The cost of acquiring a new customer is probably higher than people think, but so is the value of a new customer.

Often companies will calculate the cost of acquiring a new customer in terms of the investment made in the last marketing channel that the customer touched before entering the sales process.

Most commonly, sales arise as a result of one demand motion that can be tracked and measured, supported by one or several brand motions that can't.

It also takes more than investment in marketing, or even investment in marketing and sales, to bring on a new customer. The whole company is involved in building a company's product, service and reputation in the market, and often in B2B, leaders and subject matter experts outside of marketing and sales will also be directly involved in the sales process.

In a similar way, companies can often underestimate the true value of a new customer. There are two things that are commonly overlooked:

1. Customers beget customers

In aggregate there's probably about a 1 in 3 chance that each new customer will lead directly to another new customer, usually via people working with a vendor and then moving to a new company and bringing the vendor with them, or through a referral.

So the value of each new customer that was created independent of a referral or an existing connection should include the weighted probable value of the cascade of new customers it will trigger from those sources.

2) Customers can have strategic as well as financial value

When a company acquires a customer in a new sector or geography, or sells a new product or service for the first time, the financial value of the deal may be trivial compared with the strategic value of gaining a foothold in a new market. The ability to acquire new customers itself can also impact the value of a business, from the perspective of investors or potential buyers.