Pirate Funnel AARRR – Acquisition

A key element of a Veksa growth hack is the adherence to the Pirate or AARRR Funnel. If you would like an overview of the AARRR Funnel, then you can read about it on our blog “What is the Pirate Funnel or AARRR“.

The first stage of the pirate funnel is Acquisition. Simply put, acquisition is the phase where we aim to convert someone to a paying customer. Without customers or clients there is no revenue and without revenue there is no business, so as you can imagine, this is a vital step in securing a successful business. In reality there is a pre acquisition phase included in the funnel known as Awareness. Potential customers, will already be in the awareness phase. As a result, they are ready for conversion and acquisition.

Acquisition is all about Action!

Acquisition marketing needs to drive action. How that is best achieved will be dependent on choosing the best acquisition channels for that particular business. There are a variety of different channels to consider. Whilst it is possible to use both online and offline channels, at Veksa we concentrate on online methods. To work out the best channel may take a little bit of time and some trial and error. In other words, constant testing and monitoring will filter out the best methods for a particular business.

Lastly, the truth is, it isn’t easy! Customers are sceptical, wary and savvy to marketing tactics and as marketers we have to be more and more innovative in our thinking. In this post, we look at some of the channels we would consider when working out the best way to grow your business. However, before deciding on which medium to use, it is imperative to understand who your audience are. And more importantly where to find them. This will help you when deciding on the best communication channels.

Just before we start looking at some of the possible acquisition channels, we should mention the product itself. Before you can really start to acquire new customers, you must ensure you have the best possible product available. If you don’t get this part right then you won’t leverage one of the other important acquisition channels in the AARRR funnel, which is referral.

Acquisition Channels

An acquisition channel is a channel used by businesses to acquire new customers. There are lots of different channels, that businesses use to acquire new customers. They vary greatly and online methods include SEO and organic search engine optimisation, PPC (Pay Per Click), social media advertising, paid social media advertising, influencer marketing, referrals, competitions and email marketing.

Buyer Persona

Before considering which acquisition channels to choose, it is important to understand your buyer persona. Really dig deep and work out their age, gender, interests etc. It helps to have a good understanding of who your customers are so you know where to find them. Once you know where to find them, you can decide which acquisition channels will work best for you and your business.

As growth hackers, we will always test our hypothesis and theories regarding acquisition channels. So, even if you don’t get it exactly right first time, you can test and tweak, to constantly improve.

Online Acquisition Channels

We look in further detail below, at some of the acquisition channels we would use when considering the best way to grow your business:

SEO:

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), is a good place to start when looking to acquire new customers. If someone is looking for whatever it is you are offering, you want them to be able to find you easily. Make sure you rank highly with the keywords your customers are searching for. SEO can also fall into the awareness stage and your customers need to know you are there, for when they are ready to buy.

There are many things you can do to improve your organic search engine optimisation. First off, ensure your website is optimised for mobile. Google’s algorithm favours mobile friendly sites and ensuring your site works well on a mobile will boost your ranking on the SERPs (search engine results pages).

Other methods include clever use of keywords and long tail keywords. Long tail keywords are phrases of up to around 5 words. Long tail keywords can be more effective when driving quality traffic to your website, as they are more targeted and niche. It is much harder to rank organically for keywords as there is usually more competition and they are much more generic. Identifying phrases your customers are using to search for you online is an effective way to acquire new customers. Include these keywords and long tail keywords in your website and also use them when blogging.

SEO can be an effective acquisition channel as it drives customers looking for the products and services you are offering to your website.

PPC (Pay Per Click):

PPC is an invaluable tool for online marketers. And just like SEO, it is an excellent way to acquire new customers. Again, it will help to drive relevant traffic to your website, as long as you have done your research and are using the right keywords and long tail keywords. SEO is more of a slow burn, whereas PPC is much quicker. The beauty of PPC is that you only pay if someone is actually searching for your keyword or long tail keyword and the price you pay is dependent on whether someone clicks on your ad or not. PPC is run like an auction and it is scalable, you can set your daily limits to what you can afford.

Creating good Content:

Creating good content, or content marketing is a great way to bring relevant customers to your website or store. Presenting yourself as an expert and enticing the right audience with interesting articles is well worth the effort. It is pointless to drive good quality traffic to your website, if the customer is disappointed once they get to you.

