startup marketing at hatch conference by missy schmidt
DESCRIPTION
xTuple.com Supports Innovation: From blueprints to buildouts, xTuple helps foster startups in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic technology corridor between Research Triangle, North Carolina and Washington D.C. As a committed, passionate member of the Greater Norfolk tech community, xTuple is a financial sponsor as well as mentor at Hatch Norfolk, an intense accelerator program, and other events where entrepreneurs showcase their ideas. www.HatchNorfolk.comTRANSCRIPT
Hatch NorfolkFrom Blueprints to Buildouts
Mentor-based startup acceleratorfor technology and design
entrepreneursready to build a product & launch a
company.
Startup Marketing(or how to market your venture with little to no money)
Missy Schmidt@xTuple #[email protected]
HatchConf 25Sep12
Whatis
Marketing?
Your business – and the marketing of it – will take over your life … every aspect of it.
Do tell your story to the people who care Don't obsess about always being "on message"
Don't starve just to spend money (on advertising) Don't beg media to write about you (they don't care)
Do make it easy for other people to share your content
This isn’t Mad Men 101
Marketing is your competitive edge
Marketing is meeting customers wants, not needs
Marketing is one part Sales (not the whole thing)
Marketing is far more than tactics.
Marketing is a team sport – every one, every day is marketing
Marketing is executed aggressively by competitive organizations
Marketing is always analyzed, sound strategy based on analysis
Marketing is about understanding your own organization, your abilities and your weaknesses
So what can Marketing do for you?
You must be agood steward ofyour resources
(time and money)
Have a Plan. Plan the Work. Work the Plan.
Market like a nonprofit (you are)
“You've got to find what you love…. [T]he only way to do great workis to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, anddon't settle.”
Steve Jobs, Stanford University Commencement Speech, June 2005
“All too often, entrepreneurs are in love with their idea and that itwill be the next Big Thing. They go to great lengths – and expense – to design, develop and sell a product for which there is no real need.”
Bill Bean, Director of the Technology and Business Center,
College of William and Mary, September 2012
Do what you love, but …
Are you solving a problem we should?
Make sure YOU are part of the Mix
PlaceProductPrice
And – for startups – I’d replace Promotion with …
People (people buy from people, not companies)
The Marketing Mix: 4Ps
“Startup Marketing” Mistake #1
Communicate poorly
“Startup Marketing” Mistake #2
Believe in magic … (hope is not a strategy)
Do NOT believe in the value of Word-of-MouthYou don't have a budget.
So what?
The founders of Google and Amazon relied exclusively on word of mouth to get their companies off the ground.
Other “Startup Marketing” Mistakes
Think a great logo and clever tagline are enough
Forget to cultivate referrals and cross-sell
Ignore prospects (always let them know where you are when they need you)
Not discover what a market wants (can’t fix what you don’t know is broken)
Not expect criticism
Not listen
Not respond Stop marketing, EVER
1.Where have you been?
2.Where are you now?
3.Where (or what) do you want to be?
4.What are Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
Threats?
5.How will you get where you want to go?
Your market position is a cold-hearted, no-nonsense statement of how you are perceived in the minds of your
prospects.
STEP #1: The Marketing Evaluation
Cut through the clutter; a positioning statement is your core message:
Be passionateBe authenticBe engaging
Answer these questions:1. Who are you? 2. What business are you in?3. For whom/what people do you serve?4. What's needed by the market you serve?5. Whom do you compete against?6. What's different about your business?7. What unique benefit is derived from your product or
services?
STEP #2: The Positioning Statement
Have One Before You Start Communicating
“Elevator Speech”
(75 words
or less)
Find people interested in what you’re doing – learn their opinions
Make yourself link-friendly – inbound links as well as outbound
Build a website for little or nothing using an online website builder such as MoonFruit.com, Wix.com or BaseKit.com
Maintain a blog using WordPress.com – it’s your online editorial
Use free social media – LinkedIn.com, FaceBook.com, Twitter.com
Share the human face of your organization
Take pictures and post online at Flickr.com
Create video and post online at YouTube.com
Scatter breadcrumb trail comments online
STEP #3: Use Word-of-Mouth Tools
Social Media Explained
Local Chambers of Commerce
State Commerce Agency
Trade Associationshttp://www.marketingsource.com/associations/
Networking Opportunities, such as alumni groups and professional organizations
Vendors and suppliers
Business Advisory Groups
Economic Development organizations
Training, Training, Training
Web, e.g., http://www.allexperts.com
Your Old Toolbox Still Works
Don’t presume to know – Research!
http://HubSpot.com/marketing-resources/http://SurveyMonkey.com/ http://KickStarter.comhttp://MarketingPower.comhttp://SlideShare.net http://Mashable.com http://Wikipedia.org http://publicityinsider.com/freepub.asp http://jm-seo.org http://Flowtown.com/blog/category/brandingmarketinghttp://DuctTapeMarketing.com
Your New Toolbox Gets Better & Better
Some of my favorite FREE resources
“Tell Your Story” Marketing
“Create Your Own Meme” Marketing
https://www.facebook.com/norfolkramen
It’s a numbers game requiring investment of resources – time and/or money – in many places, just like Venture Capitalists:
Print AdvertisingTrade ShowsDirect MailPublic RelationsBlogFacebookWebsiteTwitter LinkedIn PageYouTube Channel
Email MarketingMarketing AnalyticsWebsite AnalyticsMarketing AutomationSocial Media MonitoringSocial Media PublishingLead ManagementLead GenerationLead TrackingSearch Engine Optimization
If you focus on your target markets…
If you solve your customers’ problems…
If you differentiate yourself from the competition…
If you attend to wants, notwhat they need…
You will have more effective marketing… and success.
“Customer Service” Marketing
Always ask permission to use a customer’s name as a reference.Always follow up with a “Thank You.”Never assume that a customer is happy.Don’t wait for a customer to complain;
Only 10% do, andThe 90% that don’t, tell 10-20 other people that you stink.
Make it right, right now.Make communication and purchasing easy, online.
Have customer information, ordering, order checking? Have PayPal or other payment capabilities?
What information would customers and prospects like to accessat your website? Ask them!Work it: Get found, Convert ‘em to leads, Analyze performance.Repeat.
Common Sense Marketing
What's it all about?Why would someone want it?Why would someone NOT want or NOT use?Why are we doing this (tactic)?Who are our prospects?Who's out there & how do we find them?What's the deal we're offering?Who's in our backyard (the competition)?What are the logistics?When is this happening?Who is involved with making it happen & how?What's our creative (message, art, tone)?What have we done in the past (did it work & why/why not?
Marketing Strategy Development
Tactical Decision Tree
