Startup Marketing in a world of constant change

Hello!Goran CandrlicTwitter: @ChandeFB: /chandeLinkedIn: /gorancandrlicInstagram: /gorancandrlic

Bragging rightsBuilt 500+ websitesManaged EUR 50M in online salesSuccessAutoGlobal, Adria24, Free.com.hr, IntechOpen, SEOCrawler, Kisha Umbrella, GlobalDotsFailureFailed to build (to initial vision) @WebinyPlatform Many more :) (test, iterate, rinse & repeat)

Why Startups Fail?Most startups don’t fail at building a product.They fail at acquiring customers.- Gabriel Weinberg (DuckDuckGo)

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Why Startups Fail?And false thinking:Build it and they will come

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Reason?If you are not a brand - they (customers) do not care.

And to build brand you need?● MONEY!!!● AUDIENCE!!!● CONSISTENCY!!!● BRAND STRATEGY!!!● GREAT PRODUCT!!!● MARKETING AND SALES MACHINE!!!

And most of all:● CASH FLOW TO KEEP THE OPERATION GOING!

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But lets get back to beginnings...What is a startup?

A company that does not know what their product is and who their customers are!

Don’t mix it with growth companies (startups that get funded)Investors don’t fund companies based on a vision, but on numbers!

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Your goal as a startupIs to find a product / market fit

Bullshit wording for:● Knowing what customers will pay for!● Creating a scalable sales and marketing strategy &

processes● Creating a positive cash-flow● Creating an operation with LTV > CAC (“customer

lifetime value” is larger than “customer acquisition cost” with positive cash flow (so you don’t burn money before another investment round))

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WRONGThis can be optimized. Don’t waste time on crappy prototypes.

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But MVPs Kinda Suckon the contrary to what everyone is evangelizing…(like bullshit “Fail harder” mantra)

Not applicable to “copy-cats” (just copy / scale)

With “copy-cats” you “just” need low CAC, low operating costs, high retention

*** MVP: Minimum Viable product

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How to know what is your EVP?You have a pretty good idea what you want to build

You don’t know yet if people will buy it

You don’t know yet if there is a scalable marketing / sales process (no audience, no evangelism, no free traffic, no press, no nothing)

You don’t know yet how big is your CAC or LTV

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And now you’re thinking...

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...but don’t worry90% of startups fail

unless you are totally lucky and you create a product that a lot of people want, that your competitors suck, that there is no regulation, that there are high barriers for competitors to enter the market...

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...but why (again)Most startups compete in disruptive (or saturated) marketsthat means either they are gambling on if the products in this niche will be commoditized by technology advancement (new tech + first mover advantage + branding) - very high barrier to entry

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they are innovating in saturated or mature markets where they need to differentiate (brand) / create demand / solve previously non-adressed need (niche)

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ExamplesAuto-industry: commoditization of personal transportBanking: global commerce and exchange need intermediary (BitCoin can change that)Telecom: commoditization of communicationGoogle: commoditization of search & explosion of content (new channel) + advertisingApple: consumer electronics and PC + convergence of hw+sw+mobileMicrosoft: commoditization of personal computingZappos: using new channel for customer-service in segmentAmazon: commoditization of ecommerce + development and optimization of workflowsPayPal: easy online paymentsFacebook: personal (social) network commoditization + big dataSkype: commoditization of global voice communication

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What’s next?Internet of things (hyper-connected devices / programs)Mass-commoditization of consumer goods based on tech (new materials, processes)Automation and scalability of manufacturing processes (3d printing)

New business processes New marketing processesNew sales processes

Consumers AND businesses have a variety of options

Innovate or differentiate!

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What’s driving the change?Standardization of IPv6, providing vastly more IP addressesThe mainstreaming of cloud and “fog” computing (fog computing is Cisco’s phrase for smart things, distributed widely, reaching up to the cloud)Pervasive collaboration of people and professionals via technologyThe explosion of apps for everythingThe trend of app developers to push intelligence from the app layer to the network layer, or the cloudGrowing big data and analyticsEver-increasing network capacity at higher speeds and ever-cheaper ratesThe consumerization of enriched experiences with thingsNanotechnologyExplosion of communication touchpoints!!!

