Acquire & Grow: Marketing for Business Buyers

Entrepreneurs looking to acquire established businesses often find themselves facing a daunting marketing challenge: how to effectively reach the existing customer base while also attracting new clientele. A solid marketing strategy is essential for a successful acquisition, but where do you even begin? Can you really improve a company’s marketing using just one tool? Let’s find out.

## Step 1: Initial Market Analysis with Semrush Market Explorer

The first step for entrepreneurs looking to acquire a business should always be a deep dive into the existing market. Semrush offers a powerful tool called Market Explorer that’s perfect for this.

### 1.1: Accessing Market Explorer

To get started, log into your Semrush account. In the left-hand navigation menu, under “Competitive Research,” click on “Market Explorer.” If you don’t have a Semrush account, you can sign up for a free trial to test out the features.

### 1.2: Entering the Target Domain

In the Market Explorer search bar, enter the domain name of the company you’re considering acquiring. Then, select the appropriate geographic region. For example, if you’re looking at acquiring a local bakery in Atlanta, you’d enter their website and select “United States.” Click the “Analyze” button.

### 1.3: Interpreting the Overview Report

The overview report provides a high-level snapshot of the market. Pay close attention to the following metrics:

• Market Size: This estimates the total addressable market (TAM) for the industry. It gives you an idea of the overall potential.
• Market Growth: This shows the year-over-year growth rate of the market. Is it a growing or shrinking market?
• Market Share: This displays the market share of the top players in the industry, including your target company.
• Audience Demographics: This provides insights into the age, gender, and interests of the target audience.

Pro Tip: Don’t just focus on the numbers. Read the accompanying analysis and insights provided by Semrush. They often highlight key trends and opportunities.

Common Mistake: Many entrepreneurs only look at the market size and ignore the growth rate. A large but shrinking market may not be a good investment.

Expected Outcome: A clear understanding of the market size, growth potential, and key players in the industry.

## Step 2: Competitor Identification and Analysis

Knowing your competition is critical. Market Explorer helps you identify both direct and indirect competitors.

### 2.1: Identifying Key Competitors

Within the Market Explorer report, navigate to the “Competitors” tab. Semrush will automatically generate a list of companies that compete with your target. The list is ranked by “Similarity Score,” which indicates how closely the competitors’ audiences overlap.

### 2.2: Analyzing Competitor Strategies

Click on each competitor to view their individual profiles. Pay attention to their:

• Traffic Sources: Where are they getting their website traffic from? (Organic search, paid ads, social media, etc.)
• Content Strategy: What type of content are they creating? (Blog posts, videos, infographics, etc.)
• Social Media Presence: Which social media platforms are they active on? How engaged is their audience?

### 2.3: Building a Competitor Matrix

Create a spreadsheet to compare and contrast the key competitors. Include metrics such as website traffic, social media followers, content frequency, and pricing. This will help you identify strengths and weaknesses of each competitor.

Pro Tip: Don’t just focus on the obvious competitors. Look for indirect competitors that may be targeting the same audience with different products or services.

Common Mistake: Ignoring smaller competitors that may be gaining traction in the market.

Expected Outcome: A comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape, including the strengths and weaknesses of each key player.

## Step 3: Website Traffic Analysis with Semrush Traffic Analytics

Understanding your target company’s website traffic is crucial for assessing its online performance. Semrush’s Traffic Analytics tool provides detailed insights into website traffic sources, user behavior, and audience demographics.

### 3.1: Accessing Traffic Analytics

From the Semrush dashboard, navigate to “Competitive Research” and select “Traffic Analytics.”

### 3.2: Entering the Target Domain

Enter the domain name of the company you’re considering acquiring. Select the appropriate geographic region and click “Analyze.”

### 3.3: Interpreting the Traffic Overview Report

The Traffic Overview report provides a snapshot of the website’s traffic performance. Pay attention to the following metrics:

• Website Traffic: The total number of website visits over a specific period.
• Unique Visitors: The number of unique individuals who visited the website.
• Pages per Visit: The average number of pages viewed per visit.
• Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave the website after viewing only one page.
• Average Visit Duration: The average amount of time visitors spend on the website.

