Conceptualize-Visualize | Communicate-Connect Acknowledge-Appreciate | Acquire-Retain

Customer Acquisi tion is the crux of any business plan. Whi le increasing the number of customers is necessary, qual i ty and relevance of a customer base is what def ines success ul timately. Whi le value is the objective, acquisit ion of prof i table customers is the target. Broadcasting your brands persona is required however it has to be done wi th panache in order to create the right kind of impression and drive appropriate customers to take action. This whi tepaper detai ls out key elements of a customer acquisi tion strategy, the tactics, techniques and metrics that are considered best to adopt .

Customer Acquisition
Omnipresent Objective = VALUE No Need to Create a Ruckus in the Industry. Let Who You Are Speak Louder

Three Thumb Rule of Customer Acquisition

1. Know your Target Market 2. Acquire Profitable Customers 3. Rationalize Acquisition Cost

Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) - An Analytical Marketing Approach Tap into the Traffic Mix know where to find customers

It takes 9 minutes or less for 50% of CEOs to make a decision, and less than 12% take more than an hour to decide. With too many choices it is 10 times unlikely that customers decide what to buy.

Threefold Target of Customer Acquisition

To Generate Revenue To Gain Referrals To Get Recommendations

Keep Your Eyes and Ears Open In the Socialsphere

Tune into the Pulse of Your Customer Tune your Brand to the Drone of Tweets Say i t Not in Words, as a Picture is Wor th a Thousand Words - Facebook Play Games, Engage and Win Over Customers Jazz Up and Customize Channels Personal ize or Per ish I t is not About Incent ivi ty As I t is About Acknowledgement Is your Market ing Communicat ion Snackable?

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Whitepaper Structure

1. Introduction 2. Key Elements of a Customer Acquisition Process a. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) b. Tap into the Traffic Mix 3. Stages of Customer Acquisition 4. Current Trends in Customer Acquisition a. Tactics for Customer Acquisition Via Social Media b. Tactics for Customer Acquisition Via Visualization 5. Conclusion

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1. Introduction To attract attention of prospective customers, there is no reason to create a ruckus in the market. Let your products, services and offerings speak for themselves. With a wide range of media channels available today, customers are overwhelmed with choices offered. Consider these interesting statistics (based on a study done by Columbia University) on why too much is too bad:
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According to IBM, 90 percent of data in human history has been created only in the last 2 years This pace is most likely to accelerate by 40 percent every year, according to a study by McKinsey&Company. In 2011, Google found out that an average customer makes use of 10.4 times more sources of information while making purchasing decisions, which was double of what was recorded in 2010 However, with so many choices it was 10 times more unlikely that customers would decide to buy. When 10 or more choices are given to humans, they are most likely to make a bad decision. It takes 9 minutes or less for 50 percent of CEOs to make a decision, and less than 12 percent take more than an hour to decide.

Ralph Waldo Emersons quote would then sound something like this,

Who you are speaks so loudly I do not need to hear what you' re saying.

2. Key Elements of a Customer Acquisition Process 1. Understanding Economics of Acquisition it is essential to understand the economics behind implementing an acquisition process. Aspects such as identifying customer lifetime value, profitable customers and costs involved in acquisition are important before defining and developing a practice. 2. Defining Acquisition Process an organized approach should be adopted to identify various steps in the acquisition process. Relevant measures and strategies at every stage need to be noted to ensure success.

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3.

Identifying Success Factors at every stage, factors affecting success of implementation are necessary in order to develop a profitable plan. Identifying Metrics measurable metrics such as Number of Customers, Cost per Qualified Lead, Average Cost-to-Benefit, Acquisition-to- Conversion Cost should be considered to understand the cost and profitability of the process. Developing Acquisition Strategies once the definitions and metrics are in place, specific strategies that define objectives and results at every step need to be developed. Monitoring Process and Measuring Results in order to determine whether the process is successful and profitable, regular monitoring and relevant measuring of results should be conducted.

