Customer acquisition study launches

The DMA is to launch a major study into the lead-generation market to provide the industry’s first ever benchmark of customer acquisition strategies and help raise standards for data collection ahead of the proposed EU data protection reforms.
Backed by lead generation specialists McDowall, the three-month research project will canvas senior marketers, as well as a panel of more than 1,000 UK adult consumers, to assess current trends and critical issues facing the customer acquisition process.
It will result in the publication of the Customer Acquisition Barometer (CAB), which will be the most comprehensive of its kind, and cover how key vertical sectors such as utilities, automotive, finance and travel are acquiring customers through online and offline consumer contact.
The CAB will identify trends in acquisition channels, budget allocation, cost-per-acquisition and consumer privacy concerns that are shaping the future of gaining new customers. The findings will be unveiled at a launch event for senior marketers in March next year.
DMA executive director Chris Combemale commented: “The CAB will put a spotlight on the way in which companies gain new customers in the fast-changing worlds of online and offline marketing. The draft EU Data Protection Regulation could well usher in a more stringent data protection environment.
“The proliferation of media channels has increased the number of cost effective and legal practices for attracting new customers. It’s important to learn which methods companies are finding most effective and to share that knowledge across our community. With so much choice of how to attract new customers there are no excuses for approaches that go against best practice, or even break the law.”
McDowall founder and chief executive Graham Bate said the CAB would be a “state-of-the-nation” report into the activity of attracting new, profitable customers, which, he maintains is “an essential part of every company’s success that is more regulated than ever by compliance requirements”.
He added: “McDowall is delighted to be partnering with the DMA on the development and launch of the CAB. New customers are the lifeblood for any company: if you don’t get enough of them, you could put yourself out of business; if you don’t go about getting them in the right fashion, then a regulatory body could put you out of business. It’s that simple.”