Trying to get your startup off the ground? Here's help with marketing... Tips for getting your first customers, how to think about marketing, who your target market really is, how to use inbound marketing and content marketing, what to do before you hire marketing help, what to look for in your first marketing hire.

1. Conversations with
Startup CEOs
about
Judy Schramm, CEO
ProResource, Inc.
February 11, 2014

2. Don’t think about
marketing until
after you have
your first
customers

3. In an established business,
marketing comes before sales
ESTABLISHED
BUSINESS

4. In a startup, there’s too
much that’s uncertain…
You don’t know enough to
create a marketing plan
until you have your first
customers.
The process of getting those
customers will give you the
information you need to
create your marketing
strategy.
STARTUP

5. Who are your
first customers?
 People you know
 People who know people you know

6. So tell everyone
what you are doing!
“Startup Marketing:
How to Get Your
First Customers Fast”

7. Don’t worry about someone stealing
your idea…
• Most people are not entrepreneurs
• Entrepreneurs have their own ideas
(which they think are better than
yours)
If they actually can
do it better than you…
Let them!
You can come up with an even better idea.

8. Next Step to Getting Early Customers
Run experiments
on LinkedIn to
discover:
 Who is most interested in what you are doing
 How best to describe your solution

9. Create a Testing Matrix
Message
#1
Target
#1
Target
#2
Target
#3
Message
#2
Message
#3
Message
#4
1000 introductions
= 50 interested
Message
#5
Try different
benefits
Use different
words
 You need 50-100 per cell
 Tag them so you know who was in each group
(and you don’t contact anyone twice)
 Track results!
Try different industries, job titles, keywords

10. How to Price for Your First Customers
Early Pricing
• First customers – FREE
• Next customers pay
something
• Start charging full price as
quickly as possible
Better Strategy
• Find 3 customers willing to
fund development
• Give 50-75% off
• They get in first
• They get to help define the
product
• You get proof, early
references

11. Now it’s time to think about
marketing…
Identify
Educate
Build
Credibility

12. People who have the problem
Know they have
the problem
Know there’s a solution
Your Target Market
Willing to pay
what you charge
Willing to solve
it your way

13. Inbound vs. Outbound
Being findable
• SEO
• Blogging
• Social media
• AdWords
Finding them
• Email blasts
• Direct mail
• Conference
• Public relations
Closer to the center of the target? Inbound.
At the outside? Outbound.

14. Content Marketing Strategy
Focus education efforts on the biggest issue…
• Do they recognize they have a problem?
• Do they know it’s solvable?
• What are the solutions they know about?
• Do they understand your approach?
• Do they appreciate why it is better?

15. What do they need to know?
• What problem(s) do you solve?
• How do you solve them? (how
the process/product works)
• What will they have to do to
before they can use it?
• What are common objections or
misconceptions?
• How does pricing work?
• What kind of results can they
expect?
• How long will it take to get
results?
• What sets you apart from similar
solutions?
• Why is your solution worth what
you charge?
“Ideas for
Educational Articles”

16. Build credibility
• When you have customers
– Quotes, case studies
• Before you have reference-able customers
– Statistics – show you understand the process
– Third-party validation
– Social media activity
“5 Ways to Increase Credibility
on Your Website”

17. Marketing has to be debugged,
just like software.
Try
Analyze
Do small,
inexpensive tests
until you get
something that works
Measure
“The Role of Marketing
During Beta Testing”

18. Getting Ready to Hire Marketing
Before you hire, set the foundation:
• LinkedIn experiments
• Keyword analysis
• Personas
Message
#1
Message
#2
Message
#3
Message
#4
Message
#5
Target
#1
Target
#2
Target
#3
“Create Website Personas”

19. Your Marketing Team
• Get advice, strategy from a senior person
– Take advantage of free consultations
– Buy an hour of brainstorming at a time
• Execute with junior people
• Hire for skill in the area you need most +
expertise in your target market
“12 Questions to Ask
Any Marketing Professional”

20. Contact
Judy Schramm
ProResource, Inc.
703-824-8482
jschramm@proresource.com
http://blog.proresource.com/
www.linkedin.com/in/judyschramm
@proresource
We design LinkedIn
lead generation programs
for B2B tech firms.