User acquisition in emerging market is the toughest challenge for most of the marketers. However, those who devise a thoughtful customer acquisition strategy make it happen.
For established businesses, the scenario may be different, but when it comes to startups, a basic action plan is a must. Ideally, this plan should include details of the platforms that the business will use in a particular emerging market.
We also call these platforms, the “channels”. The channels may also vary from market to market, however, there are some standard channels which can ensure a good number of users in almost any emerging market.
This article will discuss these important channels first and here it goes:
1- Smartphone Platforms:
With the low cost smartphones available in market, Android stands as a top smartphone platform, however, it’s not the only platform to focus on. Depending upon your product and audience, you should cover iOS, and Windows as well with your app.
2- PPC Advertising:
Though Google Ads, Bing Ads, and Facebook top the PPC industry around the world, there are a lot more low cost and high performance PPC options, i.e. Bing Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and many other private PPC networks.
3- Local Partnerships:
In many markets, partnering with local companies is not just the best way to reduce operational costs but also to acquire users rapidly. You must know that already established local companies have customers’ trust which will take long for you if you try it alone. Focus more on local telcos and ISPs because they have the biggest audience.
4- SEO:
Yes, it takes time to show some results, but investing on SEO has always better ROI in emerging markets.
5- Rewarding Referrals:
Grab a few customers and reward them for their referrals, however, integrating a sound referral system is something that needs lot of attention.
6- Convenient Payment Methods:
Did you know that Cash on Delivery is still a popular payment method in many developed markets, so why not to focus on the convenience of customers in emerging markets.
Knowing the acquisition channels is the first step. Now you have to move further to explore each channel according to your product and audience and understand where most users are coming from and then devise action plan for top 3 channels initially.
Remember, that’s you can utilize all the channels, but it’s good to test a few first, evaluate the performance and then move ahead with more testing.
