Acquisition Marketing: The Ultimate Guide

Article last updated on September 8, 2022

Acquisition marketing can be complex. Acquiring new customers is tough.

It takes a lot of work and effort to get someone to buy from you. And even after you’ve acquired a customer, keeping them happy and coming back for more is another challenge altogether.

In order to acquire new customers, you need to make sure that you’re acquiring the right ones. This means that you need to find the right audience and target them with the right message.

This guide will teach you how to do just that. It will also help you figure out who your ideal customer is and how to attract them to your website. Once you’ve found your perfect customer, you’ll learn how to convert them into paying customers.

You’ll learn everything you need to know to build a profitable acquisition marketing strategy.

What is Acquisition Marketing

Acquisition marketing is the process of trying to find and get new customers.

This includes everything from advertising campaigns to social media efforts. There are many different ways to go about this, depending on the size of your business and how much money you want to spend.

Some businesses use acquisition marketing as a way to generate revenue, while others use it as a way to grow their brand awareness.

Either way, there are certain things you need to know about this strategy before you start implementing it.

The main benefit of having an acquisition marketing strategy

Acquisition marketing is one of the most effective ways to expand your business.

It can be extremely beneficial to have a plan in place when you first launch your company. If you don’t have one, then you may end up spending too much time and effort chasing after customers instead of focusing on growing your business.

And if you already have a plan in place, then you can use it as a blueprint to create more strategies as your business grows.

So, the main benefit of acquisition marketing is that it helps gain clarity around your goals. It allows you to figure out exactly where you want to take your business next.

Everything comes down to acquiring new customers and converting them into paying customers.

If you don’t know where you want to go with your business, then you won’t know which tactics will work best.

That’s why it’s so important to come up with a plan. You can always change it later, but at least you’ll know what direction you want to head in.

The Process to Measure Acquisition Marketing

Before we understand what the best channels and tactics are for acquisition marketing, we must first understand how to measure its success.

To determine whether your acquisition marketing efforts were successful, two different metrics must be considered:

First, you need to track the number of sales generated by each channel.

Second, you need to analyze the conversion rate.

This means that you need to find out how many visitors actually convert into customers.

This process is very simple. All you need to do is add up the total number of conversions from every channel you used. Then divide this number by the total number of visits.

You can also calculate the average cost per acquisition (CPA) for each channel. This means that if you spent $100 on Facebook ads, and got 5 sales, then you would have a CPA of $50.

But let’s focus on two key metrics for acquisition marketing. Those are customer acquisition costs (CAC) and customer lifetime value (CLV).

Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC):

Customer acquisition costs are the total amount of money you have to pay to get a new customer.

They include everything that costs money to get a new customer, like advertising, sales rep salaries, marketing materials, etc.

This is important because it gives us an idea about how much money we need to invest in order to acquire a single customer.

How to calculate CAC

To calculate CAC, simply divide your expenses by the number of new customers. For example, if all your marketing expenses are $5000 and you have acquired 10 new customers, that means your CAC is $500 to acquire a new customer.

Customer lifetime value (CLV or LTV)

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is an important metric used within marketing departments to help determine how much money they should invest in acquiring customers.

In short, it helps you understand what the return on investment (ROI) is for every dollar spent.

Even if your CAC is break even but you manage to increase CLV over time, you’ll be able to make more profit over time.

A good way to calculate LTC is to divide the total amount of annual spend by the average length of a customer’s relationship with your company.

For example, let’s say that your average customer spends $1,200 per year and stays with you for three years. You know that $600 of that is a net profit for you. So, according to our math, your LTV is 600 x 3, which is 1800 of net profit.

Other methods of evaluating acquisition marketing include:

Metrics such as conversion rates, leads generated, and website visits aid in evaluating the performance of each channel and allow you to track it over time to see if revenue is increasing.

You’ll want to track these metrics against time to see if there are improvements in revenue, but CAC and CLV are key metrics to keep an eye on.

The Best Acquisition Marketing Channels

Now that you’ve learned some main metrics, let’s take a look at the best channels for acquisition marketing.

There are many factors to consider when choosing your acquisition channels. These include your current customer base, your target market, and the type of product or service you offer.

Here are some questions to ask yourself about each channel:

Are there people in my current customer base whom I could refer to my product or service?
Can I reach my ideal customer through the social media accounts I already have?
Do I know anyone else who sells similar products or services? If so, how do I connect with them?
How can I make sure my messages are relevant to my audience?

It is important to answer these questions because they will help you decide which channels are most effective for reaching your target audience.

