Have you ever been invited somewhere—a party, a dinner, maybe even an event—and the moment you arrived, you immediately wanted to leave?
Something felt off.
The experience didn’t match the invitation.
The reality didn’t match the promise.
And almost instantly, you knew: this isn’t for me.
From a customer acquisition standpoint, that reaction is exactly what brands cannot afford.
You can spend months crafting campaigns, refining messaging, partnering with creators, and driving traffic—but if the moment customers arrive the experience doesn’t align with what they were promised, they’re gone. Most won’t complain. They’ll simply disappear.
That breakdown is known as customer acquisition friction—and it’s one of the most overlooked reasons acquisition efforts fail.
What Is Customer Acquisition Friction?
Customer acquisition friction is anything in your marketing, messaging, or experience that creates hesitation, confusion, or distrust after a customer has said yes to your invitation.
It’s not always obvious.
It’s often unintentional.
And it quietly kills conversion.
Friction shows up when there’s a gap between:
- What you promise
- And what people actually experience
When that gap exists, customers feel misled—even if no one meant to mislead them.
The Customer Acquisition Friction Most Brands Don’t See
Most brands assume customer acquisition fails because of:
- Poor targeting
- Weak creative
- Rising CAC
- Not enough reach
But increasingly, growth stalls for a different reason.
Customers are saying yes to the message—
Then saying no to the experience.
That moment—after interest is sparked but before trust is confirmed—is where friction does the most damage.
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What “Bait-and-Switch” Looks Like in Real Life
When people hear “bait-and-switch,” they often imagine something intentionally deceptive. In reality, most brands create this feeling without meaning to.
Here are real, common examples:
- A brand features Black people prominently in event marketing—but has no Black speakers.
- A company highlights a single Black employee in recruitment materials—who is also the only Black person on the team.
- Spanish-language ads drive traffic to a website with little or no Spanish support.
- Accessible fitting rooms exist—but are blocked by boxes or storage.
- Alt text exists—but is written for SEO, not for screen-reader users.
- An “allergy-friendly” menu exists—but is so long and confusing that it’s unusable.
Each of these moments introduces customer acquisition friction.
They signal to customers: you were invited—but not fully considered.
Why This Friction Hits Underrepresented Customers Harder
For customers from underrepresented or underserved communities, these experiences create more than inconvenience.
They create distrust.
People begin to feel:
- Like an afterthought
- Like the brand did the bare minimum
- Like the invitation wasn’t truly meant for them
And once trust erodes, conversion follows.
So how do brands reduce customer acquisition friction—especially with the people they say they want to serve?
It comes down to three interconnected areas:
- Customer Intimacy
- Authenticity
- Customer Experience
1. Customer Intimacy: The Foundation of Low-Friction Acquisition
At its core, customer acquisition is about answering one question quickly:
“Is this brand for someone like me?”
That question is impossible to answer well if your understanding of your audience is superficial.
A common example: brands assume that reaching Hispanic consumers in the U.S. simply means translating everything into Spanish.
But here’s the reality:
- The majority of Hispanic consumers in the U.S. speak English.
When brands focus only on language—while ignoring representation, cultural nuance, and lived experience—they introduce friction immediately.
Customer intimacy requires moving beyond:
- Assumptions
- Stereotypes
- Surface-level demographics
The deeper your understanding of the people you want to serve, the easier it becomes to design marketing that clearly communicates: this is for you.
And when that clarity exists, friction decreases.
2. Authenticity: Where Friction Turns Into Distrust
Authenticity is where many customer acquisition efforts break down—especially with marginalized communities.
One of the clearest recent examples involved Bud Light and its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney.
Partnering with influencers to reach specific communities is a smart acquisition strategy. The issue wasn’t the collaboration—it was what happened next.
When backlash emerged, the brand failed to:
- Publicly support Dylan
- Protect the community it had invited in
- Stand behind the values implied by its marketing
That retreat created massive customer acquisition friction. The outreach appeared performative rather than genuine—and trust collapsed.
The takeaway for brands
If you invite people in, you are responsible for what happens once they arrive.
Authenticity means:
- Alignment between marketing and internal values
- Consistency when support is celebrated and criticized
- Willingness to stand on business, even when it’s uncomfortable
When authenticity is missing, friction compounds fast.
3. Customer Experience: Where Promises Are Confirmed—or Broken
Customer experience is where customer acquisition friction either dissolves or multiplies.
Every touchpoint answers the same question:
Does this brand actually mean what it says?
Too often, brands send one message during acquisition—then deliver something very different once customers take the next step.
A common scenario
A brand communicates inclusion during marketing.
A customer moves forward.
The experience quietly says: this isn’t really for you.
That contradiction feels like a bait-and-switch.
I once consulted with a brand considering accessibility features on packaging and in-store displays to attract customers from the disability community. On the surface, it looked like progress.
But after a broader review of the customer journey, it was clear accessibility hadn’t been considered elsewhere. Adding one visible feature without supporting experiences would have increased friction, not reduced it.
How Customer Acquisition Friction Quietly Kills Conversion
Customer acquisition friction is dangerous because it often goes unmeasured.
It:
- Breaks trust before value is experienced
- Increases drop-off without clear feedback
- Pushes customers toward competitors who feel easier and safer
Think back to the party analogy.
You invite a vegan guest.
You showcase vegan dishes on the invitation.
But when they arrive, the only option is a vegetable platter—while everyone else enjoys a full meal.
That guest likely won’t return.
And they’ll probably warn others.
Every invitation sets an expectation.
The moment customers arrive, they decide whether to stay.
How to Reduce Customer Acquisition Friction
To identify friction in your own brand, ask:
- Does our experience match what we invited people into?
- Where do signals of belonging break down?
- Are we prepared to support the customers we’re trying to attract?
When promise and delivery align:
- Trust grows
- Conversion improves
- Customers return—and bring others with them
When they don’t, customers quietly leave.
Finding the Friction Before It Costs You Customers
If you’re unsure where customer acquisition friction exists in your journey, that’s exactly what the Friction Finder Growth Audit is designed to uncover.
It’s a guided process that helps identify:
- Where messaging and experience are out of sync
- Where trust breaks down across the journey
- Where growth opportunities are being missed
Before those gaps quietly cost you customers.
You’ll find more details through the link below.
Final Thought
Customer acquisition isn’t just about getting people through the door.
It’s about creating an experience that makes them want to stay.
Because everyone wants a place where they belong.
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