Many businesses prioritize customer acquisition yet still struggle to see results. They may develop a customer acquisition strategy every year or quarter to increase their customers and sales. Yet, every review period rolls around, and the data is disappointing. Unfortunately, this is a common scenario for many companies.
Often, their teams are making one or two customer acquisition errors, leading to less-than-optimal turn-out. In fact, your business may be making one right now! Discover the 3 biggest customer acquisition mistakes and learn how to improve customer acquisition below!
1. Trying to Please All Possible Customers
Many businesses have a wide array of customers. A hardware store may have general contractors, DIY home renovators, workshop professionals, painters, electricians, gardeners, landscapers, and hobbyists. Suppose they attempt to please every niche group with their customer acquisition efforts. They will either develop a campaign encompassing all groups in one or divide their marketing budget into each small group.
In the first case, their marketing and sales campaigns miss the mark completely. They cannot zero in on any particular needs, unique goals, or specific buying behavior. After all, each group may vary dramatically. As a result, they do not appeal to anyone.
On the other hand, they can only invest a certain amount in each group. This may mean limited research, design and development, testing, channels, or campaign roll-out. Accordingly, customer acquisition efforts are incomplete. Again, they are unable to appeal to any one group.
Suppose a business finds itself in this situation. In that case, the best customer acquisition strategy solution is to focus on the largest buying group. If they can concentrate on a target audience, they can perform adequate consumer research to understand their buyers. Then, they can develop a corresponding plan that tailors specifically to this group for each step of the customer acquisition process. They will be more effective when their marketing and sales campaigns reflect real buyer values and needs.
2. Missing Opportunities to Meet Customers Where They Are At
One of the most common customer acquisition mistakes is only focusing on where the business wants to market or sell its products. For instance, a makeup brand advertising team may have exciting ideas about marketing to older women on social media. However, they need to consider that their target audience may not scroll Instagram or Facebook regularly.
Likewise, a business may neglect to factor in the ability to be receptive to marketing efforts. Many people scroll social media to relax or communicate with others so they may be particularly dismissive of an advert at that moment. In this way, a brand may lose favor for interrupting or frustrating their buyers.
It is relatively easy to learn how to improve customer acquisition in this scenario or avoid this customer acquisition error altogether. Marketing and sales teams need to know where and when their buyers are in a peak buying mentality. The best ways to discover those qualities are through conducting research, performing surveys, and consulting knowledgeable and experienced marketers. For example, when a retail customer heads to a beauty store, they may already be in the mood to sample a new makeup product or learn about a makeup band.
Likewise, it is important to consider how to approach a customer in these scenarios. If a person heads to a beauty store for products, they may prefer to stay in their comfort zone and stick with familiar brands; a small display with items may not stand out as a viable or exciting option. In this respect, an excellent customer acquisition strategy solution would be to meet prospective customers face-to-face. A friendly in-person sales professional would be harder to ignore; additionally, they could ask them questions, learn about the product, and even try a sample. In other words, this is a great way to meet and appeal to customers on a psychological level.
3. Failing to Convert Customers
A major customer acquisition error occurs farther down the pipeline, at customer conversion. Your marketing and sales team may perform hard work to attract, appeal, entice, or intrigue potential customers. Yet, they do not know or do not have the ability to close the deal and convert the customer. Accordingly, their lead generation may be high but their customer acquisition ends up low.
There are many ways that this type of customer acquisition mistake occurs. The most common problem is that the customer has no connection with your business; they may not associate your brand with specific values, emotions, or experiences. So, marketing teams need to focus on raising brand awareness and conveying the value of their brand. Face-to-face marketing events are an excellent customer acquisition strategy solution here; sales professionals can engage with customers directly, offer product or service demonstrations, and provide freebies or samples. It gives prospects a chance to understand the business, engage with the face of the brand, and experience what it’s like to be a customer one-on-one.
Another reason for poor conversion is that prospects still need to be convinced the product or service is right for them; they may not know all the information about the product or need to understand how it meets their needs. Traditional advertising, online marketing, or in-person campaigns should aim to express a product’s value proposition clearly and directly. Likewise, a reliable go-to source should be available for complete information and reviews. Again, in-person marketing and sales professionals have a unique opportunity to offer both immediately to the customer, eliminating the need for customers to search for or interpret anything on their own.
Finally, consumers in the consideration stage may want to compare the product or service to competitors first and see if they can find a better deal. While it is a common scenario, if prospective customers are directly told why this brand, product, or service is the best on the market (unique value proposition), they do not have to spend time researching, comparing, or reviewing the possibility of purchase.
Eliminate Customer Acquisition Mistakes
Now that you know the three biggest customer acquisition mistakes, you can avoid or fix them in your marketing or sales efforts. If you need assistance with customer acquisition solutions, rely on Smart Circle for professional face-to-face marketing and in-person sales strategies. We can help you increase your customers and sales most effectively. Contact us today!
