MARKETING FOR STARTUPSBecause if people don’t know you exist, it really doesn’t matter how much your product rocks

BEFORE AFTER

DOUBLED VIEWS & REVENUE

We Help Companies

CEO, Hunter & BardMarketing strategy

Marketing implementation

Full branding & design

Teach Marketing for Startups at StartHub (Tel Aviv/ Jaffa Academic College)

Mentor at: Google, Microsoft, Founder Institute, Seedcamp, & more

Cover Israeli startups for TNW

Shira Abel

“A true unfair advantage is something that cannot be easily copied or bought.”

- Jason Cohen

Agenda

StrategyAlpha

Launch

Web / Tablet vs. Mobile

Building Marketing Into the ProductBranding

Product market fit

@shiraabel

MARKETING SHOULD START THE MOMENT THE PRODUCT IS CONCEPTUALIZED

@shiraabel

What’s Your Strategy

@shiraabel

Example@shiraabel

Business Objective

Improve Financial Performance

Business Metric

Reduce Long-Term Dependence on Ads & Lower Overall Costs

Marketing Metric

Increase Relationship / Content Marketing – Raise percentage of traffic from blog

versus ads

EXAMPLE

Sample Marketing Strategies for Web

Become known as a product leader in a chosen niche (think Martha Stewart – home, or Buffer – social media management)

Increase average purchase rate (in-store recommendations are great for this)

@shiraabel

Create evangelists who will bring in a wider client base

Increase customer lifetime value by giving information that the customer values (creates loyalty / increases switching cost – think Kissmetrics blog)

Sample Marketing Strategies for Apps

Create several free apps that have in-app advertisements directing to your paid app

Have your free app represent a much larger service (store, blog, service, company this is where the monetization is)

@shiraabel

Have in-app rev-share advertising and go for large numbers (Inneractive, Admob, etc.)

Have a free Lite and a Premium Paid version (Lite having advertising – Premium having none)

The Holy Trinity of Marketing Online

GOOD PRODUCT

Earned Media / PR

RelationshipMarketing

SEO / Ads /Affiliate

@shiraabel

The Holy Trinity of Mobile Marketing

GREAT PRODUCT

Earned Media / PR / Reviews

Social Integration

SEO / Ads / Localization

@shiraabel

GREAT PRODUCT IS REQUIRED

Performance MeasurementIs your objective SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic & time specific?

What are your strategic initiatives?Build awareness

Expand distribution (i.e. increase downloads)

Build penetration

Build buying rate

Increase loyalty

Funnel e.g. when purchases through the appWhere do you want people to go?

What action do you want people to take?

Track the movement

Conversion rate / A/B Testing

Test & iterate

@shiraabel

Marketing for the Concept Phase

Build the marketing into the product. Create an incentive to share. Make sharing easy.

Test assumptions (cost, messaging, bundle mix, etc.). Mobile ads app/ Ads landing page

Get to know influencers & media people on Twitter. Give a lot. Don’t ask for anything.

1

2

3

@shiraabel

IN THE BEGINNING THE GOAL SHOULD BE PRODUCT / MARKET FIT40% IS GOLD* * 40% of your customer base would be upset if your product disappeared. – Seth Ellis

@shiraabel

How to Test Your Idea - WebCreate a Minimal Viable Product MVP

This’ll be ugly and basic

Take people through the motions

Ads to landing pages to test messages – see what people click on

Can build an entire product & take’m down to BUY

Once product/market fit has been reached do a Big Launch

@shiraabel

How to Test Your Idea - MobileCreate a rough app & have friends & family test via Testflight (very beginning)

Make a MVP and launch in the app store of a smaller country only

Create a Minimal Viable Brand Purpose – Why do we exist

Positioning – Where do we fit in the market

Personality – How do we tell that story*

Once product/market fit had been reached, build the main app and do a Big Launch

@shiraabel

Alpha PhaseStart the blog with newsletter sign up (think Daniel Morrill & Mattermark)

Landing pages more sign ups

A/B test messaging & optimization using unbounce.com or launchrock.com (more sign ups)

Social outreach starts to the media

The point is to begin building an interest and an audience through good content before launch

@shiraabel

Launch Phase

Ask the media people and influencers who now know you if they would be willing to check out your product & give feedback

PR on a slow news day (avoid days where Apple announces anything, election days, CES, DLD, etc…)

Send an announcement to the list you’ve been growing through the blog, ads, and social

Attempt an act of virility (I say attempt, because nothing is guaranteed)

