The total cost to a business of acquiring a new customer. This may include marketing and advertising expenditure, discounts, special incentives and the costs incurred by salespeople visiting the customer. The customer acquisition cost is calculated by dividing Total Acquisition Costs by Total New Customers over a set time frame. ‘Acquisition cost’ may also refer to the cost of an asset after adjusting for discounts and other incidental costs.

[BACK TO SALES & MARKETING TERMS]