Ask the Expert: How to Build Your Own ‘Customer Acquisition Engine’

Fred Bucher, Senior Vice President/Chief Marketing Officer, Spectrum Reach

Awareness, excitement, engagement – all are great for brand-building. But in the end, marketing is about connecting your product(s) or service(s) to customers. And no customers? No market.

The importance of customer acquisition may be self-evident, but – believe it or not – that wasn’t always the case.

For decades, TV advertising/marketing was perceived as only for the “top 1 percent” of businesses; too expensive, too complex, basically unattainable for the vast majority of businesses. We work hard at Spectrum Reach to change that misconception. There is a pervasive industry dialogue about the rise of ad tech that has kept some businesses in the dark about the attainability, affordability, and undeniable effectiveness of the leading media platform.

We’ve worked closely with businesses in the Dallas Region to help correct this misconception. A key component of that centers around building a “consumer acquisition engine” to help our sales teams. What we learned along the way could be helpful to marketers and business owners struggling with their own customer acquisition efforts.

To build a customer acquisition machine:

  • First, understand what problem your product or service is designed to solve, and lead with it. Explaining the key features of your product isn’t nearly as compelling as explaining how it benefits your customers. But your core advertising message resonates best if you can connect it to the end benefit.
  • Know your customers and prospects. Get out into the community and build your database – but remember, quality trumps quantity. Blanketing every business with your advertising is bad business.

Remember: sharing before selling. To successfully engage your business’ prospects, you need to speak with them, not at them. That means sharing messages that interest them and that help solve a problem. A benefit-driven approach, as opposed to “Here’s what I’m selling you,” leads to more closes in the long run.

  • Go to where they are and stay awhile. Thanks to mobile platforms, social media, and traditional internet use, there are endless opportunities to engage your prospects. Know what platform works best, and the right answer for your business is probably a combination. An integrated approach is a must. Show that you’re here for the long haul by consistently refreshing your content.

During the past year, Spectrum Reach’s guidelines have more than doubled our inbound leads, increase our database by 600 percent, and more than double our web traffic. By no means am I suggesting that we did it perfectly. There’s no question that, as an industry, TV sellers arrived late to the customer acquisition party, but we’re gaining ground on our competition quickly. Now, it’s your turn to do the same.

This is not a complete list. Our team published a series of Marketing 101 guides last year that includes tips from an overview of the pros and cons of each major media platform, the key to creating a commercial that sells, how to buy media like a pro, and more. You can access them for free at www.spectrumreach.com

Fred Bucher is a proven manager and innovative thinker with expertise and passion for the media business, and collaborating with customers and teams to achieve unprecedented results.