Experts like to talk about customer success, customer loyalty, satisfaction or churn rates. But what if there is already a problem one step before that?
If you have difficulties filling the sales pipeline, you won't even get around to thinking about customer satisfaction and the like.
Unfortunately, many companies continue to invest in the wrong channels and lose a lot of money without gaining new customers. Do you recognize yourself here?
However, as the cost of customer acquisition has risen by around 50% in the last 5 years, many companies are finding it all the more difficult to find the right method.
You need a defined strategy for acquiring new customers, which of course depends on your industry, your service and your goals.
Below, we explain how you can make the most of the various options for acquiring new customers, generate more demand and convert leads into paying customers.
Why is new customer acquisition so important?
Acquiring new customers means growth. Because without customers there are no sales and without sales there is no turnover.
That's why entrepreneurs use popular marketing channels such as social media, paid advertising, email marketing, referral programs and SEO. They use these means to get people to engage with their brand and become new customers.
They use various marketing techniques to ensure the company's growth, increase sales and generate profits.
Brands aim to fulfill people's needs, desires and expectations in order to capture their interest and encourage them to become customers.
With the help of digital technologies, companies collect large amounts of data about their potential customers, both online and offline, and use various methods to attract their attention. The result is trust and loyalty on the part of new customers.
The benefits of customer acquisition at a glance:
- Increase in sales
- Improved brand awareness
- Company growth
- Involvement of new investors and partners
- Opportunity for business expansion
Acquiring new customers not only ensures higher profits, but can also be an important part of expansion.
The higher the turnover from more customers, the better the chances of expanding and growing the company. Growth can be essential, even vital, especially for smaller companies.
[Graphic "How to reach new customers"]
Customer acquisition in B2B markets
Customer acquisition is a process that includes various methods aimed at acquiring new customers. It helps to convert leads, increase sales and grow the business.
Although every company's target audience is unique, there are different ways to categorize them. By industry, geography, age or specific customer characteristics.
One approach to categorizing businesses is based on whether your customers are buying as private customers (B2C - business-to-consumer) or as business representatives (B2B - business-to-business).
B2B and B2C are two different business models that are aimed at different customer segments: Either to businesses or to end consumers.
The measures for acquiring new customers naturally also depend on this.
Complete solution: customer acquisition for service companies
Acquiring new B2B customers is a major challenge for many tax consultants, IT consultancies, management consultants and other service providers.
Acquiring new customers in the B2B sector often requires a much more systematic approach, as the products and services on offer are more complex. In addition, the stakes are often higher for these companies than for private customers.
Everything stands and falls with the right strategy and the right sales methods. This results in a structured process consisting of various components.
- Finding prospects
- Entering data in the CRM
- Define lead lifecycle and categorize leads
- Making contact, short sales pitch
- Needs analysis
- Ask for BANT (budget, authority, need, timing)
- Define interim goals and create deal
Are you still looking for the ideal all-in-one solution for customer acquisition in your business? I'd be happy to help you find the best solution for all your new customer acquisition challenges.
Successful new customer acquisition with the right strategy
There are many different strategies for acquiring new customers. These strategies include various methods designed to acquire customers and increase your brand awareness.
An effective customer acquisition strategy is the best way to win new customers and keep your existing customers happy. That's why we'll take a closer look at the various ways of acquiring new customers below.
Telephone acquisition
One of the best-known measures for acquiring new customers is classic telephone canvassing.
The advantages are:
- Telephone calls are considered a personal approach and therefore attract more attention.
- They ensure intensive customer conversations and create a better basis of trust and closer ties.
- Potential customers' questions or problems can be addressed immediately.
- Questions and problems can be used for your own market research.
Cold calling refers to calls to contact potential customers with advertising or sales intentions with whom you have not yet had any direct contact.
Warm acquisition refers to calls to business contacts with whom you have already had contact. These are therefore warm leads.
In line with this, the experts at the Search Engine Journal have found that the closing rate for warm leads is almost 15%, while it is just under 2% for cold leads.
