Most startups are thrifty with their marketing budget, and with so many digital channels, offline-online hybrids and a multitude of devices in consumer's hands, you're probably wondering how you're going to effectively reach, engage and convert new customers without that 'big guy' budget.
While most startups, including, DesignCrowd, are trying to do more with less, it's not just the little guys taking advantage of 'lean marketing' and turning to alternative approaches, like online crowdsourcing.
So, whether you're just at the idea phase, you've just launched, or you're an established business, it doesn't hurt to explore some simple ideas. Here's what DesignCrowd has road tested, and what you can do:
Build your own list and interact with it
Your customers are your business partners and your best marketing tool. Harnessing the power to interact with them will help you build one mean marketing machine. Marketing is like being in a relationship, and you don't need a big budget to start and grow a thriving romance with your customers.
At DesignCrowd, when a designer or company sign up to our marketplace, they also receive a welcome email from members of our leadership team. Back that up with fanatical pre and post sale customer service, and your customers will love you.
Get Social
To find out more about a company, person, idea, job, location, or anything else for that matter, the first thing we do is jump online. Collaboratively social media platforms can connect you with billions of potential customers. How many highway billboards can do that?
It's in our nature to socialise and share ideas with each other. We live in the age of the network economy where connections amplify success.
Leave your desk
Local meetups (check out meetup.com), industry conferences, and networking events (try social conference directory, Lanyrd) are some places senior executives of a business need to think about attending and participating to get their public profile out there.
Know your users
Once you have them in reach, use free tools like Google Forms, WordPress survey plugins, HeySurvey, Wufoo, or Survey Monkey, to create a survey you can share with your users. If you want Google's reach, try Google Consumer Surveys, a tool that distributes your survey across a network of online publishers to millions of users. You get to select your budget to fit your requirements.
A good way to find out what keywords are trending in your space is through Google's free keyword search tool.
Become a data ninja
Famous adman, David Olgivy once said, "Never stop testing and your advertising will never stop improving". The same is true for websites.
If you want to improve your conversion rate, reduce your cost per acquisition, improve site indexing, or unlock more value by understanding how your customers use your site, get on the web tools bandwagon!
A/B testing - start testing the conversion performance of your landing page design to unlock more value.
Google Analytics - monitor your site's visitor traffic and behaviour so you can track your sales funnel.
SEM and remarketing - if you're investing in cost effective channels to drive clicks, make sure your 'squeeze' pages are in sync with the copy and design elements in your display ad on Facebook or text ad on Google. That way you present a consistent message which will increase the chance of users taking action.
Qualaroo, Web Engage or Effective Measure - track audience behaviour through user exit surveys to improve on-site user engagement and conversion in real-time. You can use an exit intent popup to gather these details.
HubSpot - can do an SEO health check on your site, benchmarking you against millions of site reviews and recommending areas for improvement.
Be an expert in your niche
Who are the influential thought-leaders in your niche? You should consider how you can get amongst them.
If you have an opinion, tell it, don't wait to have a PR budget. Offer insight or guest editorial to bloggers, journalists and news sites. You'd be surprised how hungry they are for content, especially from buzzed entrepreneurs, startups and disruptor brands, like many of you are.
To strengthen your outreach, consider using tools like SurveySparrow to conduct surveys and gather fresh data or insights that can make your contributions even more compelling. When building your thought leadership platform, studying effective email signup popup examples as detailed by Claspo can help you capture engaged readers who want to follow your expert insights and commentary. For those building a strong online presence, exploring WP Engine alternatives can also help ensure your website performance aligns with your growing visibility.
Cultivating Social Proof
The phrase, Social Proof, was coined by Robert Cialdini (Professor of Marketing and Psychology at Arizona State University) as a way of explaining the 'herd' phenomenon online.
Amazon, the ecommerce behemoth was one of the first (and still a leading example) of how to cultivate social proof for your product or service. Think of pop-up customer reviews, ratings and testimonials that appear across product pages and influence what you choose to buy.
As Richard Branson says, "You can create a business, choose a name, but unless people know about it you're not going to sell any products."
Dive into some of the above, your currency is time, and it could prove well worth it!
Article originally appeared in B&T.
Want More?
Running a business is no piece of cake. Take a look at these articles if you feel you could use a few helpful tips:
How to Get the Most Out of Your Small Business Data
How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market
Quick Tips For How to Compete With Big Business
Written by Jo Sabin on Thursday, March 24, 2016
Jo Sabin is Head of Designer Community at DesignCrowd. She's led the company's public relations and social media programs since 2012. With more than ten years' experience working with Australian and international tech startups in the creative industries, Jo has been instrumental in meeting DesignCrowd's objectives in Australia and abroad. Get in touch via Twitter.
