STEP 9: Create A Customer Journey Map & Include Customer Acquisition
Next is where the rubber meets the road. It is time to strategize and map out your customer's journey and acquisition process.
Customer acquisition is the lifeblood of any enterprise. Successfully navigating this intricate process ensures not only survival but also the sustained growth of a business. Let's look into the structured methodology behind mapping a customer acquisition process.
Define Your Target Audience: Knowing who you're targeting is paramount before you embark on the acquisition journey. Establish a detailed customer persona encompassing demographics, psychographics, needs, preferences, and behavioral tendencies. This acts as a compass, directing all subsequent acquisition strategies.
Set Clear Objectives: What do you aim to achieve with your acquisition strategy? Whether raising brand awareness, increasing sign-ups, or achieving a specific sales target, a clear objective ensures focused and measurable efforts.
Select Acquisition Channels: Based on your target audience, choose the most effective channels to reach them. This could range from traditional media like T.V. and radio, digital platforms like social media or search engines, and even offline methods like events or direct sales.
Develop Your Value Proposition: Why should a potential customer choose you over a competitor? This unique selling proposition (USP) should be clear, compelling, and communicated consistently across all touchpoints.
Design the Customer Journey: Map out each step a customer takes from the moment they first become aware of your brand to the point they make a purchase. This includes stages like awareness, consideration, preference, purchase, and post-purchase interaction.
Optimize Lead Capture Mechanisms: Once a potential customer expresses interest, ensure you have mechanisms in place to capture their details. This could be through sign-up forms, subscription prompts, or other lead-generation tools.
Nurture Leads: Not every potential customer will be ready to buy immediately. Use email marketing, retargeting campaigns, and personalized content to nurture these leads, gradually guiding them down the sales funnel.
Implement a Follow-Up System: Once a lead has shown interest or even made a purchase, ensure a robust follow-up system. This can involve post-purchase support, feedback surveys, or upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
Analyze and Adjust: Deploy analytics tools to monitor the effectiveness of your acquisition strategies. Understand metrics like Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), conversion rates, and Lifetime Value (LTV). Regularly review and tweak your strategy based on these insights.
Iterate and Scale: Business is dynamic. As you gather more data and insights, continually refine your acquisition process. What works today might need adjustments tomorrow. Be agile, iterate based on feedback, and scale successful strategies.
While the specifics of a customer acquisition process might vary based on industry, product, or market, these foundational steps remain universally relevant. Always approach acquisition with a blend of strategic foresight, meticulous execution, and a relentless focus on the customer.
HELPFUL TOOLS TO COMPLETE STEP 9:
To help even more, here is an excellent video with step-by-step instructions and free templates to create your customer journey map.
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For a good book explanation of how to complete a buyer/customer persona, one can be found here
For an MBA educated consultant to help you craft your customer journey map and customer acquisition steps and costs , click here for a quote