Revealed: 4-step customer acquisition framework

Hey ,

Over the last 7 years of building Flexiple, we have gone through various stages of the company. But, there are some constants.

The main one: Finding new customers.

As you can imagine, I’ve given this a lot of thought. There are many levers: Sales, Marketing, Branding, and more. In this madness, there is a clear pattern that can be observed.

I call this the PMOB framework:

1. Personal network → Build momentum

2. Inbound marketing → Achieve scale

3. Outbound sales → Capture market

4. Branding → Cement positioning

Understanding and knowing this pattern will help you activate the right growth lever at the right time.

Let’s dive in.

Initial Days

You’ve just started your company. No one knows you. Your product and business are still in the process of being set up.

Feedback is the oxygen that will keep you going. And, of course, you are desperately looking for customers. You will take any momentum you can get.

The channel that is the best for you: Personal network.

When your company doesn’t have any credibility, you need to use yours. And you’ve got the highest credibility in your personal network.

If anyone is going to take a bet on your startup, it is people who know you. You can also candid feedback that might otherwise be lost in polite or professional talk.

Your goal is not to reach a million dollars this way

It is to get your first 10 customers. To get the logos, testimonials & case studies that will act as social proof to future customers.

Flexiple’s first set of customers came from my co-founders’ and my network.

I’ve written a detailed report on how you can leverage your personal network here: Link. Bookmark it for later.

Early Growth

So, you have your first set of customers. You have slowly understood your market and improved your product.

Customer acquisition needs to be scaled. Enter, Inbound marketing.

For Flexiple, we activated the following organic channels: SEO, social media, and relevant communities.

Revenue from your first customers should keep you going for a few months. Basically, they have given you an important gift: Time.

You should now invest it in building marketing channels that will yield long-term results.

The beauty of this channel is that customers come to you. This makes it easier to sell to them.

This point is significant because this is the first time you are selling to people beyond your personal network.

Set up this channel well and it doesn’t scale linearly, but exponentially.

All 3 metrics: Visits => Leads => Customers.

Later Growth

Inbound marketing is great. Customers come to you. But it comes with a couple of problems.

First, the sales team lives at the mercy of marketing. Marketing has a good day, sales have many leads to convert. Bad day, and there is not much to do.

Next, marketing is not as specific in targeting customers as sales. So, many times you settle for customers who are not the right fit for you.

All this is fine early on, but as you scale they become problematic. Predictable growth eludes you.

Outbound sales is the right channel to set up now.

You have the money to build such a team. You can define your ideal customer profile (ICP) and target persona very clearly. You just need to start the outbound motion.

The power of having the “right” customers using your product is huge.

Your solution was crafted for them. So, it is a perfect fit. They recommend others, who recommend others. The loop is purely virtuous.

For companies with a small customer lifetime value, this channel might not make sense. But if the economics work, this is your way forward.

Leadership Status

You now get customers through marketing and sales. Growth is predictable, but soon you will be competing against the market giants.

Branding is your weapon now.

You need to be in the conversation anytime someone talks about your sector. Essentially, not just people in your company sell your product, but the entire market sells your story.

I think of branding as the perception of your company. This is influenced by all touchpoints with potential customers. Sales, marketing, PR, employees, and more.

Building it into one coherent whole such that it is more than the sum of its parts is the goal.

We were late in setting up our outbound sales motion. So, we have pulled the outbound sales and branding lever together.

Takeaway

That’s the blueprint. One last takeaway.

Here’s how the channels evolve in its intensity of impact:

1. Personal network → One-to-one

2. Inbound marketing → One-to-many

3. Outbound sales → One-to-Specific-one

4. Branding → Many-to-many

Analyze your company today. Is there a lever you could use better?

Best,
Karthik
Co-founder, Flexiple 

P.S. Please consider forwarding this to a friend! It would really help my two startups.

Were you forwarded this email? If yes, you can subscribe to my newsletter too: Click Here!

If you missed reading my previous newsletters, you can find them all here :)