It is important to know that under German law, cold calling private customers is only permitted with their express consent. Although cold calling is not actually permitted for commercial customers either, the regulation is handled somewhat more loosely in practice.
Warm acquisition, on the other hand, is an excellent way of acquiring new customers in industrial customer sales and addressing the right target group directly and proactively.
However, it requires precise know-how and knowledge of the current situation, topics and requirements of your current customers. A well-maintained CRM system is essential for this.
E-mail marketing
Ever heard of an email list? Many clever sales reps use them to obtain customer data and regularly inform potential customers about offers and new products.
Aside from direct sales, there's no better business outcome for first-time visitors than when they sign up to receive updates from you.
This way you can send sales or discounts on your products or services, exclusive content, special features for customers and other promotional campaigns.
If you want to be in regular contact with your customers, email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways.
A study by the Direct Marketing Association found that email marketing provides an average return on investment of $38 for every dollar spent.
Other reasons for using email marketing include:
- Email marketing platforms are easy and intuitive to use. As a rule, you can collect data, design email templates and segment customers with relative ease. The HubSpot Marketing Hub is ideal because the email marketing functions are fully integrated into a customer acquisition process.
- You can automate marketing tasks more easily. Automation functions such as welcome messages, confirmations or thank you emails can be sent automatically to numerous customers.
- Performance is easier to measure. The question: "How many newsletter readers bought a product or service at the end?" is represented by an attribution report.
Referral marketing
Referral programs are an easy way to improve customer acquisition in your company.
You have probably already come into contact with referral marketing at other companies. The concept of referral marketing is simple in principle: the more people who promote or recommend you, the more customers you gain.
But instead of relying on existing customers to recommend your business on their own, you should encourage them with a referral program.
Referral programs also work in a B2B context. The Taipan Masterclasses are often recommended by partners. More information here (https://www.taipanconsulting.de/kooperationsangebot).
The incentive can be a material gift, a cash reward or a discount code. After all, you can only expect valuable referrals if you give something of value in return.
These reasons speak in favor of using referral marketing:
- Customers are 4 times more likely to make a purchase if it's recommended by someone they know.
- Customers acquired through referrals have a 37% higher retention rate.
- 81% of consumers are more likely to engage with brands that offer rewards programs.
- Customers acquired through referral marketing have an 18% lower churn rate than customers acquired through other channels.
[Graphic on referral marketing - "Referral marketing for customer acquisition"]
Lectures, workshops and trade fairs
Events such as conferences, webinars and trade fairs are a fantastic way to connect with prospects and acquire new customers.
Nowadays, many events take place online, which can actually make customer acquisition easier. This is because participants have to register with their email address to successfully attend the event.
This information is not always as easy or natural to collect when meeting potential customers in person.
Nevertheless, on-site events are also a great idea for customer acquisition, as you can get in touch with others in person and it's usually all about successful networking. Potential customers are given the opportunity to get to know your brand on a more personal level.
More and more consumers want to actually experience brands, not just read about them online or be inundated by their advertising. Customer experience can play a crucial role in differentiating your company from the competition.
Want to learn more about customer acquisition, customer experience and subscription business ?In the video, I explain the ultimatechurn hack to retain customers for as long as possible and reduce churn.
SEO, social media and online marketing
Online marketing can be very effective, especially, as the name suggests, in attracting customers online. It encompasses all measures that are carried out online to drive digital customer acquisition.
The word SEO is often used in this context. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is one of the most important methods for acquiring customers via your own website.
SEO does not promise great success overnight. Rather, it stands for long-term results and sustainable measures.
After all, SEO leads have an average conversion rate of 14.6% compared to traditional outbound marketing, which has an average conversion rate of 1.7%.
This means that, when done correctly, the convergence of technical and creative practices can drive better search engine results, increase website traffic, improve brand awareness, generate more leads and increase sales.
If you want to attract new customers online, don't forget social media. With an estimated 3.6 billion people worldwide on social media such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and the like, there is an incredible opportunity for companies to gain new customers.
In the B2B sector, the professional network LinkedIn is a particularly popular platform. In the DACH region alone, it has over 19 million users who are all looking for professional networking and knowledge sharing.
