how to plan and execute great startup marketing programs with april dunford - mars best practices

A Systems Approach to Startup Marketing

A solution to random acts of marketing

April Dunford @aprildunford

RocketWatcher.com

April Dunford

As a marketing exec: 6 startups: 4 launches, $1B revenue, $2B acquisitions 3 big companies: 2 product line launches, $3B revenue, 8 acquisitions (buy side)

As a Marketing Bon Vivant/Gallivanter: project-based marketing work, advisor, instructor, investor, coffee/beer drinker

How do I market my startup?

How do I buy shoes I love?

Advice is Always Based on Assumptions

How much you want to spend Where you like to shop What style of shoes you normally wear Why you need new shoes now

Startup Marketing Advice is the Same

Who are your customers What motivates them to purchase What they love about your offering How they make purchase decisions

Marketing is Big

Branding Lead gen Advertising Social Media Content Messaging Sales Support Events

Marketing Questions Google can Answer

how to increase blog traffic, get email signups, improve your SEO, run adwords campaigns, get more Twitter followers/ Facebook fans, create better content, improve your sales effectiveness, shorten sales cycles, convert free trials to paid and on and on and on and on.

Marketing Questions Google Can’t Answer:

What tactics should you focus on? How should you tailor them for your business?

The Cycle of Marketing Meh Marketing

Fashion Assessment*

Select tactics

Execute Measure

Improve

* Where you look at what everyone else is doing

1.  Shifting assumptions 2.  All tactics presumed OK until tested 3.  No relationship or consistency

between the tactics

You need to start with a marketing model

Inputs

3 aspects of customer knowledge Who they are How they view solutions How they buy stuff

Customer Company Characteristics (B2B):

–  Geography, size, industry –  Stuff they do, type of customer they serve, how they sell, their

ecosystem, budgets, risk tolerance, power structure, etc. Decision Maker Characteristics:

–  demographics, education, skills, interests, motivations, goals

Pain: –  list of things that drives this group crazy

Where they hang out: –  Social networks, communities, associations/groups, events

Where they find out about stuff: –  Search engines, word of mouth, peers, media outlets, blogs,

experts, influencers/famous people

Offering

•  What do we do? •  What market are we in? •  Competitive Alternatives: –  Examples: Do nothing, manual effort, Word/

Excel, competitive product

•  Key Differentiated Points of Value – When compared to the alternatives above the

specific value you bring that the others don’t.

•  Proof – Customer references, 3rd party reviews,

statistics, metrics, expert endorsements,

Buying Process

No Need Need Eval Buy Enjoy Re-

new

Knowing the cost of not solving the problem

Knowing the Value of solving the problem

Knowing the value of your solution

Why purchase now?

Using and enjoy the offering

Knowing I can’t do without the offering

Current solution good enough

Value not compelling

Risks too high

Not knowing how to evaluate

Great but not for me

I might change my mind

Too much $

Bad service,

Bad user experience

Not using

Decided there was no need

Move to other solution

Accelerators

Friction points

Tactics

Selected based on: Who you need to reach Where you can reach them Stages where the friction is What you need to do to move them to the next stage

No Need, Need What: Problem-focused Content/Programs

–  Articles and blog posts –  Infographics/Industry data/trend reports –  Videos (problem focused) –  Curated Content –  Newsletters –  SEO, Website, landing pages, content optimized around the

problem Where: Where the prospects already are

–  Forums, Social networks, newsgroups, industry events, associations, media, blogs, etc.

Purpose: Entertain, Educate, Engage Desired Action: Permission to regularly provide information

–  Social Media: Likes, follows –  Email: Newsletter/blog signups

Eval/Buy What: Solution Focused Content/Programs

–  Articles and blog posts –  Demo Videos/interactive Demos –  Webinars –  In-person events –  Analyst reports –  Case studies –  Feature guides/whitepapers –  ROI/pricing calculators –  Advertising, Sponsorships –  SEO, Website, landing pages, content optimized around the solution

Where: Where the prospects are and Increasingly on Your Turf –  Forums, Social networks, newsgroups, industry events, media, blogs,

etc. –  Your branded sites (website, Facebook page, etc.)

Purpose: Educate, Differentiate, Move to Evaluation and/or Sale Desired Action: Permission to “sell”

–  Contact information for sales (through content, events, etc.) –  Free Trial sign up –  Purchase

Enjoy, Refer, Renew •  What: Activation/Engagement-oriented content/programs

–  Customer Support Content –  Demo Videos/interactive Demos –  How-to, Best Practice guides –  User forums/User Groups –  ROI/pricing calculators –  Customer newsletters

•  Where: Mainly on Your Turf but also where they are –  Your branded sites (website, Facebook page, etc.) –  Customer Support portal/forum, –  User group forums, events, etc. –  Forums, Social networks, newsgroups, associations, media, blogs, etc.

•  Purpose: Get customers to experience the value, Create raving fans,

•  Desired Action: Referrals, Renewals –  Act as a reference –  Refer business –  Renewal

Operations

Plans based on selected tactics Email marketing plan/process/calendar Paid traffic plan/process Content plan/calendar Social media plan/calendar Media/Influencer relations plan/calendar

Metrics

How prospects are flowing through the buying process

Analysis

What conclusions can you draw? How do these impact the inputs?

The Circle of Marketing Awesome

Tactical Execution

Outputs

Analysis

Inputs Customer

Offering Buying Process

Metrics

Conclusions

Project plans

Thanks!

RocketWatcher.com @aprildunford