Without new customers, it is difficult for a business to survive. Maintaining a constant level of lead acquisition is important. In fact, this is often the main concern of a company’s marketing and sales departments. To achieve this, they can rely on some marketing acquisition levers.
The marketing acquisition levers are numerous and can be divided into two categories: Inbound marketing and outbound marketing. If the former are the most used in the digital age, the latter remain essential to develop an effective acquisition strategy.

Contents

• Inbound marketing
• Outbound marketing
• What is customer acquisition?

1. The main acquisition levers of inbound marketing.

• Content marketing.
• Natural referencing (SEO).
• Paid search (SEA).
• Social media marketing.
• E-mailing.
• Account Based Marketing (ABM).

2. Main acquisition levers of outbound marketing.

GENERAL:

Inbound marketing :

Inbound marketing is based on a content creation strategy that attracts visitors in order to convert them into leads and then into customers, using techniques such as marketing automation, lead nurturing and content creation.

Outbound marketing :

Outbound marketing is based on the traditional technique of push marketing: in order to attract new customers, the company pushes its product towards its target audience. To this end, outbound marketing uses various processes: email campaigns, product presentations at trade fairs and exhibitions, telephone canvassing and door-to-door canvassing, billboards, street marketing, sponsored links and TV and radio ads.

Inbound marketing: The main acquisition levers.

The online customer acquisition levers represent the different marketing practices that are carried out through the channels that exploit the Internet. These tools each have their own advantages and some may be more suitable than others depending on the situation.

1. Content marketing :

Content marketing is a marketing strategy that relies on the creation and distribution of valuable, useful and informative content to communicate with its audience and develop its visibility. Content marketing is a component of inbound marketing.

Content marketing aims to attract visitors to its website and turn them into consumers through an editorial strategy, a targeted and valuable message, and storytelling techniques. It increases visibility to the audience, on search engines and social networks. It differs from traditional advertising, which is considered too intrusive by the consumer.

The creation of interesting content can then attract the attention of qualified prospects, influence the behaviour of potential consumers and raise awareness of one’s brand or company.

Natural referencing, also known as SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), is one of the most effective levers that guarantees qualitative and lasting results.

It is a process that will allow you to

Position your web pages in the first results of Google searches
Improve your content through the use of keywords
Optimise your website and the links on your page from other sites
Be found by prospects who are looking to solve one or more problems
Learning how to cook, finding the best hotels… whatever the search, Google has become the main source of information. It is therefore essential to have a well referenced website to generate traffic.

4. Social media marketing : 

Social networks have an influence on purchasing behaviour. Indeed, to acquire new customers and especially to convert them, the presence of your brand on social networks is essential.
Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter: they all encourage interaction between brands and their targets. These channels allow you to develop a relationship of trust between you and your customers and to improve your proximity.
Beware, it is not necessary to be present on all social networks! Choose them in a relevant way, especially according to your activity and your personas.

5. E-mailing :

Emailling is always a relevant solution in the acquisition of new customers or the development of customer loyalty (upsell, crossell). It is therefore imperative to include it in your strategy if this is not already the case! In addition to conversion, newsletters also allow you to keep a permanent link with your target.

Be careful, emailing should be used with caution! Indeed, if the prospect receives too many emails, they risk becoming bored and quickly unsubscribing.

To learn more and get effective results from your email campaigns, read our article: 5 tips for optimising your emailings. Always make sure you send the right email, at the right time and in the right context

6. Account Based Marketing (ABM) : 

Account Based Marketing is a method of focusing sales and marketing resources on key accounts to develop personalised and effective campaigns.

The aim is to better contextualise and personalise the marketing approach in order to achieve optimal results and optimise ROI.

Outbound marketing: still relevant in the digital era.

Although online channels are the most used, this does not mean that offline marketing is dead. On the contrary, traditional marketing techniques have their own advantages and the possibilities they offer are not insignificant. Most companies today use offline channels in addition to digital channels, which helps to win even more new customers.

Among the most effective customer acquisition levers in offline marketing are :

• Media advertising, which consists of advertising campaigns in the traditional media, i.e., television, press, billboards, and radio. This approach optimizes the company’s presence among its targets.
• Professional events such as trade fairs, conferences, or exhibitions are also excellent ways of promoting the company. Moreover, these are more formal channels and are often better suited to the acquisition of B2B customers, although they are also widely used in B2C.
• Telephone prospecting is still a widely used means of gaining qualified leads. However, it is an approach that requires a lot of human and technological resources to ensure quality in its contact center. As telephone prospecting is not always viewed in a positive light, it is necessary to go through stages of study and preparation of the teams to hope for a good.

To conclude, online and offline customer acquisition levers are now more than ever complementary. A company has no interest in abandoning traditional marketing techniques in its marketing campaigns, especially when it comes to lead acquisition. This is an approach we support in our Acquisition Strategy Design methodology.