Marketing in a startup

When I started working in Tap To Speak, I did not know what I will exactly do. Soon it turned out that everything and that was the most wonderful thing.

One day I sat writing e-mails to clients. The second one tried to find people connected with the event world, for which our solution could bring the most benefits. The next day I had to go to Warsaw and a presentation of the Tap To Speak capabilities in the largest event company in Poland. In the evening, a Skype conversation with a company from the US. On the next week a planned meeting at ZOOM with people from Hollywood. Preparations for the meeting of city presidents on Friday. A visit in the heart of Warsaw, Google campus, Microsoft.

Preparation of a new presentation, LinkedIn, telephones, graphics, infographics, video recordings, conferences, training. In a few words – a lot of work.

During this time, I learned that no matter what purpose you choose, an analysis is the most important thing. Everything you do, and you do not analyze, does not make any sense. You will not be able to draw conclusions, check what went well, what is wrong and choose the best path in the future. Without analysis, you will not enhance your conversion. Enter some solutions, if they do not work, then correct and check again. If they do not solve the problem, try something else. Do not put all eggs in one basket at the beginning. Not all methods that are generally considered effective have worked well in our situation. Not all the methods that I quote for certainties will work for you.

As for us, we had clearly defined goals. All we had to do was find a way to achieve this goal.

Do it!

Whenever something came to our minds, our only reaction was: Okay, let’s do it! If you think it would be a good idea to send your potential customers a ticket to a cinema, on which you will also be – do not hesitate – send it. You can take a chance and stand on the stage a few minutes before the start of the screening and take advantage of the moment to advertise yourself. (This idea might not be ideal, but I think that you understand the message).

Concepts that we’ve been thinking too long about were not implemented. Too thorough analysis before taking action inhibited most of the ideas. My advice – just act.

Do not be afraid to try

By participating in large conferences, we have often had the opportunity to talk with representatives of large companies, directors, presidents or well-known persons. These are not planned meetings, but simple networking over coffee. You come and talk. At such meetings, we were able to observe people who wander uncertainly around recognizable people because they want to talk about something, but hardly anyone has the courage to come and start a chat. Why? In the worst case, such someone will not be interested and will find an excuse to finish the conversation. If you succeed then, you’ve just won a key customer.

Use every opportunity

Try to train conversation when getting to know each new person. When buying rolls, refuelling the car, waiting in line for the doctor, going by taxi. There are plenty of opportunities to test your soft skills and just talk. But not about the weather (everyone talks about the weather). Ask how is the day. Ask what he’s doing here or what he/she is doing professionally. Learn to listen, react and smuggle information about yourself. If you understand this way of talking, then you will use it later in networking (it will also be useful in your private life).

Cold emailing is passe

I do not know how for you, but in my opinion, even the warmest mail sent by cold method generates a cold leade. A person who would potentially be interested in our service does not know anything about us. We’re just another message in the mailbox that promises miracles. With cold meailing you have to go a long way, which does not always lead to a previously set goal. And of course, in cold emailing it is always a quantity, not quality.

People would like to meet you

We best remember the conversations we have had face to face. It does not matter whether by Skype or in person at the office. Of course, it all depends on soft skills, but when you master such “small talk”, it will help you to break the wall between you and the interlocutor. If you get to know each other, you will get to know your industries better and how you could help each other. If you have the opportunity, try to observe how masters do it. You will see how they instantly relieve the business tensions and convince people around them. In such a conversation, the client’s needs can be explored best and the offer adjusted accordingly.

LinkedIn – my friend!

In my opinion, LinkedIn is the place, to establish cooperation between companies in the easiest way. All the relationships I build on this platform are created by a private message with very short text. A simple question if I can present or tell something more about us. LinkedIn has this superiority over other marketing methods because you see who you are talking to. In a simple way, you can verify what a person is doing, read his/her posts, and get to know their worldview. Understanding what they like and their direction. A short message on Linkedin’s chat is a substitute for a live meeting, while the conversation looks more “natural” compared to the exchange of e-mails.

The sale does not end with payment.

It is puzzling that, after the payment, we stop talking to the client. We do it at the worst possible time. Call. Ask if everything is understandable to him and if he is satisfied. Not always everything goes perfectly. Then you can collect information about what went wrong, next time you will make sure that this problem does not occur. A quick response to the problem is also the key to success. Maybe somehow you can repair a relationship with your customer so he can remember you as a company that confessed to the error and tried to fix it, not run away with the money for poor work.

Guerilla and real-time marketing

This is probably my favourite marketing method. A quick response, an ingenious answer. Recently, when returning from a conference in Warsaw, and browsing LinkedIna, I found a video-post added a few minutes earlier by the organizer of events from the United States. He recorded a video in a car on the way back from an event in the UK and talking about what he thinks about technologies used at events. We were also on the way back from the conference in Warsaw. In response, we sent him a similar video – in the car, talking about what our technology was used on that Warsaw event. The next day, he sent us a private message asking us for a presentation of our product.

Social listening

Recently, thanks to Michał Sadowski, here in Poland we can see the growing popularity of the social listening concept. Proper brand monitoring on the Internet helps to build a good company image. With any mention on the web (whether positive or not), you are able to react quickly. This can also be relatively related to looking for clients. The Internet prompt in search of people for whom you have a ready solution – is the perfect sales scenario. It is worth remembering that you will compete for attention with a large group of people. However, there is a chance that you will find your niche.

Summary

By this text, I do not discover any new marketing techniques. I’m only showing those that may be particularly useful at the beginning of the road when you do not have finances for all the campaigns, programs and the team that could take care of it for you. These methods will be useful even at the late stage of your company’s development, but then nobody will have to tell you that.

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