Email Marketing

Customer Acquisition Guide for Startups

Published on November 13, 2024

Gabriel Weinberg, founder of DuckDuckGo, once said in Traction: How Any Startup Can Achieve Explosive Customer Growth:

“Almost every failed startup has a product. What failed startups don’t have are enough customers.”

According to Weinberg, startups often fail not because of poor products, but because they lack effective customer acquisition. No matter how good your product is, if people don’t know about it, your business can’t survive. That’s why this guide is focused on helping startups master customer acquisition.

Narrow Down Your Target Audience
Conduct In-Depth Customer Research
Assess Your Resources
Select a Marketing Strategy
Build a Sales Funnel
Follow the 50% Rule

1. Narrow Down Your Target Audience

A common mistake for startups is trying to reach too broad an audience from the start. Instead, focus on a small, well-defined niche. For example, Facebook began as a platform only for Harvard students and slowly expanded over time. Start with a manageable niche, then expand as you gain traction.

2. Conduct In-Depth Customer Research

Get to know your target audience thoroughly. Identify where they hang out online, who they follow, and what content they engage with. Understand the language they use to describe their needs. The better you know your customers, the easier it will be to connect with them effectively.

3. Assess Your Resources

Before choosing a marketing strategy, evaluate your available time, money, and skills. Choose an approach that aligns with your strengths and resources, allowing you to start quickly and play to your advantages.

4. Select a Marketing Strategy

Choose one primary marketing strategy and focus on it until you see diminishing returns. Here are some popular strategies:

Cold Email: Personalized cold emails can work well for B2B startups, though they require time and persistence.
Cold Calling: Similar to cold emailing, this strategy works best for B2B. Building rapport over the phone and having a structured script can lead to success.
Affiliate Marketing: Recruit influencers to promote your product, rewarding them for each sale they generate. This can work well for both B2B and B2C startups.
Social Media Marketing: Build a presence on platforms that suit your content style (text or visuals) and engage consistently. This approach works well if you have time but limited money.
Video Marketing: Start a YouTube channel targeting specific search terms. Publish quality content weekly to build a loyal following over time.
SEO: If you have SEO experience, ranking on Google can be valuable but challenging. Competing for top search rankings is difficult without connections for backlinking.
Paid Advertising: This option is best if you have more budget than time. Learning and testing paid ad campaigns can quickly drive traffic to your site.

5. Build a Sales Funnel

A sales funnel guides potential customers from awareness to purchase. Start with a simple lead magnet funnel:

Squeeze Page: Present a valuable freebie and ask for their email.
Thank You Page: Guide them on accessing the freebie and offer further engagement opportunities.

Once you have their email, use automated email marketing to nurture leads and introduce them to your product.

6. Follow the 50% Rule

Gabriel Weinberg’s “50% Rule” suggests spending half your time on product development and the other half on customer acquisition. This helps you balance creating and marketing your product, preventing you from getting stuck in endless product tweaks without building an audience.

Want to Master Sales Funnels?

Our co-founder Russell Brunson is an expert in sales funnels. His book DotCom Secrets offers a comprehensive guide to creating effective sales funnels, sharing tips that helped ClickFunnels grow to over $100 million in revenue. You can grab a copy on Amazon or directly from us — just cover the shipping!