istvan szurop ceu lecture marketing for startups and small businesses 03-05-2011

Marketing for startups and small businesses

István Szurop

Applied

Marketing Strategy

Course (BUSI  591M)

CEU

Business School

Budapest, May 3, 2011

Marketing success criteria

•  Focus  •  Difference  •  Process  •  Content  

Today’s agenda

Strategy  •  Why  and  how  to  find  and  focus  on  your  Ideal  

Customers?  •  Why  and  how  to  differentiate    your  business?  

Tactics  •  Why  and  how  to  think  in  process?  •  Which  marketing  tools  to  use?  •  Content  marketing:  how  David  can  beat  Goliath?  

Putting  it  all  together  •  Planning  and  executing  your  marketing  

Find and focus on your Ideal Customers!

The 80-20 rule

Defining the Ideal Customers

BUYERS  

REFERRER  

most  

most  least  

How to generate insights?

Lab  setting   Natural  Re

ques

ted  

Volunt

ary  

At  homes,  in  stores…  

Focus  group,  online  survey,  copy  test…  

Customer  service  calls,  emails…  

Word  of  mouth  Buzz  monitoring  

Source:  Bob  Gilbreath  /  Possible  Worldwide  

Most important questions to ask

•  Who  are  they?  What  motivates  them  (socio-­‐demographics,  psychographics)?  

•  How  to  reach  them?  How  they  get  and  process  buying  information?  How  they  buy?  Who  influences  them?  

•  From  existing  customers:  What  do  they  think  what  our  difference  is?  What  is  their  opinion  about  our  business?  Would  they  recommend  us?  

Why and how to listen?

Sons  of  Maxwell:  United  broke  my  guitar  (10M  times)    

The one question you should ask

The  Net  Promoter  Score  

How  likely  are  you  to  recommend  to  a  colleague  or  friend?  

Research tips

•  First  qualitative  ,  then  quantitative  •  Mind  the  sampling  (size,  representation)  •  First  ask  the  generals,  then  the  specifics  •  Interview  secondary  sources  (e.g.  non-­‐competitive  industry  experts)  as  well  

•  People  watching  for  deeper  insights  (e.g.  brand    and  media  consumption,  social  and  leisure  time  activities)    

Research tips 2

•  Choose  expandable  online  survey  tools  (e.g.  Google  Docs,  SurveyMonkey  vs.  Infusionsoft,  VerticalResponse,  MailMaster)  

•  Use  auxiliary  forces  (e.g.  university  stat  labs  for  segmentation,    smaller  agencies  for  focus  group  facilities,  fieldworkers,  screening  

•  MillwardBrown  TGI  database  in  60+  countries:  fast-­‐track  research  

Create personas!

Personifying  your  research  insights  helps  understand  how  your  target  audience  thinks  and  feels    

Update your targeting from time to time!

The  startup  killer  chasm  

INNOVATORS  

LATE  MAJORITY  EARLY  MAJORITY  

EARLY  ADOPTERS   LAGGARDS  

Differentiate your business!

93% of advertisements are similar

The strategic sweet spot

Competitors  Customers  

You  

COST  OF  ENTRY  FEATURES  AND  BENEFITS  

DIFFERENTIATING  BENEFITS  

EMOTIONAL  EXPERIENCE  

The Brand Pyramid

Source:  Paul  Garrison  /  The  Garrison  Group  

Differentiated, therefore we are

SAFETY DRIVING EXPERIENCE

LUXURY

What could make a difference?

Recipe,  component,  patent,  product  feature,  benefit,  packaging,  delivery,  service,  customer  experience,  story,  

heritage,  shared  lifestyle,  belief  or  value,  target  group,  operating  model…  

increase,  create  terminate,  decrease  

THIS DIGITAL WORLD WANTS

BRAND CONSISTENCY

Branding is not just a logo!

