You have to FIND customers to develop them

Helpful MarketingTM for Lean Startups

by Kevin Dewalt

Save the date: Justin coming to Lincoln …

Week of June 23rd: Meetups, Workshops for Lean Startup training

Brian ArdingerEmail: brian@nmotion.coTwitter: @ardinger, @NMotionStartupMobile: 402-770-9567

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 …

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 problem3. 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 is married, college educated, and has a daughter. Dave’s life dream is to become an entrepreneur and sell web and mobile products online. He has a full-time job and is willing to work very hard to make his dream a reality. He has some technical skills but unfortunately doesn’t live near a startup hub - and thus he has a hard time connecting with entrepreneurs to get advice when he needs it.

Target Persona Tips

• Based on a REAL person

• Have 1 Target – or at most 2

• Don’t sweat details.

Let’s hear some of your targets!

How to use your target

• Pick “Dave’s” problems

• Offer Dave solutions

• Write/Speak/ TO Dave

Dear Dave …

How ‘Help’ impacts Cust Dev

• Gets you Earlyvangelists

• Gets you insight

• Helps validate demand

• Positions you as a trusted source

Closing

Why you should be VERY optimistic …

I met some of your future customers last week … in Manila

But you need to get above the noise

Few will create “the next Twitter”

But we can all be helpful

Helpful Marketing Workshop Omaha

By the end of the workshop you will …

Write helpful content that sells Build your evangelists by helping 1-on-1

SoHelpful.me/KevinDewalt

Sat Apr 19 8:30-5:00

workshop.sohelpful.me/omaha.html

$249

$99 – use code KD99

@kevindewalt

kevindewalt@gmail.com