Pro Tip: Compare the website traffic data over time to identify trends and seasonality. Are there any spikes or dips in traffic?

Common Mistake: Focusing only on the total website traffic and ignoring other important metrics like bounce rate and visit duration. A high traffic volume with a high bounce rate indicates that the website is not engaging visitors.

Expected Outcome: A clear understanding of the website’s traffic volume, user engagement, and audience demographics.

## Step 4: Traffic Sources and User Behavior

Knowing where the website traffic is coming from and how users are behaving on the site is vital for developing an effective marketing strategy. For further reading on building a marketing strategy, check out this article on marketing for entrepreneurs.

### 4.1: Analyzing Traffic Sources

Within the Traffic Analytics report, navigate to the “Traffic Sources” tab. This will show you the breakdown of traffic sources, including:

• Direct Traffic: Visitors who type the website address directly into their browser.
• Referral Traffic: Visitors who come from other websites.
• Search Traffic: Visitors who come from search engines like Google.
• Social Traffic: Visitors who come from social media platforms.
• Paid Traffic: Visitors who come from paid advertising campaigns.

### 4.2: Understanding User Behavior

Navigate to the “Behavior” tab to analyze user behavior on the website. This will show you:

• Top Pages: The most popular pages on the website.
• Entry Pages: The pages that visitors land on most often.
• Exit Pages: The pages that visitors leave the website from most often.
• User Flow: The path that visitors take through the website.

Pro Tip: Identify any “leaks” in the user flow where visitors are dropping off. This could indicate problems with the website’s design or content.

Common Mistake: Not analyzing the traffic sources and user behavior in conjunction. Understanding where traffic comes from is only half the battle — you need to know how they behave once they arrive.

Expected Outcome: A detailed understanding of the website’s traffic sources and user behavior, including top pages, entry pages, exit pages, and user flow.

## Step 5: Advertising Research for Competitor Analysis

Analyzing your competitors’ advertising strategies can provide valuable insights into their marketing tactics and budget allocation. Semrush’s Advertising Research tool allows you to see which keywords your competitors are bidding on, which ads they’re running, and how much they’re spending. It’s crucial to stop wasting money on ineffective ads and focus on proven tactics.

### 5.1: Accessing Advertising Research

From the Semrush dashboard, navigate to “Advertising” and select “Advertising Research.”

### 5.2: Entering a Competitor’s Domain

Enter the domain name of one of your key competitors. Select the appropriate geographic region and click “Search.”

### 5.3: Analyzing Ad Keywords

The “Positions” tab shows you the keywords that the competitor is bidding on in their paid advertising campaigns. Pay attention to:

• Keyword: The specific keyword that the competitor is targeting.
• Position: The average position of the competitor’s ad for that keyword.
• Traffic %: The percentage of the competitor’s traffic that comes from that keyword.
• Cost %: The percentage of the competitor’s advertising budget that is spent on that keyword.

### 5.4: Analyzing Ad Copy

The “Ad Copies” tab shows you the actual ads that the competitor is running. Analyze the ad copy to see what messaging they’re using and what offers they’re promoting.

Pro Tip: Look for keywords and ad copy that are performing well for multiple competitors. This could indicate a strong opportunity for your own advertising campaigns.

Common Mistake: Copying competitors’ ad strategies without understanding their target audience or business goals.

Expected Outcome: A comprehensive understanding of your competitors’ advertising strategies, including their top keywords, ad copy, and estimated advertising budgets.

## Step 6: Estimating Advertising Budgets

Semrush provides estimates of your competitors’ advertising budgets, which can be helpful for planning your own marketing spend.

### 6.1: Reviewing Budget Estimates

In the Advertising Research report, look for the “Budget” section. This will show you an estimated monthly advertising budget for the competitor.