Use  the  following  simple  technique  to  collect,  asses  and  group  features  and  

benefits  that  are  related  to  your  small  business  brand  and  competitors  

How to construct your positioning?

Source:  Paul  Garrison  /  The  Garrison  Group  

Step 1: Brainstorm all the associations

Step 2: Look for patterns

Step 3: Transform the areas into features and customer benefits

FEATURE  /  BENEFIT  1   FEATURE  /  BENEFIT  2  FEATURE  /  BENEFIT  3  

FEATURE  /  BENEFIT  4   FEATURE  /  BENEFIT  5  FEATURE  /  BENEFIT…  

Step 4: Prioritize the features and benefits

COST  OF  ENTRY  FEATURES  AND  BENEFITS  

DIFFERENTIATING  BENEFITS  

EMOTIONAL  EXPERIENCE  

Step 5: Repeat for competitors

Now it’s your turn!

Group  work  Create  and  present  the  simplified  brand  pyramids  (positioning)  for  the  following  2  competing  brands:  •  Group  A:  Coke  vs.  Pepsi  •  Group  B:  Dell  vs.  Apple  •  Group  C:  Ford  vs.  Volkswagen  •  Group  D:  Budapest  vs.  Prague  20  minutes  preparation  +  4  x  2.5  minutes  presentations  

Let’s have a 10-minute break!

Think in process!

Love at first sight?

The customer journey

The Marketing Hourglass

Based  on  the  Marketing  Hourglass  Concept  by  John  Jantsch  /  Duct  Tape  Marketing    

Marketing toolkit

Internet marketing

•  Own  website  (hub)  •  Email  marketing  (newsletter,  ezine,  eDM)  •  Search  engine  marketing  (search  engine  optimization  –  SEO,  PPC  –  e.g.  Google  AdWords)  •  Social  media  (blogging,  micro  blogging  –  Twitter,  Facebook,  LinkedIn,  forums,  wikis  etc.)  

What makes a great website

•  Have  customers  in  mind  when  planning  •  Contact  details  everywhere  •  Fast  downloading  (hosting,  coding)  •  No  Flash,  no  jargon  –  please  •  Lots  of  content  (search  engines)  •  Prioritize  information  •  Structured,  visible  links  •  Fixed,  ergonomic  navigation  •  Search  function  •  Platform  independent  (smartphones  too)  

Advertising

•  Print  (dailies,  weeklies,  magazines)  • Radio  •  TV  (local,  national),  teletext  • Outdoor  media  (billboard,  citylight,  vehicle  advertising)  • Ambient  media  (disruptive,  creative,  interactive)  

2-step direct response advertising

Useful  information,  free  sample,  demo,  trial  version,  unique  discount,  opinion  survey…  

”Nobody  wants  to  be  sold  to,  but  everyone  likes  shopping”  

Ambient

Direct marketing

• Direct  mail  •  Postcard  •  Small  package,  lumpy  mail  •  Coupon  •  Leaflet,  brochure  •  Catalogue  +  Telemarketing  

DM tips

•  Personalization  •  Winning  formula:  headline,  problem,  solution,  answer  objections,  offer,  call  to  action,  PS  

•  Repetition,  follow  up  •  Swipe  file  (collection  of  tested  and  proven  pieces)  

•  Test,  test,  test  (targeting,  offer,  timing,  creative)!  

Referral marketing, word of mouth

• Deserve  it  •  Be  interesting  •  Target  and  time  •  Educate,  make  it  an  expectation  • Make  it  convenient  •  Follow  up!  +  Referral  by  different  name  

Earned media attention (PR)

•  Be  newsworthy  •  Target  your  sources  •  First  read  and  listen  •  Start  small  •  Be  consistent  and  patient  •  Become  an  expert  source  

Event marketing

•  Seminar,  webinar  • Workshop,  lecture  •  Public  speaking  •  Trade  show,  roadshow  •  Conference,  exhibition…  

