The research discusses the problem of business-to-business services SMEs’ customer acquisition by means of direct marketing.

The main objective of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of the problem of customer acquisition by means of direct marketing to explore the cost-effective direct marketing communication channels for business-to-business services SMEs.

The interrelation of customer acquisition and the concepts of business-to-business services marketing, customer relationship management, organizational buying behaviour, and integrated marketing communications is discussed in the theoretical part of the study to establish a theoretical framework for the research.

Desk research and observation were employed as the qualitative data collection methods. The internal desk research was applied to gather secondary data ‒ documents, instructions ‒ regarding the commissioner’s customer acquisition and relationship management. The non-participant observation was employed to collect primary data on the commissioner’s customer acquisition practice.

The data analysis indicated the problems and development directions related to the commissioner’s customer acquisition routine. As a result of the study, a preset tool ‒ semi-structured questionnaires for a future research via in-depth interviews ‒ was designed for the commissioner to adjust customer acquisition and marketing planning.

Research limitations, development recommendations, and future research suggestions are presented in the conclusion of the study.