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Multiplication of touchpoints

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So how to do startup marketing?

1. Develop your personas2. Develop your traction channels3. APPLY FINDINGS TO YOUR PRODUCT (marketing-

driven product development)!4. Scale5. Rinse & Repeat

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PersonasNever skip this step!

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Traction channelsViral MarketingPublic Relations (PR)Unconventional PRSearch Engine Marketing (SEM)Social and Display AdsOffline AdsSearch Engine Optimization (SEO)Content MarketingEmail MarketingEngineering as Marketing Target Market BlogsBusiness Development (BD)SalesAffiliate ProgramsExisting PlatformsTrade ShowsOffline EventsSpeaking EngagementsCommunity Building

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Bullseye Framework● 3 channels● 5 channels● 11 channels

Test, rinse, repeatScale channelMove to the next after channel is saturatedCPA (cost per acquisition) or CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) vs LTV (customer lifetime value)Marginal CPA

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Follow these non bullet-proof steps

1. Have an idea of product / problem you solve2. Develop personas (who will use this product)3. Develop user stories / use cases / how to interact

(MOST IMPORTANT)4. Find feature set (remove features)5. Know their affinity, where to market to them, how

to market to them (research your channels), how to scale sales+marketing, how big is the market (SECOND MOST IMPORTANT)

6. Develop canvas

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Follow these non bullet-proof steps

1. Develop brand strategy2. Build product (Embed Marketing & Sales

processes INTO your product)3. Launch4. Optimize (basic optimization) of your funnels5. Acquisition6. Activation7. Retention8. Revenue9. Referral10.A/B test (and never stop)11.Scale

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Funnels will help you

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Scale your channelsLearn when to scale (only after product / customer development)

Scale only after additional unit sold is costing less in CAC.

If CAC grows with each unit > optimize

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What metrics? Retention!

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Growth HackingBullshit overhyped word for:

Finding the customer sweet-spot and low CAC (and low marginal CAC) in non-saturated acquisition channels

Using “network effect” in hyper-connected world with 3C (constantly-connected consumer)

Use technology / engineering to fuel new ways of customer acquisition

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What if something goes wrong?Step 1: Pivot (business model, channels, pricing)

Success?Yes - good for youNo - give up (or pivot again, but chances are you made a wrong turn somewhere)

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The Holy Grail of Marketing

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Goal of online marketingDefine and implement online marketing strategy

● Aligned with overall marketing strategy● Brand● Message● Goals, KPIs, Targets

Drive traffic● Owned● Inbound (earned)● Outbound (paid)

Drive leads / sales● Conversion● Scoring● Nurturing● Analyze, track, improve

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Online marketing strategy

● Mission● Vision● Branding● Value Proposition (Company)● Communication framework● Market conditions (SWOT, PEST)

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Online marketing strategyProduct

● Product / market fit● Value proposition● USP● Key Selling Points● Cross-sells & Upsells● Pricing

Acquisition channels● Owned (website, mailing lists, other properties &

audiences)● Earned (SEO, Social, Content, Word of mouth,

Reviews, Referrals)● Paid (PPC, Display, Production, SEO,

Remarketing)

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Online marketing strategyLead/Sale-generation & Funnels

● Conversion Rate Optimization● Landing page optimization● A/B testing

Retention● Action / non-action driven!● Loyalty program● Customer support● Over-deliver

Analytics Framework● Main goal: calculate CAC & LTV per channel● Include costs from all marketing and sales

activities● Use cohort analysis to fuel growth and scalability

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Analytics Framework

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In a nutshell● Product market fit● Know your audience (personas)● Build scalable sales & marketing process● Know your funnels● Build EVP product● Focus on retention more than acquisition or

revenue (if you can)● Test everything (Conversion Rate Optimization)● Invest in your Brand● Track smart things - not vanity metrics● Measure inbound vs outbound channels● (Don’t) ask customers what they want● KISS (Keep it simple stupid!)

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Thanks!Any questions?