hatchconf startup marketing

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 #Marketingmissy@xTuple.com

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