Your source for new business can come from one of 3 channels: cultivating existing customers; an inbound marketing strategy; or an outbound marketing strategy. The proportion in which you mix these 3 channels will be determined by both the nature of your specific product offering, coupled with the nature of your particular target market. Finding the right mix for your business results in that reliable stream of new business which you are after.
Cultivating Existing Customers
Cultivating new business from existing customers fits with the farming analogy. That is, you currently have the right fields to raise the targeted set of crops. And you are proficient at farming: you know when and how to plant the seeds, how to nurture, and how to harvest.
But you can only farm if you have access to a sufficient amount of arable land, which represents existing customers in this analogy. Existing customer are those who meet the real definition of customers; i.e. a consummated relationship in which they have bought something from you before.
The fact that they have bought from you before, means that they have experienced your product offering. There can be no substitute for this. Having bought something from you means that they know you better than those who they have not bought anything from. Conversely, it also means that you know them better than any new prospective customer.
And this is what removes the randomness of communications. It is the most fluid of relationships. An existing customer is more likely to pay attention and listen to what you have to say, more than any newcomer. They associate value with you and their past experience, and this brings with it a certain amount of earned credibility. It’s real brand equity.
Inbound Marketing Strategy
An inbound marketing strategy is one which you seek to attract new business to come to you. It is the fishing analogy. That is, you must know where the good fishing spots are, when the best times to fish are, and the type of bait that will get the fish to bite.
And if you can get all of that right, you still need some actual skill once you get them on the hook. There is more than one fish story where the fish broke the line, or jumped out the net. So you need the right combination of skill and patience to reel them in.
Translating this to marketing terms, it means you need to be putting out marketing messages that will attract potential customers. More specifically, you are putting out messages that define the problem you are solving, and why it is important to solve. And you present yourself as a bountiful source of knowledge and information on the subject. New customers are drawn to the information that you are offering up, because they self-identify with the situation.
An inbound strategy is effective when your product offering is addressing a problem that is on the minds of potential customers. If the problem is commanding a certain amount of attention in the mind of your prospective customer already, there will be a natural affinity to the messaging that you are putting out there. Reeling them in from that starting point, requires effective content to further persuade them to come in closer.
Outbound Marketing Strategy
An outbound marketing strategy is one in which you target and seek out the customer. This is the hunting analogy. Similar to the fishing analogy, you must know where your prey is to be found. But unlike fishing, they are not underwater and are clearly visible to you, and they are there for the taking.
To be effective, you need to be skilled at using your weapon of choice. If your skill is not good enough, you miss the shot and the prey gets away. If your choice of weapon is not good enough, you may hit the prey, but it may still get away licking its wounds.
Translating this to marketing terms, it means that you go directly after the prospective customer that fits the profile. You have a deep understanding of the problem you are solving, as well as the set of customer profiles that can justify and benefit from acquiring your solutions. So your qualification of the prospective customer can occur quite efficiently.
Your main challenge here is the ability to get that necessary attention from a customer who is happy with the status quo. You marketing and sales efforts must be very well targeted. Otherwise as they say, “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades”.
Ultimately, the mix of strategies that you blend into your new customer acquisition model depends on your business. It will be driven by the receptivity of your target market to the various channels, and the suitability of your product offering to the various channels. Recognize that your choices will be driven by strategies that are effective at bringing in new business, while maintaining a reasonable cost of customer acquisition. Otherwise you will starve or go broke.