Social media is great for brand awareness, interaction with potential customers and targeted advertising.
In this context, you've probably already heard of social selling. It allows you to reach out to potential customers on social media and build a relationship with a network of potential customers.
Done correctly, social selling can replace the practice of cold calling. It should be an integral part of today's sales strategy.
Direct mailing by post
In addition to online customer acquisition, there is also the traditional method of direct mail. It is a form of marketing in which physical advertising material is sent to households and companies by post.
The most common forms of direct mail include:
- Brochures
- leaflets
- newsletters
- catalogs
- postcards
Direct mailing can work very well if a suitable message reaches someone who wants or needs the advertised product or service. However, you need to know your target group very well.
In contrast to conventional advertising, which appeals to everyone, direct advertising only goes to buyers who are most likely to want or need what is being advertised. For this reason, direct mail is considered more efficient.
According to the Direct Marketing Association, average response rates for direct mail range from 1% for a list of prospects to 3.7% for an internal list of previous buyers.
These are typical results, but by no means the rule. With the right direct mailing and a good list, it is possible to sell to 10%, 20% or more of the people on your list.
Ever tried sending a handwritten letter to your contacts? Can't because you have too many contacts? You can - take a look at the solutions from Pensaki or Wunderpen. Then you will achieve extremely good open rates (up to 99 % - according to Wunderpen) and 40 % response rate - according to Pensaki)
Finding the right way to successfully acquire new customers is not always easy. It depends on your target group and your personal aspirations. I would be happy to help you make the right decision and find the best strategy for you.
5 tips to make customer acquisition work even in difficult times
Now that you know the various ways to acquire new B2B customers, let's talk about some unpleasant topics.
Even if you are already using the best measures to acquire more customers, you are not immune to dry spells.
No matter how challenging the situation is, you need to be able to respond to it as required. However, I have summarized a few tips here to help you avoid this in the first place.
Describe your ideal customer
An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the companies you want to approach. It gives you a better understanding of the types of customers and people you should focus on.
Ideal customers are especially helpful for sales-oriented companies with complex B2B products that require explanation.
The companies in your ICP have many common characteristics. They share a problem that your product can solve and they have the budget to take advantage of this solution.
Defining your ICP makes it easier to create a list of companies and stakeholders that you would like to attract as customers. It also allows you to personalize your customer approach.
Advertising campaigns can also be more insightful and targeted.
The end result is a target group-specific, budget-friendly customer acquisition strategy. And this is how it works:
- The first step is to identify your best current customers and determine what characteristics they have in common.
- Now research the similarities and characteristics of these customers. The industry, size of the company, company headquarters or customer base, but also the pace of growth or the technology they use are interesting.
- The next step is to find contact persons and decision-makers. They are responsible for the sales process or can make important decisions about it.
- All of this collected data must be documented so that the perfect customer profile is finally created.
However, common problems, challenges or bottlenecks are also good to know in this case.
[Graphic from the masterclass: "Canvas: Ideal Customer Profile"]
Email templates that always work
A survey by the RAIN Group revealed that 80% of all respondents prefer to be contacted by companies by email first.
Initial contact by email is therefore extremely important. However, the result of this survey says nothing about how many acquisition emails are actually opened and how they affect the customer.
Here are three tips that you can use to increase the response rate of your emails:
- The basic rule when sending cold acquisition emails is to always personalize your emails. Emails that are too general will be ignored in the inbox.
In contrast, personalizing the subject line alone can increase the open rate by 22%.
- Even though there is no ideal length for email cold calling, you should keep your personalized messages short and sweet. Essentially, you should get to the point quickly in the email without beating around the bush.
- Remember to respond to your emails. Research shows that sending follow-ups increases response rates by around 65%.can increase.
Reactivation of former customers
Inactive customers are among your most valuable leads. They are pre-qualified, inexpensive to acquire and already have a relationship with your brand.
The aim of customer reactivation is to "wake up" or "win back" dormant and uninterested customers. The advantage here is that these customers have already expressed an interest and you are not strangers.
