Make Customer Acquisition Summer Fun

The summer months of July and August are usually difficult for customer outreach because of vacations. As a savvy digital marketer, you should be using this time to grow your customer database as you head into the Fall and Holiday Season. Here are some ways you could fire up acquisition activities and make it Summer fun:

• Leverage the Summer season with fun online contests and referral programs. Running clever contests on your social media assets can be a great way to have content shared and generate net new email subscribers. 
• If your brand has a mobile app, request an email address as part of registration or even as a push notification once you see activity from a user on the app. 
• Facebook Custom Audiences can be a good way to find valuable customer "look-alikes". Drive clicks to an email registration page, so you can immediately start generating ROI on your paid media investment through the lower CPM email channel. 
• Make sure your website has an email gate on the homepage and even on special sale pages to collect email addresses. But always offer customers a way to access exclusive content without forcing them to sign up, as those who don’t want email will only unsubscribe from your lists.

Use GeoFencing In Your Brand's App To Drive Signups

Finally, if your brand hosts special events or has brick and mortar locations, leverage "geofencing" with your app or in-store signage to drive a special offer for email sign-up. For example, if a potential customer enters one of your stores and is using your app, push a message asking for email registration in exchange for an offer that can be redeemed on that visit.

You can also use store signage to get a store visitor to send an SMS text message to opt in to email. If you this tactic, provide an offer that can be redeemed that day and immediately start generating a measurable return on the effort.