Startup Marketing: Rules for Revolutionaries - July 2010

Startup Marketing:

Rules

for

Revolutionaries

Michael Gaiss

Senior Vice President

[email protected]

Twitter: @MichaelGaiss

mailto:[email protected]

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

My Background

• Highland Capital Partners (since 1999)– Entrepreneurial initiatives

• Summer@Highland, PepsiCo10, Entrepreneur Centers, QUEST– Portfolio company support & consulting

• CEO & Marketing Summits, one-on-one’s, Career Network– Marketing & business development

• 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)

Nasdaq: VPRT $120,200,000

Internet-based printing

$295,000,000 Acquired by Lucent

Switching equipment

Acquired by StaplesSpecialty retailer

Nasdaq: LULU $32,760,000

Specialty apparel retailer

Nasdaq: CKFR $86,4000,000

Electronic bill pay systems

Nasdaq: BFRE $67,200,000

Performance-based online marketing

Nasdaq: AVID $56,000,000

Video editing systems

Nasdaq: ASKJ $42,000,000

Online Search

$567,000,000 Acquired by Cisco Systems Broadband VPN solutions

Nasdaq: CONR $78,000,000

Acquired by J&J for $1.4B Drug eluting stents

Nasdaq: EXAS $65,000,000

Genomics-based technologies

$1,100,000,000 Acquired by AOL

Advanced mapping solution

Nasdaq: SYBS $49,600,000

Relational database management software

$325,000,000 Acquired by Cisco

Systems Web-enabled call center

Nasdaq: STAR $126,000,000

Infrastructure Products

$5,400,000,000 Acquired by Terra

Networks Global internet network

Nasdaq: NXCD $120,000,000

Online credit provider

$355,000,000 Acquired by Tellabs

Optical access solutions

Nasdaq: ODSY $54,000,000

Hospice care providerAcquired by Apple

Backing Young Entrepreneurs

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

Changing Paradigm

Old School The Digital WorldTransmit Engage & ParticipatePreach AdvocateCommand & Control Influence & PersuadeFormal & Instructive Informal & ConversationalTell Your Audience Build CommunityInstitutions People & RelationshipsDeadlines Real TimePowerful Media Powerful NetworksTarget Audience Communities

Startup Marketing “Rules”

1. Immerse Yourself in the “Flow” of Your Industry

2. Embrace Thought Leadership3. Get Creative for Early Customer Access4. Establish a (Far) Superior Online Presence5. Leverage Media Relations to Project Credibility6. Harness Word-of-Mouth7. Scale Smartly

1. Immerse Yourself in the Flow

Immerse Yourself

Immerse Yourself

Immerse Yourself

Google Alerts

Immerse Yourself

Google Reader

Immerse Yourself

TweetDeck

Immerse Yourself

2. Embrace Thought Leadership

• Become recognized within the industry for innovative ideas, a deep understanding of the needs of its customers, and the broader marketplace in which it operates

• Clear differentiator for companies

• Serves as the DNA to work into all aspects of marketing:– Messaging– Communications– Programs

• Platform for driving:– Recognition & awareness– Credibility & respect

Thought Leadership

The Real Opportunity

Thought Leadership

• 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 establish yourself as a trusted client advisor

Critical for enabling a “content is king” approach to marketing

A thought leadership mindset can turn your organization activity (content development & deployment strategy) into:

NOTE: You actually need leading thinkers to accomplish

How to Accomplish?

• Establish a differentiated and compelling position– What’s 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

Thought Leadership

3. Get Creative for Early Customer Access

• Focus on the product– Strong product-market fit?– Learn as you go

• Relentlessly work assets– Board of Directors, advisors, employees– Actual & potential investors

• Additional options– Freemium– Product Advisory Councils

Early Customer Access

Biggest risk: making something nobody wantsBiggest risk: making something nobody wants

Good marketing will not fix a bad product

Weak product-market fit cannot be fixed by good marketing

Weak product-market fit cannot be fixed by good marketing

Source: Drew Houston, Dropbox Early Customer Access

Source: Drew Houston, Dropbox

A Good Product Will be a Tailwind


Goal: product-market fit ASAPGoal: product-market fit ASAP


Learning on a $0 budget: Talk to people!Learning on a $0 budget: Talk to people!

Source: Drew Houston, Dropbox Early Customer Access

Go where your early adopters hang outGo where your early adopters hang out


Product Advisory Council

• 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 1,000 members• Primed the sales pump


4. Establish a 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

What’s 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

Compelling Content Strategy

• Content is “King”– Where it drives/spurs discussion/interaction

• Create highly relevant site content– Thought pieces / White Papers– News & articles– Customer case studies– Podcasts/Videos/Webinars– Microsites– Newsletters– Blogs – under right conditions

• Deliver value that naturally draws visitorsOnline Presence

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

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

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


• 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.



• 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.


