lean marketing for startups - how to survive the early years
TRANSCRIPT
LEAN MARKETING FOR STARTUPS
How to survive and grow on a shoestring
Hi!
Who is this guy?
General Manager of Talent Cupboard (more on this in a minute)
I’m an “accidental entrepreneur”
Comp Sci w/ Business grad but have since morphed into a jack of all trades.
Find me on twitter: @AdamJBall
What is Talent Cupboard?
Talent Cupboard is an online marketplace connecting businesses with the best student and graduate digital talent for freelance projects and jobs.
How it works:
Post a project -> set a budget & deadline -> pick a freelancer
We’re passionate about helping businesses to grow and young people to gain vital work experience. It’s a win:win.
First, a problem
The problem
It’s never been easier or a better time to start a business.
The problem
Great support networks, alternative access to finance and the internet has changed
the game.
The problem
But surviving and growing a business is as hard as it’s ever
been.
The problem
500,000+ new businesses registered with Companies House last year.
Only 43% of businesses survived their first 5 years between 2008 and
2013.
A lack of growth is part of the problem.
What people thing growth will be like
What it actually looks like
How to tackle growth
What I want to talk to you about
Some fundamental marketing tactics to help you through the early years and achieve growth.
- Metrics - define success for you- Targets - make a commitment- Audience - pick your tribe- Channel - make some noise- Track - fail fast & learn
Metrics - define success for you
Metrics - define your success
What is the single most important metric to your
business?
Revenue?Users?
Metrics - don’t get distracted
Targets- make a commitment
Pick a target, then be relentless about it
Make your target weekly
Weekly Yearly
1% 1.7x
2% 2.8x
5% 12.6x
7% 33.7x
10% 142.0x
http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html
Growth becomes the compass that guides you.
“Will this meeting help me hit my growth target this
week?”
Audience- pick a your tribe
Your audience
Your audience
Have a firm idea of who you want to be selling to.
Create user personas to help you do this.
Read this:
http://marketingbeforefunding.com/2013/02/26/complete-guide-to-creating-a-customer-persona-for-your-startup/
Pick a channel- make some noise
Where to start?
Your website
Where to start?
Where to start?
Only 50% of SMEs and charities in the UK have a website!
Where to start?
It’s 2015 and every business needs to have a strong online presence in order to survive.
That’s why we’re launching a new initiative that gets businesses
online for a low monthly fee rather than a huge upfront cost.
We handle the design, build and hosting.
Email [email protected] if you need help with a website.
Where to start?
Where to start?
Pick two or three channels to test at the beginning. Gain insights into which one works best for you.
Content SEO Email
Content
Content
The normal responses to “Do you produce content?”
“I don’t understand content”
“I just don’t have time to write a blog”
“Where do I even start?”
Content in 4 steps
1. Plan 2. Execute
3. Distribute 4. Learn
Content in 4 steps
Plan
We write for our customers. Figure out what problems &
challenges they face and help by writing great
content on the subject.
Come up with 15-20 different blog post titles.
We use Trello to organise ideas within the team.
Content in 4 steps
Figure out what’s worked for others
Content in 4 steps
Carve out time for blog writing.
Come up with a schedule for when content should be live and stick to it.
Content in 4 steps
Execute
You need to build a content habit.
Whether that’s 500 words a day over a few days or a Sunday spent writing 2000 words in
one go.
Content in 4 steps
Pro-tips
Make content 2,000 words+
Usehttp://www.hemingwayapp.com/
Content in 4 steps
Distribute
Content in 4 steps
Learn
SEO
SEO
SEO
Some quick SEO wins
SEO
Use woorank.com to get insights into where you website can improve. Use this as your cheat
sheet when talking to agencies.
SEO
Blog. A LOT.
SEO
Make sure your site is mobile optimised.
Over 60% of traffic is now via mobile. Google has recently updated it’s algorithm to weight websites on this factor.
Email > Social
Customer acquisition rate (%)
Social is awesome for connecting with people.
But there is a shift towards getting you to pay for eyeballs as social networks monetise.
Email lists let you keep control.
Use a service like Mailchimp to help you manage
subscribers, grow your lists and send mobile responsive
emails easily.
Some final tips
Some final tips
Celebrate the small wins
Some final tips
Don’t be afraid to mess up
Some final tips
Do what you do best, outsource the rest
- Bloggers- Coders- Designers
- Animators- Copywriters- Marketers
Head on over to talentcupboard.com
Thanks!
Get in touch!
@AdamJBall