startup marketing: a systems approach
Post on 17-Oct-2014
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DESCRIPTION
Many startups approach marketing in a very tactics-oriented way by selecting how they will market and then tuning that based on prospect responses. In this presentation I make a case for a more systematic approach that starts and ends with customer knowledge. This presentation was given at The International Startup Festival in Montreal on July 12, 2012TRANSCRIPT
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 does an engineer become a career marketer?
Step 1: Get friend to give you a marketing jobStep 2: Don’t get fired
(Pro tip: Step 2 is way harder than Step 1)
What I learned reading 100’s marketing books plus taking a
ton of marketing courses:
Marketing theory is useless
(until after you know what you’re doing)
The 5th P of Marketing:Pissed off!
Meanwhile:“Hack me some $$,
Growth Hacker!!”
So I started doing “marketing” stuff.
The Cycle of Marketing MehMarketing Fashion
Assessment*
Select tactics
ExecuteMeasure
Improve
* Where you look at what everyone else is doing
1. No relationship or consistency between the tactics
2. Assumptions were always a problem3. I couldn’t always answer “stupid”
questions
But sometimes I could
Can great startup marketing
be modeled?
Inputs
3 aspects of customer knowledge Who they areHow they view solutionsHow they buy stuff
Customer Worksheet
Company Characteristics:Geography, size, industryStuff they do, type of customer they serve, how they sell, their ecosystem, budgets, risk tolerance, power structure, etc.
Consumer/Decision Maker 1, 2, 3: Characteristics:
demographics, education, skills, interests, motivations, goalsPain:
list of things that drives this group crazyWhere 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
Segment 1, 2, 3
Offering Worksheet (Customer Perspective)
Competitive Alternatives:Examples: Do nothing, manual effort, Word/Excel, competitive product
Key Differentiated Points of ValueWhen compared to the alternatives above the specific value you bring that the others don’t.
What do we do?
ProofCustomer references, 3rd party reviews, statistics, metrics, expert endorsements,
What market are we in?
Sales Process
Awareness Consider-ation Purchase Renewal
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 reachWhere you can reach themStages where the friction isWhat you need to do to move them to the next stage
Operations
Plans based on selected tacticsEmail marketing plan/process/calendarPaid traffic plan/processContent plan/calendarSocial media plan/calendarMedia/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 Executio
n
Outputs
Analysis
InputsCustomer
OfferingBuying Process
Metrics
Conclusions
Project plans
Thanks!
@aprildunfordRocketWatcher.com