It’s a new world shaping up in the realm of customer acquisition. The ways in which businesses reach new customers online is changing rapidly, especially in the world of search engine marketing. AI is now ever-present, shaping every search tool. Customers are slowly being trained to find answers in the little box at the top of the search results page. And that’s why we recommend “thinking outside the search box” when it comes to acquiring new customers. As AI begins to dominate search and gradually takes away organic search traffic from our websites, we must find new and innovative ways to reach customers online.
Paid Search Remains a Strong Lead Generation Channel
Paid search ads, such as Google Ads and other online search ads, continue to be a viable lead generation channel. They do a good job of showing customers your products and services at the time when customers are looking for them by matching search queries and intent with advertisements.
Social media ads also offer a reliable lead generation platform, although social media users often find them disruptive, and the algorithms less reliable than Google or Bing. Much of one’s success using social media advertisements depends on matching your ad details with the platform’s methods of segmenting the audience or reaching the target customer.
YouTube Is a Search Engine
YouTube is another great way to “think outside the search box” and reach customers. You don’t have to produce George Lucas-quality films to garner an audience, either.
Think of the video giant’s platform as one big search engine. Customers are looking for information, whether it’s where to find the battery in a Buick Le Sabre (under the back seat, of all places!) or how to change the thermistor on a GE washing machine (it’s complicated). Because they have a problem with their car battery or their washing machine, they are searching for answers. And if they are searching for answers, they may also search for a reliable mechanic, an auto parts store, or a place online to purchase a thermistor. And that can lead them right to your website!
Consider how you can share videos with your customers. A day in the life at your auto shop, recipes from your restaurant, or a tour behind the scenes of your manufacturing facility are all great ways to engage with your audience. Once videos are shared on YouTube, they can easily be shared across other social media platforms, embedded in your website, or incorporated in Google Ads Performance Max campaigns, adding another dimension to your new, multichannel customer acquisition approach.
Email Lists
Your email list is a golden ticket now, like Charlie Bucket’s golden ticket to the Wonka Chocolate Factory. It gives you admission to your customers’ inboxes, and brings you right to their doorstep via a personal message. Even with all the changes to search engines, if you have permission to email your customers, you have permission to market to them directly. Just be careful you don’t send too many messages, or you may find them opting out and unsubscribing. Informative newsletters are a great way to keep your company top of mind with customers without bombarding them with sales pitches.
Direct Mail
Who said direct mail is dead? It’s still very much alive—and a great way to reach customers. You can rent mailing lists (they are rented, not purchased), and you can mail to your existing customers. Direct mail offers several advantages, including the ability to market ‘under the radar’ where your competitors cannot track your marketing campaigns. Postcard marketing is a popular way to mail at the least possible cost. Consider your options for personalization as well, which can go a long way towards generating responses from direct mail.
Much, Much, More
We’ve listed a few ways to reach prospects and customers, but there are many, many more. All good marketing begins with a strategy and a plan, and we can help you with both. Knowing who you want to reach is the key; we can then dive into where to find them online, what to say to them, and more. It’s also important to establish success metrics.
There are many other ways to attract people to your website—perhaps press releases might be effective, or guest posts and articles in trade publications. Other ideas include public relations (PR), trade shows, conferences, podcasting, videos…the sky’s the limit! It all starts with a plan, and Dashboard Interactive Marketing can help get you started.
It’s a New World of Marketing—Using Some Old School Tactics
For companies that relied solely on organic search traffic for the majority of their site visits and leads, this is an unsettling time. In many cases, organic visits are declining as customers find answers to their search queries using AI tools.
With any loss, however, there is a gain. As the old saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. We believe that this new era will bring opportunities, we just need to “think outside of the search box” and remember the core definition of marketing when choosing tactics: match your customers’ needs with your products and services. To do that, we have to meet our customers where they are, whether that is on social media, at their homes, opening their mail, or checking their inboxes.
If you’d like to explore any of these marketing tactics, please call us at 763-242-2454.