Approximately 60% of Companies Dependent on Digital Advertising for Customer Acquisition Feel a Sense of Crisis! Raycrew Inc. Conducts 'Fact-finding Survey on Corporate Customer Acquisition Channels'

Raycrew Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Daiki Fujimoto) conducted a "Fact-finding Survey on Corporate Customer Acquisition Channels" targeting corporate executives (men and women in their 20s to 60s). This survey revealed the reality of companies' major customer acquisition channels, their dependence on digital advertising, and the accompanying awareness of issues. In recent years, due to restrictions on the use of third-party cookies accompanying stricter privacy protection regulations and the decline in the accuracy of targeted advertising, the cost per acquisition (CPA) of digital advertising has continued to soar, becoming a serious issue for many companies. Furthermore, with the rapid spread of generative AI and the rise of AI search, the customer information gathering process and purchasing behavior itself are undergoing dramatic changes, bringing corporate marketing strategies to a major turning point. Under these circumstances, companies that have relied heavily on digital advertising for customer acquisition cannot immediately stop advertising despite facing worsening CPAs, and are forced to make difficult decisions such as developing acquisition channels other than advertising and creating new customer touchpoints using AI. However, while there is statistical data on the digital advertising market and trend information on AI utilization, there is a lack of data showing exactly to what extent companies feel a sense of crisis regarding "advertising dependence" under current conditions, and specifically what alternative channels they are exploring for future customer acquisition amidst the wave of rapid technological evolution. Therefore, Raycrew Inc. conducted a "Fact-finding Survey on Corporate Customer Acquisition Channels" targeting corporate executives. - In over 45% of companies, the current primary customer acquisition channel is "introductions/referrals". - Nearly 30% of companies depend on digital advertising for customer acquisition. - Over 60% of corporate executives who depend on digital advertising for customer acquisition feel a sense of crisis about their company's degree of dependence on digital advertising. - Approximately 1 in 4 companies are facing soaring CPAs for digital advertising over the past three years. - In response to issues such as soaring CPAs for digital advertising, over 40% of companies plan to maintain the same budget and improve operations. - The customer acquisition channels other than digital advertising that corporate executives believe they should focus on in the future are primarily "introductions/referrals" and "PR/public relations activities". Survey period: March 17 to March 18, 2026 Survey method: Internet survey Survey target: Corporate executives (men and women in their 20s to 60s) Number of respondents: 312 Monitor provider: RC Research Data *Because response percentages are rounded to the first decimal place, the total of response percentages may not equal 100.0%. In Over 45% of Companies, the Current Primary Customer Acquisition Channel is "Introductions/Referrals" First, in response to the question "What is the current primary customer acquisition channel for your company?", "introductions/referrals" ranked first at 45.5%, followed by "outbound sales" at 23.7%, and "PR/public relations activities" at 19.6%. From these results, it is clear that in over 45% of companies, the current primary customer acquisition channel is "introductions/referrals"