Even more importantly though, you must also have a good conversion strategy in place. A good acquisition strategy will ensure that your audience eventually converts to become paying customers. Blog writing and guest blogging are examples of content, which can be used in your acquisition marketing strategy.

Social Media

Your social media accounts can help to build an engaged and relevant audience. They are often a critical part of any acquisition strategy. Social media marketing can be free or it can be paid, similar to Pay Per Click.

To drive traffic to your website

Social media can drive potential customers to your blog and website. Hopefully, they will then convert to a paying customer. Interact with your audience on social media. Use social media to build confidence in your brand and to connect with your audience. This should pay dividends in the long run and help to acquire new customers.

Influencer marketing

An influencer is someone who has a large following on social media. They are generally seen as an expert in their field and have an engaged and loyal audience. Brands often pay influencers to endorse and promote their products. The right influencer/brand fit is an acquisition strategy, which can really pay dividends.

Paid social media

There are different types of paid social media. You can pay to advertise on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. Or you can also pay to “boost” your post. Social media can be a useful channel for customer acquisition. One reason for its success is that you can replicate your existing audience and pay to put your post or ad in front of a similar audience. Knowing they will be engaged and likely to buy from you.

Social media is a channel for customer acquisition. You can choose, which method is likely to work best for you.

Referral Schemes:

Very often an already happy customer is your best chance of a new acquisition. If someone you trust recommends a product or service to you, chances are you will go with their recommendation, rather than a random advert on social media. A successful referral scheme is a great way to construct a sustainable sales cycle and acquire new customers. It also enables you to leverage the customer base you already have. This allows you to keep down your acquisition marketing costs.

Referral schemes usually involve incentivising customers. Customers who are referred by friends or family are more likely to make a purchase. This makes referral schemes an excellent strategy for acquisition.

A couple of big name businesses that have used referral programs to great success:

Dropbox

We have used this example several times before. It remains one of the best examples of a referral programme out there. Dropbox worked the acquisition metric through referral. They offered their customers free space to refer their friends and family. It was a 2 way referral scheme, which also gave the person who had been referred, extra space. This encouraged them to accept the invitation. Consequently, they also enter the funnel at acquisition. They are also asked to invite their friends and family. And the whole cycle of acquisition begins again.

Harry’s

Harry’s is a men’s personal care company, which manufactures and sells shaving products via both retail and online channels. Their initial pre-launch campaign, used referral to acquire new customers and it worked brilliantly. They increased their user base enough to ensure $100+ million in investment, which gave them the funds to buy a razor factory. This meant they were able to take on brands such as Gillette, which had previously dominated the market.

Harry’s asked people to give their email in order to participate in their campaign. The image on the home page of the (2 page) website, made it clear that they were offering men’s shaving products. Once the user had given their email, they had to invite friends in order to claim their prizes. The Harry’s pre-launch campaign is what is known as a milestone referral campaign. There were 4 milestones:

Refer:

• 5 friends and get a free shaving cream

• 10 friends and get a free razor

• 25 friends and get a free premium razor

• 50 friends and get free shaving for a year

Jeff Raider, co-founder and CEO of Harry’s claimed that 77% of emails were collected via referral. This amounts to 20 000 people referring 65 000 friends. The Harry’s referral programme worked brilliantly as an acquisition channel. They have other referral programmes in place now they are established. This initial acquisition plan, gave them the boost they needed to grow.

Giveaways, Free Trials and Competitions..

These are other acquisition strategies and ways to entice your audience to eventually buy from you. Some capital investment is often needed to get a scheme started, but as long as it has been well thought out, researched and tested and tweaked, you should start to see your outlay pay dividends..

A customer may be reluctant to fill in all their personal details and payment details for a new product, which they are unsure about. By offering a free trial you are giving them a commitment free way to try your product or service. This is a chance to show new users how invaluable your product is and that they can’t do without it. As long as the product is premium, then this acquisition strategy should gain you new customers.

Giving away products can also be a tactical acquisition strategy. Free products can reward loyalty and convince your customers shop with you again. They can also be a reward for email addresses. By building up your mailing list you can market to potential customers until and when they are ready to buy, they will buy from you.

Competitions are also an effective acquisition channel. People are generally competitive and enjoy the prospect of getting something for free. They also give you an opportunity to engage with your audience. It might just remind them of how much they want or enjoy your product.

As Always..

Veksa is here to help you move your business forwards and acquire new customers.