Acquisition is a process that no brand can do without. It is the acquisition of new customers. How does acquisition work and how can it be done most effectively?
Customer Acquisition: How the acquisition process works from startc to finish
Acquisition doesn’t just consist of picking up the phone, calling the customer and hanging up. If you want to do it properly, you should consider all six phases that make it up. A model of the acquisition process looks like this:
Phase 1 of the acquisition process: Product Analysis.
All acquisition activities should fit your product like a glove. So, if you want to start an acquisition, take a pencil and paper and write down all the products you offer. The goal of this step isn’t to describe their colour and size – focus on the features that set your products apart from the competition. For each product, write down who it’s for and define a unique selling proposition (USP).
If there are many products in your range, don’t describe each product individually, but each product category.
Phase 2 of the acquisition process: target group analysis
The first step is directly followed by the second step: define and analyse the target group. Questions you can ask in the context of the acquisition include:
- Is my customer from the B2B or B2C segment?
- Is it more rational or emotional arguments that apply?
- Does he or she move more often in an online or offline environment?
- Should we be ticking him off or shouting at him?
- Does he make decisions quickly or does he need a lot of time to decide?
The most effective technique is to create customer personas, which we will discuss in a separate article.
Phase 3 of the acquisition process: Choosing a distribution channel
Based on the product analysis and target group analysis comes the most important part before the acquisition itself: choosing the right distribution channel.
You don’t have to think of acquisition as just cold calling or sending out emails. Although “calling” is one of the most widely used means, acquisition can also take place through content marketing, offline events or even PPC ads.
Phase 4 of the acquisition process: Lead generation
Lead generation – or acquiring leads – is for many the most difficult part of the entire acquisition process. Getting quality, relevant leads that have a chance of becoming your customers takes a lot of effort.
Phase 5 of the acquisition process: Customer acquisition (sales)
The core of the entire acquisition process is the customer acquisition itself, which can be divided into three sub-phases. However, you don’t always go through all three. Sometimes you end up at the first one, sometimes you jump straight to the third one. It all depends on the nature of the product, the customer and your skills.
5.1 Customer acquisition: Outreach
In the first phase, you need to reach out to a customer who is unfamiliar with your product and knows nothing about it. The product is completely new to them. Your task is to engage this customer and briefly explain what the product is all about. If you can’t get their attention at this stage, you won’t get to the next stages.
Our account manager Michal’s tip: “First, look at who you are calling and speak to them in person. Tell them why you are calling, who you are and what you do.”
5.2 Customer acquisition: Arguments
The second stage is the stage where the customer is still hesitating. He already knows the product but doesn’t want it or feels he doesn’t need it. At this stage it is very important to consider whether he really does not want the product and you will only annoy him with further persuasion, or whether there is room for negotiation.
Keep the product analysis you created in the first stage of the acquisition process handy and present the customer with the arguments why your product is so great and necessary. Prepare a list of common questions and objections ahead of time and be prepared to answer them in a flash.
Michal’s tip: Create a problem and offer a solution to it. If Mr. Smith sells bananas and you offer banana delivery, say: “I saw that you sell bananas. Do you want to expand your business to other cities? We’ll provide you with delivery and you’ll make more money.” At that point, the caller starts thinking that he would really like to make more money and considers your solution.
5.3 Customer Acquisition: Convincing the customer
The final stage of customer acquisition is when you have already convinced the customer of the benefits of the product you are offering, but now you need to convince them to buy the product from you. This time it’s time to pull out the aces regarding not your products, but your company. Are you cheaper than your competitors? Do you offer an extended warranty? Say it
It is also a very good practice to offer your product in several different variants. The customer then decides not between companies, but between your products.
Michal’s tip: The most important argument is numbers. They sell the most, of course.
Phase 6 of the acquisition process: Evaluation and optimization
Monitor all the activities you carry out in connection with the acquisition. Determine the indicators you will measure and the regular time when you will evaluate the results. For example, determining LTV (customer lifetime value) and CAC (customer acquisition cost). ROI, which shows the return on investment, can give you other useful information.
How do you calculate ROI? The formula is simple: ROI = net profit / investment * 100. Let’s explain the calculation with a practical example:
Let’s say you pay a telephone operator £20/hour and the phone bill cost you £2 per hour of calling. The phone operator can convince 1 customer in an hour, which means a net profit of £100 for you. Let’s plug in the formula ROI = 100 / 22 * 100 and we get that our ROI is 455%.
The higher the ROI, the better.
If you already have the results in hand, try to think about how you can optimize the acquisition. If an acquisition activity isn’t working, stop doing it or outsource it to professionals.
Summary
The acquisition process has 6 phases:
- Product analysis. Define the unique selling proposition.
- Customer analysis. Create customer personas.
- Select the distribution channel. Select the most effective of the 19 distribution channels.
- Lead generation. Carefully consider where to get business and get quality leads.
- Customer acquisition (sales). Capture attention, deliver the sales pitch and convince the customer to buy from you.
- Evaluation and optimization. Monitor, evaluate and optimize all acquisition activities, for example by ROI.
Every single phase is important for the final acquisition. The best results are achieved when you hand over the acquisition to professionals.
myTimi is an expert in the field of acquisition
myTimi has been successfully helping small and medium-sized businesses sell for several years. They will take care of it for you.
The story of how myTimi got there is also interesting: Initially, it was focused purely on providing virtual assistant services and doing marketing, sales, and customer service for itself. But he was so good at it that he took it on full time and now helps other businesses with it.