@shiraabel

Sample Tactics (not in order)• Mobile Ads (FB, Google & in

complimentary apps)• PR (Media Kit recommended)• Facebook • Podcast• YouTube• Twitter• Quora• LinkedIn• Blogging• Newsletter / Email (highest ROI

of all digital media)• Google+• Games• Forums

• White papers / Case studies• Peer review• Seeding posts• Infographics• E-book• Webinars• Community• Guest blogging • Teleseminar• Affiliate Marketing• Game elements (e.g. leader board,

80% signed up, awards for actions)• SEO / SEM• Pinterest• Blog commenting

@shiraabel

AFTER PRODUCT MARKET FIT – SEEK TO ACQUIRE MASS USERS

Earned Media & PR

Brings big numbers all at once

Gives a spike of traffic

May not be aimed at the target market (i.e. much of the time TechCrunch isn’t the target market, but it’s what VCs read & gives social proof)

Has a strong trust rate

@shiraabel

Affiliate, SEO & Media Buy (Ads)

Immediate

Targeted

Mobile has a stronger conversion than web

Strongest conversion is mobile FB

Costs (which is fine if you charge, could be a dilemma if you’re free)

Doesn’t build a relationship

Has the lowest trust rate

Affiliate needs to be well vetted in order to not destroy the brand

@shiraabel

Relationship Marketing

Takes time

Builds the brand

Costs (yes, time is money)

Builds a relationship

Increases referral rate

One key point – social needs to be built into the product

@shiraabel

BEHAVIORALENGINEERING

@shiraabel

“Simplicity changes behavior.”

- BJ Fogg

T-shirt Economy

@shiraabel

Financial Economy

@shiraabel

Priming

@shiraabel

Framing

ONCE PEOPLE START TO COME – HOW DO YOU GET THEM TO COME BACK? AND SHARE?

@shiraabel

Action Triggers

@shiraabel

What gets your customer moving?

Nir Eyal – If you don’t know him – you should.

Jack Dorsey: The Power of User Narratives

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acMXhhdWylQ

@shiraabel

UXArchive.com – Amazing Resource

Give an Incentive

@shiraabel

Keep in Touch – Email

Keep it short

A/B test several subject lines

Action-trigger emails have a higher opening rate

Keep it relevant

Appropriate landing page funnel them in

Let people choose what they want to be notified for

DON’T BUY LISTS OR SPAM

Keep in Touch – Notifications

iOS 108 characters max

Android – recommended 50 characters max (1-line on the notification bar) * ht/ Danya Schwartz Bar-El

Localize sending so user receives notification between 9-11am or 2-5pm (but test first)

A/B test messaging for a couple of days then blast everybody else with the winner

In-app landing page – like all landing pages - fitted to the message and the push campaign

Community

@shiraabel

Community

@shiraabel

Know Your Market

@shiraabel

Viral If You Can

@shiraabel

Watch the FunnelAcquisition –

Learns About ProductConversion –

Signs UpRetention –

Uses Product

WOM (Sharing)

Buys

@shiraabel

Build an App Family

Send advertising to main appDo complimentary apps – NOT same app with different names (branded house or a house of brands) Lite and paid versions

Main App

@shiraabel

@shiraabel

Localization

Chevy Nova

In Spanish “no va” means No Go

http://americanmusclepictures.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Chevy-Nova-SS-1.jpg

@shiraabel

BrandingApps are all about branding. The app store is like the supermarket shelf.

@shiraabel

Ugly Icon*

@shiraabel

*What NOT to do

Pretty Icon

@shiraabel

Best Pics of the App

@shiraabel

Text is Below = No One Reads It, SEO Only

@shiraabel

Social Proof = Ratings & Reviews

@shiraabel

HOW DO YOU TURN YOUR APP INTO A HABIT?

@shiraabel

Design

@shiraabel

Warm Fuzzy Feeling=Community

@shiraabel

Make Sharing Part of the Experience

@shiraabel

Gamification*

@shiraabel

* Use with caution – the obvious ways are already passé

B2B

Sample Marketing Strategies for B2B

Become known as a industry leader in a chosen niche (think about crossing the chasm – Outbrain does this well)

Connect with those who use your product where they live online (Objet has a FB page for that reason)

@shiraabel

Let the end-user (who may not be the client) know about your work (i.e. Intel inside)

Increase customer lifetime by giving information that the customer values (creates loyalty / increases switching cost)