Reactivation campaigns usually include customized messages or special offers to win back inactive customers. The costs are much lower than when acquiring new customers. A welcome alternative. And this is how it works:
- Email campaign for reactivation
Regardless of which customer reactivation strategies you want to use, you first need to identify which customers have become inactive.
Using your email marketing platform, you can create a list and segment it by activity and purchase history. This way, you will quickly know which former customers are eligible.
- Special promotions and gifts
All customers want to feel valued. That's why sending a special offer is one of the most effective reactivation strategies.
Discount codes, gifts or a referral bonus are just a few ideas you can use to entice former customers.
- Content marketing
The goal of any customer reactivation strategy is to remind the customer of the benefits of doing business with you.
One way to do this is to create helpful, tailored content and send it to your former customers in a personalized form. A little personal note can go a long way.
[Graphic on reactivation - "Graphic: Life cycle in customer contact"]
Proper prospecting shows the way
Prospects are potential customers and it is precisely these that need to be found in the acquisition process. Sales employees therefore use prospecting to efficiently expand the potential customer base.
A major advantage of this is that suitable leads can be identified more quickly. This means that only warm leads with the greatest buying potential end up in the pipeline.
This in turn means that the sales team can concentrate on the best leads and therefore does not waste time.
Successful prospecting therefore supports customer acquisition measures and increases the chances of fruitful business deals.
Among other things, it goes hand in hand with the creation of an ICP and ensures that your pipeline is always full.
HubSpot CRM for strategic management
Acquiring new customers is no longer the only challenge in sales. The correct organization of customer care and precise process structures are essential for strategic customer relationship management.
One of the best-known platforms for successful CRM is HubSpot. It is hard to imagine digital sales and digital marketing without this comprehensive tool.
With HubSpot, you can not only fully set up marketing automation and lead generation campaigns. You also get extensive CRM and sales functions as well as customer surveys.
HubSpot also provides you with all the tools you need to create reports on the entire customer journey.
The current status is displayed transparently for all employees in very clear dashboards:
[Graphic from Masterclass "Graphic: Sample of a sales dashboard with reports"]
By centralizing all data and activities from the various departments in a CRM platform, your team can build deeper relationships with customers and prospects throughout the entire customer journey.
This makes customer relationships much more strategic and effectively puts the customer at the center of the company.
Digital challenges suddenly become opportunities for digital growth. The integration of a powerful CRM system opens up new opportunities in marketing and sales, but above all in customer acquisition.
If you would also like to use HubSpot as your central CRM, I would be happy to show you how you can discover all the services for yourself. Get in touch with me now to find out more about implementing HubSpot.
The most common mistakes when acquiring new customers and how to avoid them
Mistakes are human. Nevertheless, you don't have to accept that mishaps happen from time to time.
The most common mistakes when acquiring new customers are made out of ignorance. That's why I'd like to point this out to you in advance and explain where mistakes can be avoided.
1. too little customer focus
It is obvious that customer acquisition should be designed with a clear focus on the needs, wants and pains of potential customers.
Nevertheless, many marketers opt for a generalized and outdated strategy that targets the masses but misses the actual target market.
The result? People are inundated with "cheap" messages that usually rush past them in a matter of seconds, especially via digital channels. However, very few people in the B2B sector get useful traffic and necessary conversions this way.
The only way to break through the noise of such crowds, reach potential customers and control costs is to understand customers' needs and address them directly.
"You're not selling product features, you're selling solutions to your customers' problems," is the central approach when Frank Welsch-Lehmann works with clients on the topic as a CRM consultant in the Sales Playbook Masterclass.
This requires data-supported customer information, systematic approaches and customer-centric thinking.
This allows you to identify specific needs and burning issues. And that in turn gives you the advantage of differentiating yourself from the competition.
2. the wrong strategy
One of the most serious mistakes is to pursue the wrong strategy or no well-thought-out strategy at all.
Many people underestimate new customer acquisition and therefore do not focus on it. It is somewhat incidental and is carried out unplanned and rather poorly by the sales team.
This attitude to work eventually leads to chaos and frustration. The damage and the despair are great.