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 Videos/Podcasts – Bloggers love posting them• Buy Text Links – But be careful. Google doesn’t like it


HubSpot’s WebSite Grader

Online Presence

Paid Search

Organic

Online Presence

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Google AdWords

Online Presence

Pursue Social Media Channels

Online Presence

Random Tips & Suggestions

• Unique long tail keyword URLs for SEO – www.datacentersoftware.com

• Leverage trustmarks– Member professional organization– Security/privacy compliance

• Facebook on weekends, Twitter during the week– 51% of corporations block Facebook

• $75 to try Google AdWords (thru 30Sep10)– www.google.com/adwords/75offer– Coupon code: 4P4E-3VEP-GXLY-42NP-5GWJ

• Listening posts as input for bragging about prospects – tweet, tell colleagues

Online Presence

http://www.datacentersoftware.com/

Additional Resources

• SEO/SEM Website Analysis– HubSpot’s www.websitegrader.com

• Keyword Tools– Google AdWords keyword tool– HubSport’s KeywordGrader– WordTracker (advanced)

• Social Media– Eloqua’s Playbook - http://blog.eloqua.com/eloqua-social-playbook/

• Free Link Research Tools– Google & Yahoo’s 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

http://www.websitegrader.com/

http://www.siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/

http://www.netconcepts.com/linkcheck

http://www.webuildpages.com/neat-o/

http://tools.seobook.com/firefox/seo-for-firefox.html

http://www.touchgraph.com/TGGoogleBrowser.html

http://www.webguerrilla.com/down-loads/tattler.zip

5. Leverage Media Relations for Credibility

• Establish direct connections and personal relationships– Focus on trades– Be opportunistic with beat reporters– Build credibility and trust over time

• Generating coverage– Have a healthy news flow– Get creative and come up the “angle” for a reporter– Channel compelling thought leadership into expert

commentary, contributed articles opps• Stay focused and watch costs

Media & Credibility

Additional Tips/Resources

• Media resources page on website• PR Web

– Cheaper news release distribution channel– Optimized for SEO

• HARO – www.helpareporter.com• Twitter

– Follow key reporters

Media & Credibility

6. Harness Word-of-Mouth

• Step #1: Have a great product

• Step #2: Do the hard work– Build referenceable

constituencies– Make it part of the

culture• Step 3: Turn into

communities– User groups– Advisory councils– Extranets– LinkedIn Groups

Word of Mouth

More on Word-of-Mouth

• Give them something to talk about– Deliver a great experience– Give customers a voice– Foster customer reputations– Engage the community– Tools to help them spread the word– Referral programs

• Leverage– Scarcity– Customer testimonials– Social networks

Word of Mouth

Word of Mouth

A happy customeris the greatestendorsement

At the End of the Day…

7. Scale Smartly

• Tie yourself to a bigger trend• Data is your friend• Simplify to drive virality (if you can)• Build repeatable lead gen engines

– Direct marketing campaigns• Email can still be effective

– Viral referral programs– Newsletters (automated)

• Own more in the sales funnelScale Smartly

Tie yourself to a bigger trendTie yourself to a bigger trend

Source: Mike Volpe, HubSpot


Set targets for all key metrics


Startup Metrics Model

Website.com

Revenue $$$

Revenue $$$

Biz DevBiz DevAds, Lead Gen,

Subscriptions,

ECommerce

Ads, Lead Gen,

Subscriptions,

ECommerce

ACQUISITIONACQUISITION

SEOSEOSEMSEM

Apps & Widgets Apps & Widgets

AffiliatesAffiliates

EmailEmail

PRPR Biz Dev Biz Dev

Campaigns, Contests

Campaigns, Contests

Direct, Tel, TV Direct, Tel, TV

Social Networks

Social Networks

BlogsBlogs

DomainsDomains

Retention

Emails &

Alerts

System Events &

Time‐based Features

Blogs, RSS,

News Feeds

Source: Dave McClure

Measure Often – Evolve Faster

Scale Smartly

Every 10% easier 50% larger audienceEvery 10% easier 50% larger audience

Simplify to Drive Virality

Source: Drew Houston, Dropbox Scale Smartly

Don’t make me think: No decisions nothing to screw up

Don’t make me think: No decisions nothing to screw up

Source: Drew Houston Scale Smartly

Don’t make me read, either: Designing landing pages & signup flows

Don’t make me read, either: Designing landing pages & signup flows

early beta

late beta

• concise beats comprehensive

• call out the next step• simple converts better


Educate over time (tours, tip emails, etc.)Educate over time (tours, tip emails, etc.)

Hook the User First


Own More in the Sales Funnel

Recap – Startup Marketing “Rules”

1. Immerse Yourself in the “Flow” of Your Industry

2. Embrace Thought Leadership3. Get Creative for Early Customer Access4. Establish a (Far) Superior Online Presence5. Leverage Media Relations to Project Credibility6. Harness Word-of-Mouth7. Scale Smartly

Startup Marketing:

Rules

for

Revolutionaries

Michael Gaiss

Senior Vice President

[email protected]

Twitter: @MichaelGaiss

mailto:[email protected]