ads will guarantee results, provided you have the budget. But, they can be extremely expensive if you are not careful.
Nevertheless, both sides of search marketing is a very important customer acquisition channel due to several reasons:
- There are over 3.5 billion searches on Google every day, and the number is still growing by roughly 10% every year
- 89% of B2B professionals use Google to find solutions and services that can help their business
- 95% of internet users will not go to the second page of Google, so investing in SEO is very important
- Traffic from organic search converts 566% better than traffic coming from PPC ads, so you canât rely on PPC ads alone
SEO for startups is currently one of the most popular customer acquisition methods due to several reasons. First, it is relatively accessible and easy to implement (even if you are going to do it yourself), and it is cost-effective with relatively low initial investments and high ROI. However, as we have established, hiring an SEO agency or services for your startup and seeing the first results can take time, and this is where PPC ads can help.
Search marketing works in combination with content marketing (as discussed above). You wonât rank on Google unless you have relevant, quality content, while your content wonât get any traffic if you donât have enough search presence.
How to Build a Customer Acquisition Strategy
How do you create a customer acquisition strategy?
To make planning easier, we’ve highlighted some best practices you’ll want to consider when creating a customer acquisition strategy: Identify your ideal customers. Define your goals. Choose your customer acquisition channels. Develop a unique strategy for each channel. Communicate with your customers. Measure and improve your strategy. 1.
Why is customer acquisition important for startups?
Customer acquisition for startups is an incredibly important process that can mean the difference between success and failure. Acquiring customers is the main way startups generate revenue, so it’s critical to develop customer acquisition strategies that are effective and efficient.
What are the best customer acquisition strategies in 2024?
Here are 11 effective customer acquisition strategies that you should be aware of in 2024: 1. Segmenting The Target Market Target market segmentation is a strategy in customer acquisition involving the division of a potential customer base into discrete groups with common needs, interests, or characteristics.
What are the different types of customer acquisition strategies?
This strategy aims to minimize customer acquisition costs while maximizing the number of new, paying customers acquired through various customer acquisition methods like marketing campaigns, SEO, and social media. Here are the different types of Customer Acquisition Strategies. 1. Inbound Marketing Strategies
