The profitability and success of any business are directly linked to its customer acquisition strategies. Research has found that companies are more focused on acquisition (44%) rather than retention (16%). 

Many businesses opt for quick fixes which results in wasting money and time. A good customer acquisition strategy acquires new clients, retains the existing ones, and improves overall productivity. All you have to do is focus on the right strategies.

In other words, you need to approach customer acquisition with a plan. Here are 5 tips that will guide you. 

1. Educate Your Prospects

Technology allows everyone to learn about any product within a few clicks. Yes, people are very likely to search you up on Google before buying your products, but try to refrain from persuading them to make a purchase. Instead, focus on educating them and becoming their partner. 

By sharing valuable and useful information, you establish yourself as an industry expert whose opinions are trusted. 

Write high-quality, long-form articles and host webinars to inform prospective customers about your products. In addition, back up your claims through social proof. Experts say that whenever people are unsure, they are very likely to look to others for guidance. In fact, about 70 percent of consumers say they check reviews before making a purchase. 

2. Improve Engagement

Expecting that people who find your website accidentally will automatically become your customers is unrealistic. Before they decide to make a purchase, they need to be fully engaged with your brand. Research has found that about 70 percent of all buying experiences are based on how the customers feel they’re being treated.

So, the first thing you need to do is to build relationships. In order to do this, you must know what your customers’ pain points are. You can figure this out by talking to your sales reps, through informal conversations with your existing customers, and/or by creating customer personas with the help of your marketing team. 

One of the best channels to build engagement is social media. Create a community focused on customer experience, initiate conversations with prospects, and encourage one-on-one interactions whenever possible. Community engagement is an excellent way to connect your brand’s values with your customers, deliver transparency, and as a result, sign up more clients.

3. Use LinkedIn

You’re probably using social platforms like Facebook and Instagram for your customer acquisition efforts, but what about LinkedIn? 

If you are one of the many LinkedIn professionals who use this social network only on occasion, you could be missing out on a major source of new business. Research has found that LinkedIn is the most valuable platform for B2B marketers — even more than Facebook!

So, make it a habit of connecting with prospects, clients, and anyone you have remotely done business with on this platform. With recommendations and referrals being as powerful as they are, you can’t afford not to engage with professionals that might be looking for the products or services you provide. The more you comment, share, and like updates from people in your network, the better the chance that they will think of you when one of their contacts asks for a recommendation. 

Use a good LinkedIn automation tool to make the most of your customer acquisition efforts on this platform. Tools like LinkedHelper offer features like LinkedIn bulk connecting to help you get thousands of targeted contacts and achieve your customer acquisition goals faster. 

4. Track Everything

The only way you can be certain your customer acquisition plan works is to track your results. Tracking will help you to validate your experiments with various customer acquisition strategies. And the best part is, you don’t need costly tools to do it. Some free tools you can use to track customer acquisition metrics include Google Sheets, Google Analytics, and Excel. 

Excel is a great option as it helps you create simple templates that allow you to automate your acquisition campaign by tracking and assessing lots of different information data points. If you need help, consider hiring a professional Excel support service. By working with an Excel pro, you’ll receive on-demand support for Office applications, Excel spreadsheets will get self-paced learning guides and on-site training, as well as live monthly workshops. Other great software you can use for tracking are a call tracking platform, a link shortener, and a heatmap tool.

 

5. Develop Partnerships

In today’s global economy, businesses can no longer thrive in isolation. Building strategic partnerships can help you and your partner to acquire new clients. By partnering, you can get access to brand new audience segments. What’s more, partnerships don’t need to be formed with other businesses – you can also develop partnerships with influencers in your industry.

In fact, 48% of companies and marketers believe that the ROI from influencer marketing is better than other marketing channels, which is probably why nearly 85% of companies plan on working with a social media influencer in the next year. People trust influencers, so by getting them to promote your brand, you automatically win the trust of your prospects. 

Final Thoughts

Improving the efficiency of your customer acquisition efforts is one of the best ways to increase the profitability and overall success of your business. 

Streamlining your customer acquisition strategy can be the key to improved cash flow and sustainable growth, but it needs to be approached strategically. These 5 tips can help you drive the maximum number of clients towards the point of sale.