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Seth Godin has an interesting insight in The Big Drop Off on how marketers ideally should approach customers and acquisition. Marketers have an inner circle of friends, followers, media and anyone willing to hear their pitch, this forms the first circle. If the people from the first group are impressed and talk to other people about your products, services or ideas, they form the second circle. Similarly, if what you are offering is really remarkable, a third circle will be formed. The first circle forms the main target group for marketers initially and they endeavor to capture their attention and make this group bigger. The big drop off is that in all that hubbub and enthusiasm, marketers fall short of noticing the lukewarm reaction of the first circle. What Godin is trying to emphasize here is that, successful marketers do not focus entirely on making the first circle bigger, they focus on creating products, services or ideas that dont drop off!

First Circle
Friends, Followers, Customers, Media, Anyone Willing to Hear the Pitch

Second Circle
People who hear about Us through the Second Circle

Third Circle
People who hear about Us through the First Circle

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2.a. Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) Take an Analytical Marketing Approach. Do not make price the barrier to understanding customers. In order to analyze acquisition strategies better, it is essential to calculate Lifetime Value (LTV) of customers. It can broadly be defined as revenues a customer will generate in one lifetime. One of the other reasons it is important to be aware of LTV is to estimate marketing costs. There are three kinds of equations, simple, custom and traditional equations. Analysis based on averages maybe tricky however the three main questions CLTV could possibly answer are: 1. On which campaign for a customer acquisition can we invest more money in? 2. What are the behavioral and demographic attributes of the best customers? 3. How much and in which segment should we in, for customer acquisition?

2.b. Tap into the Traffic Mix To know how to acquire customers, you need to know where to find them! A customer acquisition strategy is incomplete without analyzing the source of `quality` traffic. Once you identify your traffic sources, you will be able to capitalize on one source. A popular approach in the industry is using benchmarking traffic reports such as those compiled by Google Analytics. The Benchmarking Newsletter provides insights into your traffic mix vis--vis global averages. In Google Analytics, the four main traffic sources represented are:-

Direct Traffic includes traffic from direct URL type-ins, bookmarks or email campaigns. It also includes non-browser traffic through social and mobile apps linked to your website Other Traffic includes campaigns such as display ads, affiliates and email campaigns which are linked through marketing tags.

Direct

Referral

Referral Traffic includes traffic from other websites that contain a direct link to your website Search Engine Traffic includes paid as well as natural search groups such as through Adwords

Other

Search Engine

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3. Stages of Customer Acquisition

Stages Attracting Attention How Not by shouting out your message, but by providing meaningful communication. An effective step in gaining attention further is by listening. Paying attention to customers is one way of providing them with what they want, need and desire. Now that youve got their attention, the next step is to initiate interaction. A dialogue should be initated. With What Through viral campaigns, webcasts, podcasts, infographics, relevant research or resources such as whitepapers, case studies. Why To provide interesting, valuable and relevant information to key influencers in your segment.

Initiating Interaction

Through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and every other popular channel. Blogs community participation. By sending invites to blogs, social media accounts of Facebook and Twitter. Or by requesting contact information in exchange for resources such as newsletters, white papers, webinars or free samples.

To provide compelling and engaging dialogue with aim of pursing

Obtaining Permission

If the interaction has been exciting, permission needs to be obtained to provide further information.

Without obtaining permision, communication is lost as there is no interest in pursuing a dialogue.

Employing Engagement

Once valuable information has been shared, after obtaining permission, deeper engagement should be initiated.

The traditional chronology of communication channels that could be followed is from social to email to phone to web conference to face to face.

To gain a deeper under standing of the prospective customer; what they want, how it can be addressed and what are products and solutions that will be best suited.

Facilitating Exchange

The final stage is execution Exchange of value in or exchange for information, terms of revenue, recomproduct or service provided. mendations or referrals.

To help prospective customer accomplish their goals and provide necessary product or service support to provide value.

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4. Current Trends in Customer Acquisition

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There are around 340 million tweets sent every day, how many of them have your brand mentioned? Pictures and photographs are considered to be twice as more effective and engaging than text posts on Facebook. Is your profile visually rich?

