Imagine a potential customer. She has been flirting with the idea of buying from your brand. She has spent quite a lot of time browsing your products or services. Frankly, all she needs is a little push to become your customer. What will you do next? Well, that’s what acquisition marketing is all about.
Now, every business wants to know ways to expand its consumer base. After all, 57% of marketers say customer acquisition is vital to any business strategy. Some brands do all sorts of antics to charm their target audience to make a purchase decision. From influencer campaigns to guerrilla marketing, they try their hand with a slew of advertising techniques.
What’s the focus of all this effort? It is to grab the attention of their target audience. But before reaching out to those who have no idea what your deal is, isn’t it better to appeal to those who have already shown considerable interest? Of course, it is.
In this article, we will talk about acquisition marketing. Furthermore, we will list numerous benefits of this form of marketing and some valuable tips to boss it. So, if your brand fails to rope in new customers yearly, this article is tailor-made for you.
What is Acquisition Marketing?
Every one of your customers goes through a journey. This is what marketers call the buyer’s journey, as you must be aware. Now, some individuals might just be discovering your brand, while others would already be aware of your brand's value.
In other words, there is always a set of customers considering buying from your brand. Now, this word is essential. This can be termed the “consideration stage” in your buyer’s journey. Acquisition marketing is all about appealing to this group of your audience.
But what if the said member of your audience is at the same stage of their journey with multiple brands? What if they determine whether to buy from you or your competitor? In this case, your brand needs to stand out and establish a better connection with the person than what your competitor has.
That’s why acquisition marketing is a strategy that involves a range of business efforts. From sales and marketing to customer services, it requires every aspect of your business to appeal to the aware members of your target market. We’ll let you in with some vital tips for this form of marketing. But before that, let’s convince you a little more about the benefits of acquisition marketing.
Benefits of Acquisition Marketing
Any brand that is done with its branding must focus on acquisition marketing. In simpler words, if your brand name is out there. What’s the next stage for you? Obviously, it is to rope in those interested members from your audience and push them to make a purchase decision. That’s why this form of marketing is beneficial for brands.
1. Greater Chance of Results
As much as we hate to see it, brands often shoot in the dark. They develop a one-dimensional marketing approach following the one size fits all approach. But your audience is different in a variety of ways.
What acquisition marketing tells you is to appeal to those who are already aware of your brand and are doing their research to arrive at a decision. Naturally, this form of marketing increases your chances of success.
After all, when you are reaching out to those already in the research stage, you need to prove that your brand is the best possible solution. There is no need to generate the need already felt by the potential buyer.
So, acquisition marketing for your brand means that your conversion chances increase. But this form of marketing requires brands to be patient. Why? Because 63% of people seeking info from your business might take up to three months before making the purchase decision.
2. Great for Quick Expansion
Small and medium businesses often do not have the budget to pursue a long-term marketing strategy. Simply put, they can’t afford to spend money and resources on a comprehensive marketing plan, including content, targeting, paid campaigns, etc.
For these brands looking to expand quickly, acquisition marketing comes in handy. They can devise a strategy to promote their brand to those already in the research stage. Eventually, they’ll acquire more customers without spending the kind of money that a comprehensive marketing campaign requires.
So, if you’re a brand owner looking for efficiency, this type of marketing will come to your rescue. After all, you will be saved from spending over-the-top money on your marketing efforts like the big brands usually do.
3. Steers Your Brand Towards Growth
With solid research on consumer behavior, brands can know much more about their audience and separate the potential buyers from them. After all, howsoever effective your marketing efforts may be, they might not be able to rope in those who haven’t yet reached the consideration stage.
On the other hand, it is a lot easier to appeal to those who are already researching the solution your brand is providing. You will miss out on these willing customers if you react slowly. But that’s where acquisition marketing comes in to help you ensure that a huge chunk of these interested customers come your way.
After all, brands must ensure their existing customers stay happy and satisfied. But growth comes from going beyond that to acquire more and more customers. And who better to market to than those who are already interested?
Now that you know how beneficial this form of marketing can be for you, let’s move on to some golden tips on the same. After all, your competitors might also be aware of the importance of acquisition marketing. Want to outshine them in the game? Here are some tips to get your acquisition game right.
Acquisition Marketing Tips to Boost Your Brand
1. Understand Your Target Audience
In order to understand what members of your audience are already in the consideration stage, you will have to keep a tab on them. In other words, you will have to stay in touch with your audience’s behavior to sense when they are closer to purchasing from your brand.
So, market research is key to getting your acquisition strategy right. After all, if your accelerated marketing efforts are targeted toward the wrong people, they will not work in any way possible.
So, before you spend huge amounts of money on your attractive advertising campaigns, make sure you know your audience. Why? Because promoting your brand to uninitiated buyers cannot be the same as someone already interested in your brand. Provide value to them and that “buy now” click isn’t far away.
2. Diversify Marketing Channels
Let’s say a hundred members from your target market are interested in your brand. Not all of them will be the same in any way. Similarly, they won’t all be found researching on the same platform.
For instance, 75% of consumers today browse for brands on social media, while others rely on search engines. That’s where diversifying your marketing efforts will come in. You must ensure you reach out to different audience segments on different platforms.
In fact, diversification should not be limited to just channels. Your mood of messaging and your target's pain points must also depend on the customer demographics in question. The key is understanding that even those interested in your brand can be as diverse as your wide target market.
3. Keep Monitoring Your Efforts
Whatever your acquisition marketing strategy, the only way to gauge its effectiveness is by relying on numbers. How many willing customers have you been able to convert? Are your interested customers showing an increased willingness to buy from your brand?
Where can you get answers to these questions? Well, the only way to get accurate answers is by looking at the key performance indicators, i.e., KPIs. So, be it acquisition marketing or other methods to promote and advertise your business, do not forget to look at the performance numbers and tweak your strategy accordingly.
In Conclusion
So, do you feel like your brand is going a little stagnant? Are you failing to rope in new customers and keep your brand going upward? If yes, these were some important methods of customer acquisition to add to your comprehensive marketing plan.
From knowing your target audience to identifying the ones interested in buying from you, acquisition marketing requires a holistic approach to building your brand. So, don’t forget to pay attention to each of the factors we discussed, and let us know if it helps you gain more customers.
After all, once you ensure you’re providing value to existing customers, it is essential to devise a strategy to attract new ones.
Ranu Kumari is a Professional Writer and a Marketing enthusiast who currently runs her own Marketing Consultancy, LatitudeBOX. She has written promotional articles for multiple brands and has published her work in Scopus indexed journals. She is passionate about expressing her thoughts and ideas to connect with her readers in a voice that they understand.