Customer acquisition: 50+ ideas to acquire new customers and increase sales

Customer acquisition plays an important role in every company. The following ideas can help you win new customers and increase sales.

1. Search engine advertising: Search engine advertising is one of the most efficient advertising methods of all, because you can target exactly the people who are currently looking for your products and services. With this advertising channel you can therefore often win new customers very efficently and quickly. For search engine advertising you can use the services of Google Ads and Bing Ads.
2. Approach digitization: Do you have a classic retail store? Then an additional online store can possibly generate additional business for you. An easy way to set up a store is to use shopify. If you have a WordPress website, you can install the plugin WooCommerce to add store functionality to your website.
3. Search Engine Optimization: Optimize your business website so that you will be found by your target audience even in the non-paying search results. Because being found is important in customer acquisition.
4. Find cooperation partners: Together we are often stronger. That’s why you should set up cooperations where both you and your cooperation partner benefit from combining your two offers.
5. Affiliate Marketing: Pay others to refer new customers or contacts to you online. You can start your own affiliate program or you can use an affiliate provider like Rakuten.
6. Mailing: Send something to your target group by mail (e.g. catalog, flyer, etc.). You can buy the necessary addresses from specialized suppliers.
7. Facebook campaigns: Facebook advertising can now be used to precisely address many different target groups. This way you can present your offer to your potential customers and make your company better known within the target group. Here you can find the advertising services of Facebook.
8. Visit trade fairs: Visit trade fairs where you can get in contact with your target group. These new contacts can be an important foundation for future new business.
9. Write a guest article: Contact a medium (print or/and online) that reaches your target group and explore the possibility of writing a guest article. This way you will be noticed by your target group, can attract their interest and thereby boost your business.
   
10. Trade fair stand: Be present at trade fairs with your own stand to reach potential customers and draw attention to your company.
11. Give presentations: Give public presentations at events and show potential new customers that your company has what it takes.
12. Visit Meetups: Attend Meetups where you are more likely to meet potential customers. A beer has already brought about a lot of business. You can find Meetups in your city here
13. Public tenders: Public clients are often obliged to put projects out to tender. As a company, you can participate in these tenders and, if you are successful, win new business.
14. Competitions: Take part in competitions with your company. If you win a prize, your company’s reputation is enhanced and new people are attracted to your business. This is a solid basis for customer acquisition and also increases the confidence of potential new customers.
15. YouTube Ads: YouTube has an enormous reach. With targeted advertising on YouTube you can make your services better known to your target group. To implement a campaign, you can use  Google Ads
16. Recommendation marketing: Satisfied customers are the best advertisers. Therefore, offer your customers a reward when they refer a new customer to you.
17. Register on referral platforms: For many industries there are referral platforms on the Internet, which are used more and more. These can be free of charge, demand a performance-based share for referred business or a monthly fee. One example is Freelancer.com, where mainly programming and design orders are arranged.
18. Create a Google Maps entry: If you have a stationary business, you should register with Google My Business and create a business listing for your company. This way people can find you on Google Maps, but also in the search results. And once you are found, this can quickly mean new business.
19. Organize an event: Organize an event for your target group and get in touch with them. The possibilities range from an open day to workshops or a presentation.
20. Upselling: Offer additional products that complement your existing products. This way you can generate additional business.
21. Develop new products: Exploit new business potential and develop additional products that are interesting for new target groups.
22. Let influencers promote your product in social networks and win new customers.
23. Send your product to bloggers for testing: Find blogs that reach your target group and send them your products for testing.
24. Do a billboard campaign: With a billboard campaign in your city, you can attract potential customers to your store.
25. Let people try something for free: Let people try your product for free and without obligation and convince them to buy your product.
26. Price comparison portals: If you have an online store with popular products at competitive prices, work together with price search engines to attract more potential customers to the store.
    