### 6.2: Consider the Budget’s Accuracy

Keep in mind that these are just estimates. The actual advertising budget may be higher or lower depending on a variety of factors, such as the competitor’s bidding strategy, ad quality, and target audience. I once had a client in the construction industry who was convinced their competitor was spending $50,000/month based on Semrush, but after some digging, we found out they were running highly targeted, hyper-local campaigns that were much more efficient.

Pro Tip: Use the budget estimates as a starting point for your own planning, but be sure to conduct your own research and analysis to determine the appropriate advertising budget for your business.

Common Mistake: Relying solely on Semrush’s budget estimates without considering other factors.

Expected Outcome: A rough estimate of your competitors’ advertising budgets, which can be used as a starting point for planning your own marketing spend.

## Step 7: Identifying Growth Opportunities

With a deep understanding of the market, your competitors, and your target company’s website traffic and advertising strategies, you can now identify growth opportunities.

### 7.1: Uncover Content Gaps

Look for keywords that your competitors are not targeting, or content topics that they are not covering. This could be an opportunity to create unique and valuable content that attracts new customers.

### 7.2: Identify Untapped Traffic Sources

Explore traffic sources that your competitors are not fully utilizing, such as social media platforms, referral websites, or email marketing.

### 7.3: Optimize Website Performance

Address any issues with your target company’s website, such as slow loading times, high bounce rates, or poor user experience.

Pro Tip: Focus on the opportunities that are most aligned with your strengths and resources. Don’t try to do everything at once.

Common Mistake: Trying to compete with your competitors on every front. It’s better to focus on a few key areas where you can differentiate yourself.

Expected Outcome: A list of actionable growth opportunities that can be used to improve your target company’s marketing performance.

## Step 8: Integrating Data into Your Acquisition Strategy

The insights gained from Semrush should directly inform your acquisition strategy.

### 8.1: Valuation Adjustments

If the marketing data reveals weaknesses (e.g., declining traffic, poor SEO), you might negotiate a lower acquisition price.

### 8.2: Post-Acquisition Plan

Develop a detailed marketing plan based on the data, outlining specific actions to improve traffic, conversions, and brand awareness.

Pro Tip: Share your Semrush findings with the target company’s management team during the due diligence process. This can help you build trust and demonstrate your expertise.

Common Mistake: Ignoring the marketing data and relying solely on financial metrics when making acquisition decisions.

Expected Outcome: A well-informed acquisition strategy that is based on data and aligned with your business goals.

## Step 9: Monitoring and Measuring Results

After acquiring the company, it’s essential to monitor and measure the results of your marketing efforts. For ongoing success, mobile app analytics are key to growth and revenue.

### 9.1: Track Key Metrics

Use Semrush to track key metrics such as website traffic, keyword rankings, and advertising performance.

### 9.2: Make Adjustments as Needed

Be prepared to make adjustments to your marketing strategy based on the data. What works today may not work tomorrow.

Pro Tip: Set up regular reporting to track your progress and identify any areas that need improvement.

Common Mistake: Implementing a marketing plan and then forgetting about it. Marketing is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and optimization.

Expected Outcome: Continuous improvement in your target company’s marketing performance.

## Step 10: Adapting to Market Changes

The market is constantly evolving, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and technologies.

### 10.1: Stay Informed

Read industry publications, attend conferences, and follow thought leaders on social media.

### 10.2: Experiment with New Strategies

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new marketing strategies and technologies. The key is to find what works best for your business.

Pro Tip: Continuously learn and adapt to stay ahead of the curve.

Common Mistake: Getting stuck in your ways and refusing to try new things.

Expected Outcome: Long-term success in the ever-changing marketing world.

These steps, when implemented strategically, can significantly enhance the marketing efforts of entrepreneurs looking to acquire. By utilizing Semrush, you can make informed decisions and drive growth.

By using Semrush’s Market Explorer, Traffic Analytics, and Advertising Research tools, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of the market, your competitors, and your target company’s online performance. This knowledge will empower you to make informed decisions, develop effective marketing strategies, and drive growth. Now go forth and conquer the marketing world! And remember, action-oriented marketing is essential for retaining customers.