acquisition

This article is about customer acquisition. For the provision of resources and goods, see procurement .

As acquisition (of Latin acquirere to purchase 'from ad quaerere ), including acquisition , measures of attracting customers or work helpers (the working stroke for Taglöhnerei called). With regard to customers, for example in the context of personal sales calls , telephone sales or direct sales . The acquisition thus represents part of the sales system, which depends on the respective sales strategy .

Forms of customer acquisition

• Telephone marketing , with the problem of unsolicited telephone advertising
• Mailing
• Email and newsletter advertising
• Search engine marketing
• Advertising
• Personal sale

Cold calling and warm calling

Cold calling is the initial approach to a potential customer with whom no business relationship has previously existed. So-called cold calls to private customers are forbidden in Germany under the law against unfair competition (UWG) if they are not made with the “express consent” of the consumer. For traders, their "presumed consent", which can result from the business object, is sufficient.

See also : Boiler room scam

In addition to cold calling, there is also the form of warm calling . When making contact by phone or email, this variant relies on known reference points, such as contact persons from memberships, associations, cooperation partners, etc. The reactivation of customers who have not bought anything from the company for a long time is also part of warm acquisition.

Business customer acquisition

The acquisition of business customers is usually a process in which several forms of address (personal and media) are involved.

A distinction can also be made between cold and warm calls when acquiring business customers. The efficiency of the measures in this area depends largely on the complexity of the offer and the degree of difficulty in accessing the required contact persons in the target company. The more explanation the offer is and the higher the contact person required for it is located in the company hierarchy, the more difficult and complex the acquisition is.

The result of all acquisition measures is referred to as "acquisition potential". The term coined by Erich Gutenberg in the 1950s describes all non-price-specific factors that contribute to the attractiveness of a company. The acquisition potential includes, among other things, the image or attractiveness of a product or company, the company's location, the types of delivery and payment terms and customer service. The higher the acquisition potential of a company, the higher prices it can obtain from customers compared to its competitors. This leeway in pricing is what Gutenberg calls the "interval of pricing policy autonomy". Price changes within this interval have practically no influence on the purchasing behavior of customers.

Related terms

• If the acquisition does not serve to sell products, but to acquire resources, it is referred to as fundraising .
• Lead management

literature

• Helmut Koch: Erich Gutenberg . Gabler, Wiesbaden 1973, ISBN 3-409-36622-9 (Festschrift).
• Tim Taxis: Hot for cold calls. Haufe, Freiburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-648-01991-7 .
• Klaus-J. Fink: Recommendation marketing. The ideal way to acquire new customers. Gabler, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-8349-0005-2 .
• Dirk Kreuter: Sales and work techniques for the field service. Cornelsen, Berlin 2007, ISBN 3-589-23537-3 .
• Martin Limbeck: The new hard selling. 4th edition. Gabler, Wiesbaden 2011, ISBN 978-3-8349-6367-3 .
• Stephan Heinrich: Selling to top decision-makers 3rd edition. Gabler, Wiesbaden 2013, ISBN 978-3-658-01207-6 .
• Gitte Härter, Yvonne Rubin: Customer acquisition for self-employed and freelancers. Cornelsen, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-589-23988-7 .
• Peter H. Rauh: Actively win customers. Cornelsen 2012, ISBN 978-3-06-151002-2 .
• Thomas Pelzl: Sell! The perfect sales pitch. 3rd edition, caralin Verlag, ISBN 978-3944471853 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Acquisition  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• Current information on the UWG at the IHK Frankfurt am Main

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Duden , keyword "acquisition"
2. ↑ See UWG, Section 7 , Paragraph 2, No. 2.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Erich Gutenberg : Basics of business administration. Volume 2: The paragraph , Berlin / Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag 1955, 1984 (17th edition) ( ISBN 3-540-04082-X ), p. 280ff.
4. ↑ cf. Acquisition potential according to Erich Gutenberg