Overview

The new customers metric assesses first-time purchases. Essential for CRM, it measure acquisition success, marketing performance, and outreach effectiveness.

What is New customers?

New customers measure the number of new people who make their first purchase. It’s an essential CRM metric for understanding the success of your acquisition efforts. Knowing how many new customers you’re gaining helps you assess the performance of your marketing and outreach. To calculate the number of new customers, take the sum of the customers who made their first purchase in the period.

Formula

New Customers = Total Customers (at the end of a period) – Total Customers (at the beginning of the same period)

Example

Let’s say you run an e-commerce store selling sporting equipment. In the period of January 2021, you’ve gained 300 new customers. By using this information, you can adjust your marketing and outreach efforts to try and acquire more customers in the next period.

Why is New customers important?

Adding new customers to your existing customer base can increase sales, which leads to higher profits. As your e-commerce business grows, so does its customer base. Gone are the days when businesses could rely on one-time purchases. With the emergence of subscription-based services, the importance of sustaining long-term customer relationships has increased. That’s why it’s imperative to measure and improve the new customer metric.

Which factors impact New customers?

The ability to acquire new customers is often dependent on various factors such as industry, price points, competition, and product quality. Regional differences in marketing preferences can also play an important role. Consider whether your messages are being seen by the right audiences and whether they’re optimized for all devices.

How can New customers be improved?

The most successful companies track and analyze customer data with remarketing campaigns, retargeting ads, and discounts for first-time buyers. As your customer base grows, it’s important to create a unique user experience for each individual user. Personalized emails, targeted content, and automated messages can help make each customer feel special. Additionally, analyzing customer reviews and feedback is essential for improving product quality and customer service.

What is New customers’s relationship with other metrics?

New customers can be a great indication of how well your company is doing overall. If your new customer base is increasing, chances are you’re building a strong, loyal customer base and your products and services are attractive to potential buyers. Additionally, tracking the return rate of new customers can give you an indication of the effectiveness of your products. Both metrics can be beneficial in helping you understand the success of your efforts and what can be tweaked to drive more sales.

Free essential resources for success

Discover more from Lifesight

  • Best Marketing Mix Modeling Software in 2025

    Published on: June 30, 2025

    Best Marketing Mix Modeling Software Tools in 2025

    Discover the top Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) tools in 2025. Compare features, pricing, and capabilities for data-driven, privacy-safe marketing decisions.

  • Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA)

    Published on: June 30, 2025

    Multi-Touch Attribution (MTA): What Is It, Types and How It Works

    Explore how Multi-Touch Attribution helps map customer journeys, its key limitations in a privacy-first world, and how causal attribution addresses the gaps.

  • Marketing Effectiveness

    Published on: June 30, 2025

    Marketing Effectiveness: What Is It and How to Measure It?

    Learn how to measure marketing effectiveness using MMM, Incrementality Testing and Causal Attribution. Drive ROI, optimize spend, and make data-driven decisions with confidence.