Blog 54: Customer acquisition channels across the marketing funnel

Acquiring more customers starts by increasing potential customers in the awareness stage (first stage) of the marketing funnel.

Hence, more customers by the time we reach to the end of the marketing funnel. The average conversion rate across all fourteen industries is 2.9% (source: Average Conversion Rate by Industry and Marketing Source).

There are broadly three ways of acquiring a customer: Owned media, Paid media, Earned media.

Owned Media: Refers to digital content that a company creates. This includes website, blogs, emails, and social media posts. The goal is to boost brand awareness and improve our website's ranking (preferably on the first page of organic search results).

To achieve this, firms use SEO, add valuable keywords, send promotional emails, and create engaging content. Firms themselves control the activities undertaken under this type of media.

Paid media: Pay to display promotional content is done through three activities i.e., online advertising, partnerships, and events. These ads are either paid search ads or display ads. Paid search ads appear in response to a consumer’s searches for our products. Display ads are shown to consumers who might be interested in our products but are not actively searching for them.

Online advertising:

· Search engine marketing (SEM): Paid ads on Google or other search engines.

· Social media: Ads on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn).

Partnerships:

· Affiliate: Pay commissions to partners that help advertise our product.

· Business partnership: To promote and collaborate with other businesses.

Events:

· Trade events: Pay and attend trade exhibitions/trade events.

· Event sponsorship: Sponsor a particular event.

Earned Media: This type of media is neither owned by the company nor is paid for. The company earns it through its product, the experiences it provides, or its product quality. Earned media can boost our brand and credibility. Earned media is PR, word of mouth, customer testimonials, social media mentions, or media coverage.

With the advent of digital technology, earned media has emerged as a key medium to acquire customers. Earned media is also effective because consumers often trust personal recommendations versus ads. According to Nielsen’s Trust in Advertising survey, 88% of respondents said they most trust recommendations from people they know.

Summarising the customer acquisition channels: Before selecting an appropriate customer acquisition channel, we should better understand them. The table below summarises channels vis-à-vis parameters (funnel stage, reach, cost, impact, effort).

Media?	Channel	Funnel Stage	Reach	Cost	Impact	Effort
Owned	Website	Middle, bottom	Low	Low	High	Medium
Owned	Blogs	Middle, bottom	Medium	Medium	High	Medium
Owned	Email	Middle, bottom	Low	Low	High	Medium
Owned	SEO	Middle, bottom	Medium	Medium	Medium	High
Paid	Search	Middle, bottom	Medium	High	High	Medium
Paid	Display	Top	High	High	Medium	Medium
Paid	Social	Top, middle, bottom	High	High	High	High
Paid	Affiliate	Bottom	Medium	High	Medium	Low
Paid	Influencer	Middle	Medium	High	Medium	Low
Earned	PR	Top	High	High	Medium	Medium
Earned	Social (organic)	Middle	Medium	Low	Medium	High
Earned	Reviews	Middle	Medium	Low	High	Medium

Refer blog 91 for more on attribution models (models that credit channels/touchpoints for a customer conversion).

Jump to blog 100 to refer to the overall product management mind map.

Source:

https://medium.com/@hamtonwicaksono/strategies-for-effective-consumer-acquisition-building-lasting-customer-relationships-b6d39119a9eb

https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/earned-vs-paid-media

I wish you the best for your journey. 😊