"It's universally true for all

entrepreneurs, no matter how good

we are: When we put our business plan

together, if true north is a perfect plan,

all of us are off at least 10 degrees,"

Elon Musk says.

"As a startup, our job is to close that

gap as soon as possible."

Target Customers

How did you find your initial

customers?

How well do you know them?

What do they tell about the

problem and what do you listen?

How “off” are you from what they

want to what you have?

30 Minute Exercise

Phase 1 Business Model Hypothesis

Phase 2 Test the Problem

Phase 3 Test the Solution

Phase 4 Verify or Pivot

Having a thoughtful customer acquisition &

retention strategy is an indispensable element

for predictable growth of a business.

Create a Customer Profile

Are they likely to achieve

success with the product?

Consider integration across

already used and popular

platforms.

Where can you reach such

users?Think about choosing the right

platforms for better reach.

Where do they spend most of

their time?

Consider average time spent

on various platforms in similar

demographics

What’s the message you want

to convey?

Think about differentiated

value proposition, competing

alternatives, etc.

What influences their

adoption? Consider impact of free trials,

word-of-mouth marketing, etc.

Tell Your Story

Focus on benefits rather than features

Content marketing is crucial – website,

blogs and SEO are non-negotiable!

Generate creative content that invokes

engagement and promote it on social

media.

Embrace video if it best conveys the

message.

Run promotional campaigns, giveaways

and contests.

Outreach

Invite writers and guest bloggers to use and

review the product.

Identify key influencers in the market,

understand how you can best reach them and

get them to listen to your story.

Build media relationships. Follow and engage

key media outlets, writers, bloggers on social

networks.

Establish partnerships with complimentary

businesses.

Win over brand ambassadors early. Word-of-

mouth marketing is huge for small businesses.

Why Customer Loyalty is Important

Loyal

Customer

Refers more

people

Willing to try other

products from same

supplier

Less likely to switch

to another

competitor product

Spends moreHigher customer

lifetime value

Tends to forgive

mistakes and is a

strong advocate

Cost of acquiring a

new customer is 5X

more than retaining

Key Factors in Building Customer Loyalty

Great customer service every single time

Measure customer retention and

satisfaction reasons

Build a mechanism to predict customer

churn and mitigate it proactively

Reach out to the customers who have

defected to win them back

Design programs to make them feel

important when associated with your

brand or product

The best customer acquisition

and retention plans have

measurement strategies and

plans established in advance

Measure Your Performance

Identify your goals

Define what metrics will drive insights

towards the goal performance

Be specific with the timeline

Track performance against desired

within the stipulated time

Find bottlenecks in your metrics

Build a plan for expansion

Ahrefs

Alexa

Clicktale

Google Analytics

HubSpot

Sprout Social

Tools

Target Customer

30

Minute

Exercise

Key

Partnerships

Key Activities Value

Propositions

Customer

Relationships

Customer

Segments

Key Resources Channels

Cost Structures Revenue Streams

Fill in “Customer Relationships”

and “Customer Segments” on

the following Business Model

Canvas

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