Definition
Prospecting is top-of-funnel advertising aimed at new, cold audiences that have had no prior contact with the brand. The purpose is to build awareness and win entirely new customers.
Also called: Prospecting, Cold audience, Top-of-funnelTest the message before scaling the budget.
Everyday colour.
One variable per comparison makes the learning easier to interpret.
01Define what the customer should understand or want.
Prospecting creates the demand
Prospecting is where real growth comes from: new customers who'd never have found you on their own. nCAC is highest here, because cold customers are the most expensive to convince. But it's also the only channel that expands the customer base rather than harvesting the existing one.
Because prospecting feeds the demand that retargeting and brand searches later take credit for in attribution, it's systematically undervalued by last-click thinking. Steer it on MER and incrementality, not attributed ROAS. Otherwise you cut into the very engine that drives everything else.
Frequently asked questions
Why is prospecting more expensive than retargeting?
Because you're paying to convince cold people who don't know you, instead of harvesting warm demand that's already interested. In return, prospecting is what creates new customers and the demand retargeting lives off.
How do I measure prospecting correctly?
On MER and incrementality rather than attributed ROAS. Attribution credits the lower-funnel channels for sales prospecting actually set in motion, so last-click undervalues prospecting's worth.
From insight to action
See how it applies in practice.
Growth also needed a better purchasing process
We built Matraws' trade-in system with submission, assessment, offers and handling in one backend. The work addressed supply as a constraint.
Read the casePriorities and collaboration
Discuss your next step
Tell us where your business stands. We clarify the work needed and whether we are the right fit.
Choose a time30 minutes · No obligation
About the author
Nicklas Segatz Mortensen
Growth hacker and fractional CMO with 10+ years' experience and hundreds of millions in managed ad spend behind him. Background from larger Danish and international scale-ups, and from the agency world.
Meet the team