Choosing your first customer acquisition channels

Why fewer channels work better at the start

Every channel has a learning curve. Spread a small budget and a small team across six channels and none of them gets enough attention to produce a clear result. Concentrating on a few lets you learn faster and decide with confidence.

Score the candidates

Write down every plausible channel, then score each from one to five on four criteria:

• Audience fit — do your best-fit customers actually use it when they have this problem?
• Cost — can you afford a meaningful test?
• Speed of learning — how quickly will you see a signal?
• Capability — can you or your team execute it well right now?

Match the channel to how people buy

If customers search for a solution when the need appears, search — paid or organic — deserves a place on the shortlist. If the need is not yet recognised, channels that create demand, such as content, social or partnerships, matter more. High-value business purchases often depend on direct outreach, referrals and trust built over time.

Design each test properly

A test is only useful if it can change a decision. Before spending anything, write down:

• The hypothesis: what you expect to happen and why.
• The budget and the end date.
• The metric that matters — ideally customers or qualified leads, not clicks.
• The threshold for continuing, adjusting or stopping.

Decide, then scale carefully

At the end of each test, make an explicit decision and record why. Scale the channel that brings customers at an acceptable cost, and keep watching the numbers as you increase spend — performance often changes with scale.