That's why I can only emphasize often enough that a systematic approach is essential if you want to successfully acquire new B2B customers.
Nothing should be left to chance when it comes to acquiring new customers. A robust strategy and clear structures can truly work wonders. After all, successful customer acquisition ensures the success of your company.
3. acting too late
In any business, it is important to think long-term. You need to be prepared to make changes and adapt to new challenges.
This means you need a solid customer acquisition and retention plan that can proactively address any circumstances.
With just four key figures, you can keep an eye on the decisive levers in your sales:
- In the Prospecting phase: number of leads
- In the Connect & Qualify phase: number of SQLs
- In the Present phase: number of opportunities
- In the Close phase: Number of deals (won/lost)
This forward thinking is often neglected, which will sooner or later be reflected in customer growth.
When it becomes increasingly difficult to acquire new customers and sales stagnate, it is actually too late to act.
Planning is often not done properly, signs of stagnation are not interpreted correctly and the current situation is not analyzed enough.
To avoid such circumstances, your customer acquisition plan should be constantly updated and progress tracked on a monthly basis.
This will prevent the pipeline from running dry and keep you on the road to success.
Measure success in customer acquisition
The costs of acquiring new customers are often high. If you want to reduce these costs, you should not only focus on the right measures, but also make the success of customer acquisition measurable.
Unfortunately, mistakes can also be made here, which can have a negative impact on your sales in the long term. With the right metrics, you can determine the success of your sales team, pricing and customer service.
You also gain a deeper insight into your finances. This in turn helps you to create forecasts and budgets for future expenditure or introduce sensible cost-saving measures.
The following three metrics provide you with the most important key data:
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Your customer acquisition cost is the total cost of sales and marketing activities divided by the number of customers you acquire in a given period.
Sales costs + marketing costs / number of new customers
To understand how the cost of each new customer impacts your business, compare the CAC to the recurring revenue that new customers bring to the business.
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)
In addition to CAC, there is also CLTV, which indicates how much recurring revenue you can expect from new customers over the duration of their relationship with your business.
The CLTV calculation only requires a simple multiplication:
Average sale x number of recurring sales x average length of a customer relationship
Once you have calculated the lifetime value of a new customer, it is best to compare this value with the cost of acquiring that customer.
The CLTV should be much higher than the CAC. If this is not the case, you should probably reconsider pricing, customer acquisition, or sales and marketing costs.
- Churn rate
To better assess the CAC, it is also important to consider the churn rate. In principle, it should be in your interest to retain as many customers as possible so that the churn rate is as low as possible. The calculation looks like this:
Number of customers lost this month / number of customers at the beginning of the month
Texts, videos, personal conversations: these customer acquisition measures work best
There is no one successful strategy that works for everyone. That much is clear.
What does exist are studies on various methods and ideas for acquiring new customers, with digital content marketing appearing to be a tried-and-tested method.
It involves creating blog posts, guides, videos, podcasts and more to answer questions, solve problems and build trust with the reader.
Content marketing is efficient, engaging and persuasive when it comes to driving traffic to your website.
It also generates more than three times as many leads as outbound marketing and costs 62% less, according to a study by Demand Metric.
You can achieve a lot with the right content marketing:
- You can use it to support the entire customer journey, from acquisition to lead generation to customer retention.
- Videos have proven to be particularly effective. They can generate up to 66% more qualified leads than text alone.
- With blogging as a priority in your marketing strategy, you can also increase your ROI by a factor of 13.
- In addition, recommendations in blog posts create greater trust and willingness to buy among readers.
Conclusion
It's not always easy to win customers as a service provider. That's why I've made it my mission to share my knowledge with you.
Acquiring new customers is multifaceted and, among other things, ensures the success of a company.
With the right strategy, a plan for difficult times and foresight, you are already one step ahead of many of your competitors.
If you then combine your measures with a digital tool, you can take new customer acquisition to a whole new level.
Take a look at my HubSpot blog, where I provide you with important information on integrating CRM software.
Contact me now for a comprehensive discussion about your personal goals and challenges.
