This session is aimed at entrepreneurs who want to create more effective marketing programs to grow their business. It describes how to build a marketing plan that takes into account your prospects, their buying process and the market space you play in. It offers examples of how to execute, measure and improve those programs to maximize revenue and profit. Less

2. A Systems Approach to
Startup Marketing
A solution to random acts of
marketing
April Dunford
@aprildunford
RocketWatcher.com

3. April Dunford
As a marketing exec:
6 startups: 4 launches, $1B revenue, $2B
acquisitions
3 big companies: 2 product line launches,
$3B revenue, 8 acquisitions (buy side)
As a Marketing Bon Vivant/Gallivanter:
project-based marketing work, advisor,
instructor, investor, coffee/beer drinker

4. How do I market my startup?

5. How do I buy shoes I love?

6. Advice is Always Based on
Assumptions
How much you want to spend
Where you like to shop
What style of shoes you normally wear
Why you need new shoes now

7. Startup Marketing Advice is
the Same
Who are your customers
What motivates them to purchase
What they love about your offering
How they make purchase decisions

8. Marketing is Big
Branding
Lead gen
Advertising
Social Media
Content
Messaging
Sales Support
Events

9. Marketing Questions Google
can Answer
how to increase blog traffic, get email
signups, improve your SEO, run adwords
campaigns, get more Twitter followers/
Facebook fans, create better content,
improve your sales effectiveness,
shorten sales cycles, convert free trials
to paid and on and on and on and on.

10. Marketing Questions Google
Can’t Answer:
What tactics should you focus on?
How should you tailor them for your
business?

11. The Cycle of Marketing Meh
Marketing
Fashion
Assessment*
Select
Improve
tactics
Measure Execute
* Where you look at what everyone else is doing

12. 1. Shifting assumptions
2. All tactics presumed OK until tested
3. No relationship or consistency
between the tactics

13. You need to start with a
marketing model

14. Inputs
3 aspects of customer knowledge
Who they are
How they view solutions
How they buy stuff

15. Customer
Company Characteristics (B2B):
– Geography, size, industry
– Stuff they do, type of customer they serve, how they sell, their
ecosystem, budgets, risk tolerance, power structure, etc.
Decision Maker Characteristics:
– demographics, education, skills, interests, motivations,
goals
Pain:
– list of things that drives this group crazy
Where they hang out:
– Social networks, communities, associations/groups, events
Where they find out about stuff:
– Search engines, word of mouth, peers, media outlets, blogs,
experts, influencers/famous people

16. Offering
• What do we do?
• What market are we in?
• Competitive Alternatives:
– Examples: Do nothing, manual effort, Word/
Excel, competitive product
• Key Differentiated Points of Value
– When compared to the alternatives above the
specific value you bring that the others don’t.
• Proof
– Customer references, 3rd party reviews,
statistics, metrics, expert endorsements,

17. Buying Process
Accelerators
Knowing Knowing Knowing Why Using and Knowing I
the cost of the Value the value purchase enjoy the can’t do
not solving of solving of your now? offering without the
the the solution offering
problem problem
No Re-
Need Eval Buy Enjoy
Need new
Current Value not Not I might Bad Decided
solution compelling knowing change my service, there was
good Risks too how to mind Bad user no need
enough high evaluate Too much $ experience Move to
Great but Not using other
not for me solution
Friction points

18. Tactics
Selected based on:
Who you need to reach
Where you can reach them
Stages where the friction is
What you need to do to move them to the
next stage

19. No Need, Need
What: Problem-focused Content/Programs
– Articles and blog posts
– Infographics/Industry data/trend reports
– Videos (problem focused)
– Curated Content
– Newsletters
– SEO, Website, landing pages, content optimized around the
problem
Where: Where the prospects already are
– Forums, Social networks, newsgroups, industry events,
associations, media, blogs, etc.
Purpose: Entertain, Educate, Engage
Desired Action: Permission to regularly provide information
– Social Media: Likes, follows
– Email: Newsletter/blog signups

20. Eval/Buy
What: Solution Focused Content/Programs
– Articles and blog posts
– Demo Videos/interactive Demos
– Webinars
– In-person events
– Analyst reports
– Case studies
– Feature guides/whitepapers
– ROI/pricing calculators
– Advertising, Sponsorships
– SEO, Website, landing pages, content optimized around the solution
Where: Where the prospects are and Increasingly on Your Turf
– Forums, Social networks, newsgroups, industry events, media, blogs,
etc.
– Your branded sites (website, Facebook page, etc.)
Purpose: Educate, Differentiate, Move to Evaluation and/or Sale
Desired Action: Permission to “sell”
– Contact information for sales (through content, events, etc.)
– Free Trial sign up
– Purchase

21. Enjoy, Refer, Renew
• What: Activation/Engagement-oriented content/programs
– Customer Support Content
– Demo Videos/interactive Demos
– How-to, Best Practice guides
– User forums/User Groups
– ROI/pricing calculators
– Customer newsletters
• Where: Mainly on Your Turf but also where they are
– Your branded sites (website, Facebook page, etc.)
– Customer Support portal/forum,
– User group forums, events, etc.
– Forums, Social networks, newsgroups, associations, media, blogs, etc.
• Purpose: Get customers to experience the value, Create raving
fans,
• Desired Action: Referrals, Renewals
– Act as a reference
– Refer business
– Renewal

22. Operations
Plans based on selected tactics
Email marketing plan/process/calendar
Paid traffic plan/process
Content plan/calendar
Social media plan/calendar
Media/Influencer relations plan/calendar

23. Metrics
How prospects are flowing through the
buying process

24. Analysis
What conclusions can you draw?
How do these impact the inputs?

25. The Circle of Marketing Awesome
Project plans
Tactical
Execution
Customer
Offering Inputs Outputs Metrics
Buying Process
Analysis
Conclusions

26. Thanks!
RocketWatcher.com
@aprildunford