Digital Marketing Is A Great Equalizer For Startups

Most technical entrepreneurs cringe when they finally realize that marketing is still king, despite the power of technology, and they are up against competitors who have a hundred times their spending power. Luckily, the digital revolution has been a great equalizer in the marketing world, if used effectively to target the audience, engage the customer, and measure results. Digital marketing is simply the move to the digital tools and technologies that most people depend on every day, including smartphones, search engines, tablets, video on demand, and the social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. The cost of entry to market on these is low, and marketing leverage has very little to do with the size of your budget. The best strategy and tactics to accomplish this digital marketing leverage are detailed in a new book, “Taking Down Goliath,” by Kevin M. Ryan and Rob “Spider” Graham. These industry veterans have been teaching smaller companies how to compete with digital marketing for many years, and have a wealth of case studies to show it really works. The first step is to create the perfect online marketing message. This message is defined as the knowledge or information that will be retained by customers after they are exposed to your company. The authors reiterate what I often say to business to business (B2B) entrepreneurs, it’s all about selling solutions (not technology) to real customers who have real needs and problems they want solved: How does this solution solve an existing problem? Every business faces challenges that affect their sales efforts, manufacturing efforts, human resources, and other things that keep them viable and profitable. Not only must the solution benefit the company as a whole, but there can be emotional benefits as well for employees who feel the pain. How does this solution provide a competitive advantage? Solutions that can turn a threat into an opportunity are especially enticing. In a world where the common scenario is “eat or be eaten,” being able to help companies to be better predators and less likely to be prey will be compelling. How does this solution make the customer a visionary/market leader? Part of the competitive advantage in the marketplace is being perceived by that market as a leader in some way. Every company is striving to find an identity that highlights its unique selling proposition, to stand out from the crowd as a visionary. How does this solution enable a significant value exchange? Smart companies are always looking for a return on investment. If they spend time, money, or other resources on a potential solution, then that solution should pay for itself. That’s a value exchange, as are solutions that empower employees to make better use of existing resources. How does this solution represent an exclusive opportunity? In the business world, exclusivity isn’t just a social ego boost. Companies that have access to, or can sell products and services not available to their competitors, can position themselves better in the marketplace. Like people, businesses need to be known for what sets them apart. How does this solution increase performance and productivity? Companies that are more efficient in the use of all their resources will be more profitable. Solutions that increase performance include automation tools, equipment upgrades, and new approaches to manufacturing and distribution. For business to consumer (B2C) audiences, effective marketing messages are also about triggering strong emotional triggers that consumers rely on to make decisions about the value and benefits of the offers they receive. These include a sense of well-being, convenience, security, significance, exclusivity, positive social standing, and others. In both business and consumer environments, with digital marketing technology, the playing field between big companies, mid-size businesses, and even startups has been leveled tremendously. The new success factor is not the size of your budget, but your skill in crafting the right message, sending it out through the right channels, and tuning the system for maximum results. Only in this age of digital marketing could a small non-profit, with a very limited budget, reach an audience of millions per month worldwide, with their “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” marketing message, and achieve results exceeding $100 million. Don’t let big-budget Goliaths trample you merely by the size of their footprint. Startups Integrating Marketing and Design Co-written by Cade Witnish 2014-11-26-marketingdesign.jpg Building a startup on a shoestring budget is possible up to the point when the first innovator and early adopter users have signed on and been identified. Then, the nascent firm needs to quickly scale up it's offering while creating a niche market and acquiring early majority customers. This is also the step in the process when serious risk capital is needed because it requires concurrent engineering development, manufacturing and marketing of the product. Might upfront imaginative coordination of design and marketing ease this critical transition? Good design has been shown in studies at Stanford University and Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, to increase investors' interest and valuation of new business opportunities. At the same time, superior design has been shown in Stanford University studies to create trends by fostering online buzz, as measured by the number of Web Citations commanded. So, if design can entice investors and customers alike -- how might marketing be used to systematically make this happen? The first question to ask is, does the startup's personality shine through its design? People still do business with other people and despite the advances in technology, the most successful startups are those that can create and maintain a human connection with their target customers. The first interaction a potential customer has with a new business establishes how they perceive the startup's persona. Consistent design is a critical component for ensuring that the persona initially established is portrayed throughout the life cycle of the startup. Below are the four key stages to a customer life cycle and the focused steps a startup must take when considering design. Acquisition Acquisition focuses on all tasks and activities related to acquiring potential customers prior to them becoming a customer, whether this is through paid advertising, social media or search engine optimization. Applying a company persona to these elements helps to differentiate their acquisition materials from those of competitors. It helps to communicate not only value proposition and price but also the personality of the business and product, which, on a human level, is how people ultimately relate. Activation and Engagement Potential customers have arrived on the new website and the offerings there have piqued their interest. Now, they need to quickly understand what action to take. Through design, the user is guided through not only the product offering, but through the product activation process. When visitors reach the startup's website, ensure that the same emotions are invoked as during the acquisition stage. By having consistency in communicating the startup's persona at all stages, chances are greatly increased for retaining the engagement of these visitors -- as they will be connected emotionally to the brand throughout the journey. Retention When activating -- communicate the value proposition message to customers and get them to take action. In the retention stage, encourage them to repeat their initial action (e.g. a purchase) or take different, further actions to re-engage. Therefore, the design of the materials you use to re-engage must not be overlooked. To keep people coming back, continue to portray the same persona that attracted them in the first place. Ensure that consistent messaging and personality shines through the startup's design and while no business retains every customer, a consistent persona will attract many more repeat visitors. What next? Get personal. Step back and take a look at your new startup -- whether it's still an idea or is a bit more established -- and ask, -- if your business were a person, what type of person would it be? Are you happy with that persona? And is that persona -- along with your values -- reflected in every stage of messaging that is displayed to your potential and current customers? If not, you may be missing out on many potentially lucrative business opportunities. Special thanks to Cade Witnish for researching and co-writing this article.