27. Press release: Report something exciting about your company to the press with a press release and have the chance of drawing the attention of potential customers to your company through a media article.
28. Sponsor an event: Support an event financially that appeals to your target group and is noticed by potential customers.
29. Crowdfunding: Start a crowdfunding campaign to convince pre-paying customers to buy a new product. A popular platforms for this is Indiegogo.
30. Flyer: Put out flyers or posters in places where your target group is to be found.
31. Ratings: Ask your satisfied customers to rate your company on a rating portal. This way you gain the trust of potential customers and also gain visibility in the search.
32. LinkedIn Campaigns: If you are addressing customers in the B2B segment, you can reach your target group with advertising on LinkedIn and draw attention to your company. The ads are therefore an ideal instrument for customer acquisition in the B2B sector.
33. Store windows (not only for stores): If you have a store with a display case facing the street, you can use the window literally as an advertising window to inform passers-by. But you do not need to have a store. Even if you have an office with a window facing the street, you can use it to draw people’s attention to your business.
34. Special discounts or vouchers for new customers: Offer your new customers a unique attractive discount. Once you have convinced the customers of your company, you can generate follow-up business.
35. Display advertising: You can also use banner advertising to attract new customers. However, it is important that you are able to target your target group exactly. If display advertising should be economical, you should cooperate with providers who do not charge by impressions but by clicks. The Google display network, for example, which you can book via Google Ads, is well suited for this.
36. Launch a YouTube channel: You can use a YouTube channel to present your product range to your target group and thus fuel your acquisition. A great example for such a channel is “Held der Steine” where the German store owner Thomas Panke presents clamp bricks (e.g. Lego).
37. Telephone acquisition: In the B2B industry, telephone acquisition is still a tool that is often used. Nobody likes to be called themselves, but in principle the tool can work to win new customers – especially if the target group is extremely small and the companies can be found quickly.
38. Hire external sales representatives: If you don’t feel like taking care of business acquisition yourself, you can also outsource this task. There are agencies that take care of the planning and implementation of acquisition campaigns. There are also freelancers who build new business on a commission basis.
39. Offer trainings/workshops: By offering training courses, you can bring potential customers closer to your offer and arouse their interest. This interest can then be cleverly converted into business (e.g. as a cookery store you offer a free cooking workshop and show people some irresistible cooking gimicks)
40. Tear-off note: Admittedly it is a bit old-fashioned, but you can always see sheets hanging in supermarkets or lampposts on which you can tear off the telephone number for a certain service. Since it seems that often people actually tear off one of the pieces, I assume that you can reach potential customers here.
41. Sales with sustainability: Sustainability is in vogue and can also be used for sales promotion. You can increase the chance of selling your products, for example, by supporting a sustainable project when you buy a product. This way people can consume and do good at the same time.
42. Discount campaigns: Discounts are a classic tool to drive sales in a limited period of time and to attract new customers by the price.
43. Offer something the competition doesn’t have: Look at your competitors and find out what their weaknesses are and what you can do better. Advertise exactly with this difference and try to reach new customers.
    
44. Second brand: With a second brand on the market, you have a second chance to reach potential new customers. This strategy is promising in customer acquisition when your market is saturated.
45. Search product testers: Actively search for people who want to test your product. After the test period you might be able to convert one or the other tester into a paying customer.
46. Offer financing options: If you offer expensive products, you can increase the chance of a sale by offering installments to potential customers.
47. Offer better guarantees: Offer better guarantees than your competitors and give your potential customers more security when buying.
48. Sales Parties: Get potential customers together for a pleasant evening and introduce your products to them over drinks and snacks. When it comes to customer acquisition, Tupperware is implementing this strategy very successfully with the Tupper parties.
49. Partnerseller: Become a partnerseller at a big online store (e.g. Amazon) and sell your products there as well. But avoid becoming too dependent.
50. Shopping bag as advertising medium: If people shop in your store and take the goods with a bag, use exactly this bag as advertising medium. Try to communicate as much as possible about your business with the bag, but make sure that everyone who sees the bag can completely absorb the message in a short moment.
51. Competitions: Competitions can also help to boost your sales if they are properly designed. For example, you can raffle off a trip among all customers in a campaign period or give every 50th customer a full refund.
52. eBay Ads: On eBay it is possible to place ads in the environments where your target group travels. For this you can use the Ad Manager.