Content marketing

Forgotten tactics

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

PHYSIOLOGICAL,  SAFETY  

LOVE  BELONGING  

SELF-­‐  ACTUALIZATION  

The hierarchy of content

SOLUTION  

CONNECTION  

ACHIEVEMENT    

Provide  valuable  information,  incentives  and  services  

Create  entertaining,  sharable  experience  

Help  me  improve  myself,  my  family  and  the  world  

Source:  Bob  Gilbreath  /  Possible  Worldwide  

Content marketing tools and examples

•  Tools:  article,  white  paper,  testimonial,  case  study,  book  (digital,  print,  audio),  newsletter,  magazine,  magalog,  podcast,  mobile  or  Facebook  application,  widget,  industry  ranking,  wiki,  community  site…  endless!  

•  Examples  – Funny  favorites:  Will  it  blend?  by  Blendtec,  Elf  Yourself  by  OfficeMax  

– Check  for  more  at:  http://www.marketingwithmeaning.com/blog/  

The Marketing Hourglass

Based  on  the  Marketing  Hourglass  Concept  by  John  Jantsch  /  Duct  Tape  Marketing    

Planning and executing your marketing

Sandwich method

Bottom-­‐up:  goal-­‐  and  activity-­‐based  planning  and  budgeting  

Top-­‐down:  industry  benchmarks,  company  life  stage,  profitability,  competitors  

Marketing budget as % of gross revenue

Source:  MarketingSherpa,  2009,  n  =  1  147  Hungary  <  5%  (53%:  <1%),  own  research,  2010,  n  =  400  

MARKETING CALENDAR

WHOM  TO  TARGET?  

WHAT  TO  ACHIEVE?  

HOW?   WHEN?   HOW  MUCH?  

GAP  (goal  and  ac@vity  based  planning)  

Managing  your  marketing  

•  Not  just  set,  but  communicate  your  goals  •  Time  management  (appointments  with  yourself)  

•  Create  a  monthly  theme  •  Use  modern  technology  (RSS,  sales-­‐marketing  automation)  

•  Involve  and  train  your  team  (everyone’s  job)  •  Marketing  Committee  •  When  hiring,  check  writing  skills  as  well  

Final buzzwords

•  Strategy  first  •  Use  guesswork  •  Trial  and  error  • Measure!  •  System  and  process  

Home assignment

Home assignment

Group  work  Based  on  the  startup  idea  you  had  elaborated  as  a  team,  please  prepare  a  maximum  5-­‐page  document    which  explains  

•  The  Ideal  Customer  Profile(s)  of  your  business,  describing  and  illustrating  it  as  expressively  as  you  can,  e.g.  using  life  style  collage,  psychographic  descriptions  

•  Your  differentiating  proposition  (using  the  Brand  Pyramid  and  comparing  it  to  some  possible  competitors)  

•  A  detailed  marketing  calendar  for  you  first  year  (per  customer  type,  defining  measurable  goals,  activities  etc.)  

Deadline:  May  10,  2011  EOD  (please  forward  your  assignments  ,  in  doc,  docx  or  pdf  format,  to  the  following  email  address:  istvan.szurop@taktikon.hu)  

Questions

Books to read / sources

•  David  Meerman  Scott:  Real-­‐time  Marketing  and  PR  •  Fred  Reichheld  :  The  Ultimate  Question  •  Geoffrey  A.  Moore:  Crossing  the    Chasm  •  Paul  Garrison:  Exponential  Marketing  •  Seth  Godin:  Permission  Marketing  /  Meatball  

Sundae  /  Purple  Cow  •  John  Jantsch:  Duct  Tape  Marketing  •  Bob  Gilbreath:  The  Next  Evolution  of  Marketing  •  Steven  Gary  Blank:  Four  Steps  to  the  Epiphany  

Downloadables

Q:\Instructors\Szurop  Istvan  OR  

http://tkon.li/szuropCEU  

István  Szurop  istvan.szurop@taktikon.hu  

m:  +36  30  281  7302