Your website

A website is one of the most important tools you’ll ever use to promote your business online. If it doesn’t work properly, nobody will see it. A poorly designed site will make people think twice about doing business with you.

All other channels will lead to your website. Your website is where visitors go after they click on links from Facebook ads, Google Ads, email campaigns, etc.

So, the entire customer journey is funneled into your website. This includes everything from landing pages to blog posts to sales copy.

Content marketing

Content marketing is a great way for businesses to attract new customers and grow their revenue. It’s a long-term investment, though. This will help build relationships and trust with potential clients.

Here are some tips to make sure your content marketing strategy works well for your brand:

Know what your audience wants. People want different things from brands, products, and services. Make sure your content addresses those needs.
Be consistent. You wouldn’t send out a newsletter every week. Why would you do it with content marketing? Keep your messaging consistent across platforms, channels, and touchpoints.
Use data wisely. If you know what your audience likes, use that information to create engaging content. For example, if your audience loves videos, create a video about how to fix something.
Write like no one else does. Writing is hard work. Find ways to cut down on the amount of writing you need to produce. Look for tools that automate parts of the process, such as Grammarly.
Measure everything. Measuring your success is important. Track your metrics regularly to see where you stand against competitors and whether changes need to be made.

When I work with clients, my main focus is to help them double down on content marketing. It is an essential part of any digital marketing plan.

Everyone can spend money on ads, so it is becoming more and more saturated. But, not everyone has the process and time to write articles, create videos.

That’s why content marketing (done right) can be leveraged for YOUR business growth.

Email marketing

Email marketing is a good way to keep customers interested in your brand and to increase sales.

An email newsletter is a great tool to engage your audience and generate leads. You can use email newsletters to promote sales, send out special offers, announce events, or just provide helpful information about your products and services.

In addition to being useful, email marketing is easy to set up.

All you need is a good email marketing software program such as MailChimp or AWeber. These programs aren’t too expensive, and they make it easy to keep track of your contacts, make emails that look professional, track opens and clicks, and divide your lists into groups based on demographics, interests, and behavior.

To make sure your emails look professional, follow these tips:

Make sure your subject line is compelling and informative.
Include a call to action button.
Write short paragraphs and avoid long sentences.
Keep it simple.
Be consistent.
Don’t forget to include a signature block.
Always double check your spelling and grammar.
Add images where appropriate.
Remember, less is more.
And finally, don’t spam people.

If you do email marketing the right way, your acquisition campaign should pay off in terms of increased customer loyalty and repeat purchases.

Social media

Social media has become an important aspect of our daily lives. But social media marketing isn’t just about posting pictures of yourself and tagging your friends; there are many different ways to use it to market your products online.

For example, the process of getting new customers is a great chance to get to know potential customers and build relationships with them.

You can start by documenting and sharing your business growth journey.

Social media should be treated as a conversation starter. It doesn’t have to be all about selling. Use social media to share interesting stories about your company culture, industry trends, and other relevant topics.

This will encourage people to connect with you and learn more about your business.

Doing this will also increase your credibility among your target audience.

Personally, I am not a fan of ads. That’s why I have a dedicated article on how to market your business without ads.

However, if you want to acquire new customers, then you may need to consider using Facebook or Google ads.

But what I have noticed with successful ads is that they don’t focus only on these two channels.

Their marketing funnel is focused on other channels as well, like Reddit ads, Quora Ads, and, these days, TikTok ads.

Your marketing costs will go down and you’ll get to your goals faster if you can find the right marketing channel.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is a great tool to expand your brand awareness and increase your sales. You can use it to promote products you already sell or find new products to promote.

What’s more, you can use customer stories as an influencer marketing strategy.

A customer story is when someone shares their experience with your product or service. It helps you create trust and authenticity in your brand.

That is a fantastic strategy for potential customers who are in the consideration stage. It will give them a reason to buy from you instead of your competitors.

Tactics for Better Acquisition Marketing Strategy

Now that we’ve covered some of the metrics and channels you can use to acquire new customers, let’s talk about tactics you can use to improve your acquisition marketing strategy.

Create content that matters

As discussed in the acquisition marketing channels section, content marketing has become one of the most popular methods used by marketers to attract potential buyers. However, content marketing alone won’t guarantee success.

To succeed, you need to focus on quality content.

Quality content is defined as information that provides value to readers. If you provide useful information, you will be successful.

For instance, if you run a blog about fashion, you should write about fashion trends.

