Does Industry Expertise Matter When Building Your Customer Acquisition Muscle?

Whether you are hiring a new team member or onboarding a new agency, business leaders from B2C and B2SMB businesses often wonder about industry expertise.

My two cents?

Focus on expertise that can adapt to your growth stage and has a proven track record with your business model.

Industry knowledge is a bonus, but not the most critical factor because you can find it somewhere else in your organization.

Here are the three experiences I focus on, ranked by priority:

1. 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: Your company's growth stage should be the primary driver of who you partner with. When scaling, you’ll often need high-velocity learning and rapid iteration.
   Look for a team that is nimble and can keep pace with your evolving needs, and understand the next growth stage.
2. 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥: When it comes to customer acquisition, prioritize expertise in your specific business model or dynamics.
   1. eCommerce businesses should seek teams with eCommerce experience (catalog size, lifetime value dynamic, margin dynamic).
   2. Subscription-based companies should work with those who understand recurring revenue models (pricing, churn).
   3. DemandGen businesses must have teams that have experience with longer funnels and building strong relationship with sales teams;
   4. Seasonal or event-based businesses need experts who know how to handle demand fluctuations.
3. 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞: While important, industry-specific knowledge is less critical than growth stage and business model alignment. However, industry knowledge will be very relevant for:
   1. Teams in charge of Creative and messaging
   2. Teams in charge of CRM and audience engagement

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞?

Industry knowledge is critical to understanding industry-specific consumer behavior.

If you have that muscle with the right Brand, Creative, and/or CRM team members, then you don’t necessarily need it for your Customer Acquisition teams.

Listen to my full conversation about this on the Growth Trends Show: https://buff.ly/3RDT0cZ