1. Startup Marketing:Rules for Revolutionaries Michael Gaiss Senior Vice President [email_address] Twitter: @MichaelGaiss

2. Workshop Agenda

Background

Frame of Reference

• Technology Startup Stages

• Old School versus The Digital World

Startup Marketing Rules

• More like suggestions on how to approach things

3. Nasdaq: VPRT $120,200,000Internet-based printing $295,000,000Acquired by Lucent Switching equipment Acquired by Staples Specialty retailer Nasdaq: ODSY $54,000,000Hospice care provider $355,000,000Acquired by Tellabs Optical access solutions Nasdaq: NXCD $120,000,000Online credit provider $5,400,000,000Acquired by Terra NetworksGlobal internet network Nasdaq: LULU $32,760,000Specialty apparel retailer Nasdaq: CKFR $86,4000,000Electronic bill pay systems Nasdaq: BFRE $67,200,000 Performance-based online marketing Nasdaq: AVID $56,000,000Video editing systems Nasdaq: ASKJ $42,000,000Online Search $567,000,000Acquired by Cisco SystemsBroadband VPN solutions Nasdaq: CONR $78,000,000Acquired by J&J for $1.4B Drug eluting stents Nasdaq: EXAS $65,000,000Genomics-based technologies Nasdaq: HLCS$48,600,000 Developer of instruments for DNA sequencing $1,100,000,000Acquired by AOLAdvanced mapping solution Nasdaq: SYBS $49,600,000Relational database management software $325,000,000Acquired by Cisco SystemsWeb-enabled call center Nasdaq: STAR $126,000,000 Infrastructure Products 4. My Background

Highland Capital Partners (since 1999)

Various Tech Companies

• Gentia Software/Planning Sciences (Boston/UK)

• IQ Software (Atlanta)

• Unisys (Minneapolis, New Zealand, Blue Bell, PA)

University of Michigan (Engineering)

University of St. Thomas (MBA)

TiE-Boston Charter Member

5. Technology Startup Stages

Concept

• Key element is creating the basic value proposition and testing it in the market

Seed

• Key element is product development

• Business focus is researching potential market opportunity to refine the business model

• Product is raw but customers are using it

Early

• Key element is market adoption

• Proving that customer are willing to use and pay for your products

• Business focus is sales & marketing

• Whole product is complete

Growth

• Key element is scale

• Business focus is accelerating market adoption

• Product line extensions to address new market opportunities

6. Changing Paradigm Communities Target Audience Powerful Networks Powerful Media Real Time Deadlines People & Relationships Institutions Build Community Tell Your Audience Informal & Conversational Formal & Instructive Influence & Persuade Command & Control Advocate Preach Engage & Participate Transmit The Digital World Old School 7. Startup Marketing Rules

Immerse Yourself in the Flow of Your Industry

Embrace Thought Leadership

Get Creative for Early Customer Access

Establish a (Far) Superior Online Presence

Leverage Media Relations to Project Credibility

Harness Word-of-Mouth

Scale Smartly

8. 1. Immerse Yourself in the Flow Immerse Yourself 9. Immerse Yourself 10. Google Alerts Immerse Yourself 11. Google Reader Immerse Yourself 12. TweetDeck Immerse Yourself 13. 2. Embrace Thought Leadership A thought leader is a person/organization that is recognized among peers and the industry for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights. A distinguishing characteristic of a thought leader is therecognition from the outside world that the company deeply understands its business, the needs of its customers, and the broader marketplace in which it operates. Thought Leadership 14. The Real Opportunity

Intellectual capital that distinguishes your position as a knowledge resource and subject matter expert

Point-of-view platforms to shape and influence market perceptions

Objective is to ultimately establish yourself as a trusted client advisor

IMPORTANT NOTE - Being a thought leader requires that you have actual leading thinkers in your organization.

Turn your organization activity (your content development and deployment strategy) into: Thought Leadership 15. How to Accomplish?

Establish a differentiated and compelling position

• Whats your vision, perspective and insight?

• Is it relevant, knowledgeable, compelling, provocative & unique?

• Does it deliver value to your marketplace?

Package into messaging, content & points-of-view (POV)

Engage the industry influencers

• • Industry analysts

• • Partners

• • Media

Incorporate feedback, refine and build buy-in

Articulate and further communicate it

Thought Leadership 16. Thought Leadership 17. 3. Get Creative for Early Customer Access

Relentlessly work assets

• Board of Directors

• Employees

• Potential Investors

• Social Network contacts

Stack the deck

• Advisors

• Product Advisory Councils

Early Customer Access 18.

Product definition well defined but 9 months from going live

Brought on inside sales person to validate their assumptions

Established Product Advisory Council

• Walked through value proposition, pitch

• Solicited feedback and input

Signed up nearly 1,000 members

Primed the sales pump

Early Customer Access 19. 4. Establish a (Far) Superior Online Presence

Smart website architecture

• Content management system (CMS)

• Database management system

• RSS

Professional look-and-feel

• Look like the big guys

Own the Golden Triangle

• Compelling content strategy

• SEO, SEM, Social Media

Online Presence 20. Whats the Golden Triangle? Pay Per Click ($$$) Natural (Free) Stats - 85% click on natural (unpaid) results- 72% of searchers click on the first link of interest - 25.5% read all listings first, then decide - Position 7-10 in natural listings = top 4 PPC slots on the right hand side of the page Online Presence 21. Compelling Content Strategy