Keep Your Eyes Open and Listen Keenly in the Socialsphere

Customer acquisition through social media is the current approach utilized in creating a buzz. There are tactics that help in utilizing social channels as a tool for brand awareness and acquisition.

Tune into the Pulse of Your

4.a. Tactics for Customer Acquisition Via Social Media 1. Tune your Brand to the Drone of Tweets In order to use Twitter effectively you have to be proactive. You need to monitor, identify, chime in and converse with existing connections as well as potential customers. One way to find new customers is to observe who is engaging with your competitors. However targeting them with an impersonal message is not going to gain their attention or impress them. Charm them, be human, be personal and you will be able to gain a connection. Say it Not in Words, as a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words In channels such as Facebook and Instagram, pictures or photographs have definitely proven to be more engaging than text posts. Therefore making your brand profile visually rich, relevant and refreshing is one of the waysfor attracting new customers. Play Games, Engage and Win Over Customers Hosting competitions, games or contests is one of the best ways of involving existing customers and attracting new visitors. Who doesnt like to win a gift? However ensure what reward you offer is relevant to your brand or you may have a following that is not related to your core, target market. Moreover customize the initiative to suit different platforms, such as photo contest on Facebook and word play games on Twitter.

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4.

Jazz Up and Customize Channels To gain a wider market it is inevitable to use various social channels. However, excessive cross pollination and over promotion can dampen visitors interest. Yes, they can and will unfollow you! If the same information is posted on channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram, it only becomes redundant and does not encourage the visitor to follow you on different platforms. Add zest and custom make messaging relevant to different social platforms. Personalize or Perish Interact, engage and communicate with your fans. Show you are human. Establish touch-points such as live chats to connect with customers in real time. Personalize messaging and be proactive in communicating constantly to show that you are interested and not just there to broadcast a sales pitch. It is not About Incentives As It is About Acknowledgement Providing incentives is one way of urging people to engage however it is not the only way. Acknowledgment is a great way to show you appreciate your loyal customers. New visitors become brand ambassadors not always through incentives they also need to feel good at times.

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4.b. Tactics for Customer Acquisition Via Visualization Is your marketing communication snackable? Visual representation in the form of Infographics has taken over advertising, marketing and promotion online by a storm. Visualization of data is like a snack for readers, it tells a story in way that keeps visitors engaged. Using visualizations helps in transforming communication to be more persuasive, appealing and effective. It breathes life into data and showcases otherwise solemn subjects in an interesting manner. Moreover it is a great tool to educate and create awareness about brands.

Viewers engage and share high qual I ty visual izat ions 30 times more than when compared to text ar t icles. Visual ly r ich adver t isements are 6 times more ef fect ive that onl ine text ads. Using visual izat ions have enable publ ishers grown by 12 % as compared to 1% of those who do not . Sour ce: www.mck insey.com

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5. Conclusion The main focus of any customer acquisition strategy should be to firstly know your target market, how to acquire profitable customers and rationalize acquisition cost. Besides the objective of generating revenues, acquisition is also about gaining referrals and recommendations with the omnipresent target being value. The key elements involved in developing a comprehensive strategy are- including metrics such as customer lifetime value and tapping into the traffic mix to identify the source from where potential customers can be targeted. Utilizing new technology, platforms and applications such as social media and visualization, tactics to acquire potential customers should be adopted. By conceptualizing and visualizing, communicating and connecting, acknowledging and appreciating, the objective should not only be to acquire customers but to retain them as well. The way ahead from Acquisition is Customer Retention, which is a future topic of discussion.

Checklist to Review your Acquisition Strategy

? What is the personality of your

brand?
? Does it have Online Value

Proposition (OVP)?
? Are you investing smart with the right

mix of time and money?

? How are you making online

campaigns more
? interactive and engaging? ? Does your business have the social

quotient?
? Are you drilling deep with SEO? ? Are you venturing through various

channels?
? Do you have an analytical edge?

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