You have to FIND customers to develop them

Helpful MarketingTM for Lean Startupsby Kevin Dewalt

DC LeanStartup

FounderSoHelpful, 3 previous

Angel Investor Collabspot (JFDI), Power Supply (500 Startups), Vericant (???)

Mentor/Advisor 1,000s, mostly Lean Startup

Ruby Programmer

Former VC

kevindewalt.com@kevindewalt

Beijing, China

3rd Major Marketing Shift

Before 1995Mass Advertising

1995 - 2012Niche Marketing

TodayHelpful Marketing

You ignore 99% of your inbox

and 99.9999% of your ads

I hear …

“We can’t FIND customers to DO Customer Development”

“I have paying customers … and they STILL won’t talk to me”

“Nobody reads our blog … or opens our email”

Finding Customers + Winning Trust = EVERYTHING

Worse yet … what works in SV doesn’t work everywhere …

Your Lean Startup stories?

• Challenges finding customers?

• Getting users to return your emails?

Helpful Marketing

A strategy for winning customers by proving you help them solve problems.

Prove you are helpful and customers will …

• Find you

• Trust you

• Buy from you

• Tell everyone about you

And most importantly for Lean Startups …

TELL YOU THEIR PROBLEMS

Fail to win trust?

You product or service needs to be transformative

About … Help

This is what struggling business do …

Case Study # 1 – Customer.io

“The CEO who writes email copy”

Case Study # 2 – Klinify

“The CEO who will sort your email”

“Do you need help with your email?”

Help them through…

Blogging … Speaking … Newsletters … Face-to-Face … 1-on-1 over Skype or Hangout … Webinars … Hangouts on Air … Drip email … ebooks … courses … workshops … organizing meetups … hackathons … office hours

But … how do I … ?

… identify WHO is my customer?

… know WHAT problems they have?

… know HOW to solve them?

… WRITE something?

… get them to READ it?

… use this trust to SELL to them?

… create EVANGELISTS?

… get customers to CALL ME for help?

Let’s Do Helpful Marketing!

1. Create a Target Persona2. Identify a key problem/solution3. Write helpful content4. Get them to find it5. Develop your 1-on-1 help strategy6. Get customers to call you for help7. Take what you learn to develop products

& content that sells

Target Personas bring focus

A fictitious caricature of the most important person your business needs to influence.

(usually the paying customer)

My “Dave” Target Persona

Dave is a 35-year-old American who

lives in Wichita, Kansas. He has a

family, is college educated, and a full-

time job. Dave’s life dream is to

become an entrepreneur and sell

web and mobile products online. He

doesn’t live near a startup hub - and

thus he has a hard time getting

startup advice.

Let’s hear some of your targets!

Name & Demographics

Dave is a 35 yo American living in Wichita … college

educated

Behaviors

Follows regional tech scene … uses twitter for news … reads TechCrunch … read

Running Lean …

Dreams or Needs

Wants to become a web/mobile entrepreneur & make a living selling online

Challenges or Obstacles

Doesn’t have active startup community locally, no way

to get advice

Target Persona

Target Persona Tips

• Based on a REAL person

• Have 1 Target – or at most 2

• Don’t sweat details

How to use your target

• Use it to give FOCUS.

• Pick your Target’s PROBLEMS and help her by providing a SOLUTION.

This is how Gary wins trust …

Example Problem/Solution

Problem

Need to do Customer Development but don’t know where/when to find customers.

Solution

Engage people immediately when they sign up at your landing page

Let’s hear some problems/solutions for written content

My Target Persona’s name is .... XXXXX …

… he/she has a problem …. XXXXX

… I can help her by writing the solution …. XXXXX

Problem/Solution Tips

• Pick a REAL Problem!

• Solution just needs to be helpful.

(tangentially related to your product is ok)

Bad: “problem” that needs your product

Polly Lou lives in a trailer park - loves lobster but can’t afford it.

A Bad McBlog

“Lobster on a

budget!!!!”

Bad Idea

Writing about a “problem” …

… that needs your product as the “solution”

This isn’t helpful …

Hey Kevin …

… can we do Helpful Marketing on MY startup … ?

<shameless plug>

Help them through…

Blogging … Speaking … Newsletters … Face-to-Face … 1-on-1 over Skype or Hangout … Webinars … Hangouts on Air … Drip email … ebooks … courses … workshops … organizing meetups … hackathons … office hours

SoHelpful.me/BruceMcCarthy

</shameless plug>

try.sohelpful.me

Helpful Marketing Workshop DC

This Fall … only 25 spots

Updates & discounts:

1. workshop.sohelpful.me/dc.htm

2. To: kevindewalt@kevindewalt.comSubj: Workshop

3. Just give me your card …

Helpful Marketing Workshop DC