Content is King

Create highly relevant site content

• Thought pieces / White Papers

• News & articles

• Customer case studies

• Podcasts/Videos/Webinars

• Newsletters

• Product information

• Blogs under right conditions

Offer value that draws visitors

Online Presence 22. Exploit the Architecture of the Internet

On-Page Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• • Title Tags, Meta Description, Keywords

• • Relevant Body Content with keywords worked in

• • Add Headings Tags, ALT text to images

Off-Page SEO

• Linking strategy

• Directories

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Am I present everywhere people discuss my industry? Online Presence 23. SEO & SEM All Starts with Keyword Optimization

Sources

• Brainstorm from messaging

• • Relevant to your target markets

• Google Analytics (how are people currently find you)

• Competitive analysis (meta keywords tags)

• Keyword Tools

Selecting keyword phrases

• Objectives

• • Search volume (goal = high)

• • Relevance (goal = high)

• • Competition (goal = low)

• Types

• • Core competitive

• • Long-tail keywords

• Segment into multiple lists

• • Primary

• • Secondary

Online Presence 24. On-Page SEO Techniques

Title Tags HTML element that displays the title of a web page in your web browser and in the search results.

Meta Description HTML element that summarizes the content of your web page and enforces your marketing message.

Source: Todd Friesen Online Presence 25. On-Page SEO Techniques

Body Content must be readable and contain your key phrases.

ALT Tags HTML element describes images in the page. Alt tags boost relevancy as well as provide a new avenue of traffic from image searches.

Source: Todd Friesen Online Presence 26. On-Page SEO Techniques

Heading Tags an HTML element that provides structure and tells search engines which parts of your page are most important.

Internal Linking proper linking leads to better indexing. Using your keywords in your internal links helps boost relevancy.

Source: Todd Friesen Online Presence 27. Off-Page SEO Linking Strategies

Competitive Intelligence Analyze the backlinks of your competitors. Try to get links from the same sites

• Google/MSN Search: link:www.hcp.com

Submit to Quality General Directories

Submit to Verticals/Topical Guides

Search Ad Networks AdBrite, AdWords, Blog Ads, etc.

Use Blogs and RSS Google loves blogs

Create Podcasts/Screencasts Bloggers love posting them

Buy Text Links But be careful. Google doesnt like it

Source: Todd Friesen Online Presence 28. HubSpots WebSite Grader Online Presence 29. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Paid Search Organic Online Presence 30. SEM Process Define Your Goals

Campaign Management

• Keyword Development

• Campaign Structure

• Match Type Refinement

• Bid Strategies

• Creative Execution & Testing

• Landing Page Testing

Test & Monitor KEEPKeywords PRUNE Keywords O p t i m i z a t i o n Online Presence 31. Google AdWords Online Presence 32. Pursue Social Media Channels Online Presence 33. Resources

SEO/SEM Website Analysis

• HubSpotswww.websitegrader.com

Keyword Tools

• Google AdWords keyword tool

• HubSports KeywordGrader

• WordTracker (advanced)

Free Link Research Tools

• Google & Yahoos Site Explorer -siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com

• Netconcepts Link Checker -www.netconcepts.com/linkcheck

• WeBuildPages Neat-o Tool -www.webuildpages.com/neat-o/

• SEO For Firefox -tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html

• TouchGraph GoogleBrowser -www.touchgraph.com/TGGoogleBrowser.html

• Tattler -www.webguerrilla.com/down-loads/tattler.zip

Online Presence 34. 5. Leverage Media Relations to Project Credibility

Establish direct connections and personal relationships

• Focus on trades

• Be opportunistic with beat reporters

Another channel for your thought leadership

• Contributed articles

• Expert commentary

Feed with news flow

Stay focused and watch costs

Media & Credibility 35. Additional Resources

PR Web

• Cheaper news release distribution channel

• Optimized for SEO

HARO www.helpareporter.com

Twitter

• Follow key reporters

Media & Credibility 36. 6. Harness Word-of-Mouth

Build referenceable constituencies

• Do the hard work

• Make it part of the culture

Turn them into communities

• User groups

• Advisory councils

• Extranets

• LinkedIn Groups

Word of Mouth 37. More on Word-of-Mouth

Give them something to talk about

• Align with their vision and be a resource

• Bring them together with other customers

• Develop promotions that encourage referrals and benefits your existing customers

Leverage

• Customer testimonials

• Content

• Social networks

Word of Mouth 38. 7. Scale Smartly

Build repeatable lead gen engines

• Webinars

• Direct marketing

• Newsletters (automated)

Optimize landing pages

Own more in the sales funnel

Scale Smartly 39. Landing Page Optimization & Testing

An effective landing page results in better conversion rates

Landing pages must correlate with campaign keywords and ads in order to remain relevant to customers

Streamline your visitors experience by avoiding multiple steps to finalize their request

Dont direct traffic only to your main page. Your landing page should be as specific as your searched keywords. Scale Smartly 40. Own More in the Sales Funnel 41. Recap Startup Marketing Rules

Immerse Yourself in the Flow of Your Industry

Embrace Thought Leadership

Get Creative for Early Customer Access

Establish a (Far) Superior Online Presence

Leverage Media Relations to Project Credibility

Harness Word-of-Mouth

Scale Smartly

42. Startup Marketing:Rules for Revolutionaries Michael Gaiss Senior Vice President [email_address] Twitter: @MichaelGaiss