Customer Awareness and Prospect Capture

If there is one thing that Google ruined, it is Customer Awareness.

Seriously ... ask a professional what their Customer Awareness program is, and you'll frequently hear "Search Engine Optimization".

No, that's not Customer Awareness. That's stepping in front of somebody else who created a Customer Awareness program.

Somebody has to create demand. Google's job is to re-direct demand to either the highest bidder or to the party that plays the optimization game the way Google wants it to be played. 

Demand Creation and Customer Awareness go hand-in-hand.

Digital is HORRIBLE at creating demand. Well, that's not true. Instagram when applied properly to the right audience by the right people works wonders. But most forms of digital marketing are fabulous at steering demand that has already been created.

Offline marketing is great at generating customer awareness ... ask Uber and Facebook as they eschew their digital prowess and instead use TV to apologize for all of their problems.

Break your customer acquisition efforts into two pieces.

1. Customer Awareness.
2. Prospect Capture.

It's likely you are investing close-to-nothing in Customer Awareness and are instead spending your money on Prospect Capture. It's also likely you aren't spending nearly enough on Prospect Capture.

My Marketing Management System prioritizes Customer Awareness and Prospect Capture.

Most Marketing Management Systems prioritize Customer Loyalty. This type of system can work if your annual repurchase rates are north of 50%. But if your annual repurchase rates are under 40% (as they are for so many e-commerce and traditional catalog brands), you need a credible Customer Awareness and Prospect Capture program.