Whenever you are in doubt, just ask yourself, “What would you like to know? What do you think your readers would love to read about? “

If you’re struggling to come up with ideas, try asking your current customers. They might have some good suggestions.

Don’t be just another watered-down version of your competitor. Provide a unique perspective and insights.

Use social media in combination with your core content

If you take your core piece of content and break it down into pieces, you can post each piece separately. This way, you can engage with your followers on multiple platforms at once.

For example, if you have an article, you can create shorter Instagram posts based on different parts of the article.

You can even create videos out of those articles.

I call this content atomization, and I have written an entire guide about how to do it.

It will help you get better engagement and traffic from your social media accounts.

Hone in on your unique value proposition

A unique value proposition is something that distinguishes your company from competitors. It helps you stand out from the crowd.

To develop a unique value proposition, you need to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Then you need to think about how you can differentiate yourself from your competition.

This is not easy, but it is worth the effort. Once you figure out your unique value proposition, you’ll know exactly what to say and what to do to make people want to buy from you.

If your business is like everyone else’s, you’re going to struggle. The only thing you’ll be able to compete on is price or time.

To find your unique value proposition, ask yourself:

Why does my product or service matter? What makes it special?

Once you answer this question, you’ll be well on your way to developing a unique value proposition.

It needs to clearly stand out from other products and services.

Customer stories are a goldmine for new insights

Customer stories are great because they give you insight into what your customers like and dislike.

They also show you what problems your customers face. You can then use these insights to solve new problems.

In addition, customer stories can help you understand why your customers choose to purchase from you instead of your competitors.

To have an amazing and profitable sales funnel, you need to understand your customers’ buying journey. That means understanding where they are in their decision process. And what better way than to know stories from existing customers?

You see, customer acquisition strategy is all about getting your prospects closer to making a purchase.

So, by collecting stories from your customers, you can learn more about them and improve your marketing efforts.

Laser focus on one channel

There are many different ways to attract visitors to your site and convert them into paying customers. You might think about starting with social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, email marketing, and perhaps even paid ads.

It is OK to try out several channels at once. But, don’t spread yourself too thin.

The point is to find the channel that gives you the most output for the least amount of input.

For example, if your competitors are doing a poor job with search engine optimization but there’s a demand for your service, you should invest in SEO.

Whatever channel you decide to use, make sure it aligns with your overall marketing strategy and gives you the best results for the least cost.

Optimize your website to the max

Optimizing your website will increase conversion rates and generate more leads.

There are many ways to do it, such as creating an email list form or offering special deals. Here are some tips to help you improve your website.

Create a better user flow

A good user flow helps users navigate through your website easily. There is only one thing you should pay attention to when it comes to saving a good user flow and that is: is my website cluttered with unnecessary information?

Make sure everything is clear and simple.

The website should be your biggest business asset. It should guide your visitors to the right place without any confusion.

Add more transparency

Being transparent is important. Your website should tell people who you are, what you stand for, and how you work.

If you want to build trust with your audience, you must provide them with enough information so they know exactly what to expect from you.

A great way to achieve this is by adding testimonials and case studies. They are proven to be effective and trustworthy.

Use videos

Videos are great for capturing attention and keeping visitors engaged. Videos are also great for explaining complicated concepts.

Another benefit of using video content is that it increases conversions.

This is because videos are easier to watch than text-based articles. People tend to read less when watching a video.

Have gated content

Gating content is a technique used to keep visitors away from certain pages. This is done by asking visitors to fill out forms before accessing the page.

For example, if you have an amazing piece of content about a specific topic, you have gated content where 70% of the content is available and 30% is gated content.

People can access the rest of the content if they give you their email address.

That way, you can follow up with them using email campaigns and they will have access to the entire piece of content. It is a win-win.

Build sustainable relationships with your best customers

You probably have a few loyal customers who buy from you every time you release new products. These customers are your best ambassadors. They’re the ones who recommend your brand to others.

You need to nurture these relationships and offer them exclusive discounts and other benefits.

Relationships with customers are very valuable. You can’t afford to lose them.

By building strong customer relationships, you’ll get more sales and referrals.

That way, your target customers will become your best marketers.

Conclusion

Acquisition marketing is all about getting people to notice you and convert into paying customers.

It requires a lot of hard work and research to find the most effective channels to reach your target audience.

But once you’ve found the best channels to acquire leads, you need to make sure that you use those channels effectively.

Customer experiences are key in acquisition marketing.

That’s why blog content, understanding social media platforms, customer retention and your business goals are essential.

Once you’ve got all these things under control, you’ll be able to increase your conversion rates and grow your business.