How to Refine Your Customer Acquisition Strategy

Customer acquisition strategies are important to every business, regardless of their stage of growth. Keep in mind that what worked in the past to draw new business might not work as effectively in the future. And since every business depends on attracting and retaining customers, it's important to take time to refine your customer acquisition techniques and strategy.

Here are tips to keep in mind when formulating a new strategy:

Remain dedicated to your unique value proposition. Strategies change, but the purpose behind your established business or startup shouldn't. Ask yourself these questions:

• Can I say with absolute certainty why customers choose my products or services over those of my competitors?
• What benefits do I provide that others don't?
• What makes these offers more attractive and credible than the competition?

Reaffirming these answers lays the groundwork for any changes in your future customer acquisition strategy.

Get actively involved with prospective customers' buying cycle. If you can assist prospects with identifying their performance gaps and educate them on the value of your products or services, you begin a relationship that could prosper into full-scale customer acquisition.

Create or refine your brand story. In an era where consumers can be quick to ignore paid advertising (or at least not pay attention as much as in the past), having a clear and appealing brand has never been more important. Would-be customers respond to brand stories that engage them and clearly describe how the brand can benefit them.

This is where businesses sometimes fall short. A compelling brand story should include a range of aspects of your business, from logos to social media, sales and your employees.

Personalize your marketing efforts. Today, when complex algorithms can help personalize the marketing messages delivered to customers, look for ways to tailor your offerings to the likes and dislikes of your target audience. As much as possible, leverage the data you have on your current customer base to reach out to prospects on your website through:

• Customized dashboards characterized by user behavior
• New data collected through social media, email newsletters, and online surveys
• Targeted discounts and customized special offers

Offer an appealing mobile user experience. With mobile usage at an all-time high, it's safe to assume that an increased number of prospective customers will use their mobile devices as part of the purchasing experience. As a result, brands are seeking to capitalize on what might be called "mobile micro-moments." As business expert Joydeep Bhattacharya notes, micro-moments consist of "I want to know," "I want to do," "I want to go" and "I want to buy" moments.

"Micro-moments are small user behaviors that happen during the entire purchase lifecycle," he observes. Your goal as a leading brand is to "stay connected with the consumer at each and every micro-moment and offer an optimized mobile strategy."

Increasingly, the ability to leverage emerging digital technologies will be a key element in your customer acquisition strategies. The good news is, employing these technologies can give you a competitive advantage over other businesses that fail to adopt these methods or do so at too slow a pace.