Sample Tactics (not in order)• Online Ads (FB, Google & more)• PR (Media Kit recommended)• Facebook • Pinterest• YouTube• Twitter• Quora• LinkedIn• Blogging• Seeding posts• Google+• Blog commenting• Games• Infographics

• White papers / Case studies• Peer review• Newsletter / Email (highest ROI of

all digital media)• Forums• E-book• Webinars• Community• Guest blogging • Podcast• Teleseminar• Affiliate Marketing• Game elements (e.g. leader board,

80% signed up)• SEO / SEM

@shiraabel

Communicating to an International Market

Americans spell correctly. However, the British disagree. There are more Americans than British (localize your English – even when it’s for Australians)

Spelling and grammar count – mistakes lower trust levels in all languages and cultures

Find someone from the culture you’re aiming to sell to, who knows marketing – to do your marketing. OR – go there & live for a bit. Understanding culture is critical.

@shiraabel

International Partnerships

Europe & Israel are local – use it to your advantage

Find companies in complimentary industries to do joint partnerships with – e.g. A high end organic bed company does a joint promotion with a high end organic bedding (sheets) company – email lists are combined & both companies & customers benefit

Face to face is ideal, but Skype works wonders when F2F is not possible

@shiraabel

Thought Leadership is Critical

Blogging and guest blogging is one of the best ways to do this

Webinars / Presentations that give helpful industry related information (think Crunched and its Growth Hacker series)

White papers (sign up to our newsletter and get this white paper for free!)

@shiraabel

Marketing is a Sales Tool

Case studies show your ideal customer and how things go when everything is perfect

Connecting with individuals on social builds the relationship, e.g.

Object can showcase customers design work on its FB page

LinkedIn group about industry – lead generation

Social CRM on Twitter

Email marketing reminds companies that you exist & what you can do for them

@shiraabel

Social Media for Research

What is the title of the person in the organization that typically makes the decisions?

Rapportive

LinkedIn

Who are the media people who cover your industry?Twitter

FB

Quora

LinkedIn

Pinterest

@shiraabel

Rapportive

Find the email of the person you want to connect to by checking names through the Rapportive plugin.

@shiraabel

LinkedIn

Choose who you want to connect to:

What groups is the person in?

If you know the title but not the whole name – do a search in Google of the partial name and title & you’ll get the whole name.

@shiraabel

Who Are You Looking For

@shiraabel

Google Search

@shiraabel

First & Last Name Found!

@shiraabel

Random Stuff I Like

PR for Startups by Colette Ballou

http://www.slideshare.net/BallouPRUK/ballou-pr-pioneers-festival-presentation-oct-2012

@shiraabel

THE Best Review Of All Time

The Mountain Three Wolf Moon

Short Sleeve Tee

@shiraabel

Close Running

BIC Cristal For Her Ball Pen

@shiraabel

Hat tip:

References & Reads THANK YOU’S: Dan-ya Shwartz Bar-El & Ze'ev Rosensteinhttp://www.slideshare.net/startuplessonslearned/eric-ries-the-lean-startup-google-tech-talkhttp://www.slideshare.net/gzicherm/nir-eyal-hookedatgsummithttp://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/canvashttp://www.briansolis.com/2008/08/socialization-of-your-personal-brand_28/http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2004/03/its_a_small_wor.htmlhttp://www.quora.com/Udemy/How-did-Udemy-get-11-000-courses-online-so-quickly http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Three-Wolf-Short-Sleeve/product-reviews/B002HJ377Ahttp://www.amazon.com/BIC-Cristal-1-0mm-Black-MSLP16-Blk/dp/B004F9QBE6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QmCUDHpNzE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI http://www.macadamia-apps.com/app-launch-7-mistakes-to-learn-from/  http://flowingdata.com/2011/09/18/yoda-pie-chart/ http://blog.bitly.com/post/9887686919/you-just-shared-a-link-how-long-will-people-payhttp://www.briansolis.com/2011/09/whats-the-r-o-i-a-framework-for-social-analytics/http://www.slideshare.net/setlinger/altimeter-social-analytics081011finalBreakthrough Marketing Planshttp://www.seomoz.org/blog/tracking-the-roi-of-social-mediahttp://ideas.deloitte.ca/blog/2011/09/social-media-going-beyond-roi/http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/09/20/the-10-key-mistakes-many-bloggers-and-writers-make/http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/03/01/the-10-best-facebook-campaigns/http://www.facebook-studio.com/http://www.seomoz.org/blog/tracking-the-roi-of-social-mediahttp://marketingfortomorrow.com/tag/marketing-tone/

@shiraabel